|
By Jo Gamm Witt
The disciples had settled into a relative normalcy in their ministry with Jesus. For sure there rarely would have been a dull moment, following such a dynamic leader whose teachings were at times so contrary to that of the Jewish leaders of their day and whose messages provoked them to ponder their meanings. And at the height of their ministry with Jesus, he was led through the streets of Jerusalem riding on a donkey’s colt while the crowds cheered, “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” as they waved palms. But soon thereafter life as they had known it was suddenly disrupted. The Roman soldiers came for Jesus, they arrested him and took him away to answer to the Sanhedrin and to be tried before Pilate. Led out before the crowds, they yelled to crucify him, and he was taken away, flogged, beaten, and was hung on a cross. Imagine the disciples’ despair as they saw this leader whom they so admired dying on a cross. And when he was dead, they no doubt entered a time of deep mental darkness.
But then a few days later the women came to the disciples saying that Jesus was alive, that they had seen the Master. Could it be? Was he really alive? Imagine their souls as the darkness flitted away, replaced with hopefulness. The disciples hurried to the tomb and saw that the tomb was open, the grave was empty. Their darkness was turned to joy. And later they saw Jesus and visited with him again.
During this time when our sense of normalcy has been disrupted, I am reminded of a scripture that sustained me through a dark time in my life: Psalm 30:5b, “Weeping may go on all night, but in the morning there is joy!” Just like the disciples, we, too, are going through a time of darkness (“night”), but there will again come a day when we, too, will again have “morning” and have joy. May that focus sustain us while we wait.
CLICK HERE 
|