by Musu Taylor-Lewis
I met Musu Taylor-Lewis through the local ministerial association in British Columbia. Her reflection on Easter as a season is worth reading.
Did you know that Easter is not a day or weekend but a whole season? The fifty days between resurrection Sunday and Pentecost make up the Easter Season, and I am starting to realize what an important season it is.
For the disciples it was a season of discovery, of being confronted with their own misunderstandings of Jesus and finally putting themselves in a place to be reformed by God. There are a few things I will reflect on from their experience as my understanding of how to live out my faith is again reconstructed by the realities of the coronavirus pandemic and personal struggles.
- Jesus stayed with the disciples and helped them understand what had happened, patiently reminding them of the meaning of what he had taught them before he was crucified (Acts 1:3). He will never leave me nor forsake me. I am confident that he is with me in the questions, the confusion, the figuring-it-out. That makes all the difference.
- I am struck by how many times the disciples did not recognize Jesus. Mary at the tomb, disciples in the house, on the road to Emmaus and by the sea shore. I know that I can miss Him too. As I focus on the tasks at hand and the getting-through-this I may forget to open my eyes or to look up from what I am doing and thinking. I pray that like the disciples I will eventually recognize his presence. The knowing and the seeing are different things.
- The season ends at Pentecost, which coincides with the Jewish festival commemorating the giving of a path to intimacy with God. It is not a coincidence that the disciples were given a gift of further intimacy with God on that particular day. So for me in this season, despite the difficulties, I will look for His offers of further intimacy. I will look for the lessons and the Spirit that draw me closer and put myself in a place to change my understanding of how to live out my faith for the better.
Yes, I think Easter is more of a journey, and basically tells if a bigger journey that has gone on before. One that, if we really recognize it, tells us the ‘why’ in life’s meaning. Thank you ,Musu.