Easter Surprise

It sounds like a cliché, but I always forget that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead was a surprise. Every Easter, we practise the rituals of mourning on Good Friday yet we always know that Sunday is coming. We read the prophecies backwards, we sing the songs. It all seems rather obvious: up from the grave, he arose. Why else would I be eating bread with icing for breakfast?  

But of course, during that first Easter, nobody was expecting anything but devastation. 

Mary didn’t go to the tomb to see a risen Christ. She went to mourn. Something terrible had happened and she went to do all the normal things people do when they are grieving. Her first reaction upon seeing the empty tomb was to assume the worst: someone had stolen the body. 

Throughout most of the rest of the Gospels, the resurrection is subtle, not triumphant. Jesus didn’t show up in a flash of light, announcing his triumphant return. Rather, he invited people to see differently. 

Spring tulips in Ottawa

There is Jesus, confused for a gardener or a pilgrim. There is Jesus, fishing. No one is ever quite sure when and where he will appear. Even after Jesus’ ascension to heaven, we wait and wonder, searching for glimpses for resurrection, trying to look with new eyes for something we still aren’t quite sure we will recognize.  

 When I look backwards on the activities of my own faith community, the Mennonites in Canada, and my work with MCC, significant events seem rather obvious.  

Of course the efforts of concerned farmers to talk to their neighbours about uranium production in Saskatchewan cancelled federal crown corporation plans. Of course community members went on to take those learnings to current work on environmental care on a national level.  

Of course faith-based organisations like MCC worked with the government to figure out private refugee resettlement in response to South Asian migration in the 1970s. Of course strangers welcomed other strangers into their homes and lives. Of course we all learned valuable life lessons in multiculturalism. 

Yet looking back without that certainty of success, it all seems a bit ridiculous. In both these scenarios, nobody knew what the path forward would look like, or in fact, that there could even be a path forward. In response to a crisis, churches here in Canada simply asked how they could show up in a way that reflected a faith that asked them to love boldly and brought that same desire to their neighbours and to the government of Canada.  

Especially in moments of crisis, personal or global, I want certainty. I want to be able to look ahead with the same ease in which I look backwards, knowing that my personal plans will move forward, my work projects will change the world exactly as I have outlined them, and that my good intentions won’t backfire. In the midst of conflict, I want others to admit their wrongdoings and change their ways. If everyone just listened to me, we wouldn’t need to be in the middle of this situation.  

The reality is that in a crisis, I really have no idea what will happen and very little control or understanding over anything. Instead of seeing something different when things don’t appear to be going according to plan, it is easier to jump to the conclusion that someone stole the body rather than seeking resurrection.  

Compared to the disciples we do know the end of the story: resurrection. We are invited to show up in light of that fact and how we do that is fully within our control, exactly as Jesus modeled.  

Here is how Jesus taught us to live, in the good and the bad: eating together, crying together, forgiving each other, laughing together, loving our enemies, sharing our loaves and fishes and expecting abundance. He showed us that the kingdom of God is here among us, doing big and bold things in unexpected ways and through unexpected people.  

To follow this way means asking each other where we are being invited to be salt and light and being brave enough to simply show up as ourselves, resurrection people loved by God and saved by grace.  

I am learning that the paradox, and there is always a paradox in this crazy faith, is that letting go and showing up means we get to see resurrection everywhere, in the rhythms of our days in ways that are both ordinary and utterly impossible to predict. It’s Jesus fishing on the shore, it is community members talking to each other,  it’s new ways of understanding the world through welcome, it is the ability to see where I could have gotten something wrong and even apologize. As we do, a new way forward opens up that changes everything.  

Look, there is Jesus, showing up again. Pick up your paska and let’s go join him.  

Reflection questions:  

Imagine you were one of the disciples on Easter morning. What could have been going through your mind? Think about a time when things turned out differently than you had expected. What surprised you? How did those events unfold? 

Reflect on a crisis you are dealing with, on a small or a large scale. How can you leave space to see Jesus?  

Action Item:  

Have a conversation with someone in your community (church, school, other) about a crisis you may be facing. Imagine together what resurrection could look like in this scenario. Plan out a small action you want to experiment with together, based on Jesus’ teaching.