Dear Grace Family,
He is still risen, He is still risen indeed! I trust you had a wonderful time celebrating our Savior and the implications of the resurrection this weekend. We are reminded that in Jesus’ death and resurrection we are both forgiven of our sin and share in His reward. We are free from God’s wrath and get to be with Him forever in an intimate, everlasting relationship. This is good news that we live and proclaim NOT JUST AT EASTER, but every day.
But a strange thing can happen to us after Easter: it can be a heavy, melancholy, and almost depressing time. As I interact with other pastors we talk about the “post-Easter letdown”, where the energy and attendance typically goes down of the Sunday following Easter. This makes sense since a letdown effect is normal after something that’s much anticipated, and it means that it is a reality for us now. There actually was a similar happening after the actual resurrection among Jesus’ disciples.
There is not much interaction between Jesus and the disciples, but we have enough to get a clear picture of how they were feeling: scared (John 20:19) and unbelieving (John 20:25), they struggled with doubt, guilt, despondency, sorrow, and a basket full of unmet expectations, mourning what they had and what could have been. Peter and the others had gone back to Galilee and started fishing again, and it would seem likely that they were confused, lacking motivation and clarity of what to do next. They had the ultimate post-Easter letdown. How did Jesus redirect their hearts? How did He refocus them?
He reminded them of their mission. At the end of Luke, He redirected two disciples with the message of repentance and forgiveness that “you are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:48), and promised the Holy Spirit to come. At the end of Matthew, He commanded them to make disciples, and promised His authority and presence to accomplish it (Matthew 28:16-20). At the end of John, Jesus re-ignites a hurting Peter who had denied that he even knew Jesus at all! After restoring him, He simply called Peter to feed and tend my sheep, and follow me! (John 21:15-19).
Are you feeling any of the same things the disciples were? You are not alone. But we remember that because we have a sure inheritance to come, we also have a mission between now and then, and have been equipped with the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the glorious gospel to accomplish it. So we use this time to feast on the Word, to continue our diligence in prayer, and seek creative ways to share Christ with a world that is recognizing now more than ever that they need Him. So let’s continue to press on, even if we may FEEL far from motivated to do so.
In Him,
