The Hope of Easter
“…but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” John 19:24
What does a blessed life look like?
When the angel Gabriel visited young Mary and told her she would give birth to the Son of God, he called her blessed and favored. Yet she gave birth in a smelly manger. Did she wonder how this might be considered blessed?
When Simeon prophesied that her young son was appointed for the rise and fall of man and that a sword would pierce through her own soul, did she wonder how this might fit into the blessed life that she was promised?
When she saw her son falsely accused and denied by his closest friends, brutally beaten and nailed to a cross to die, did she wonder what happened to her promise of blessing? Standing at the foot of the cross, she was no doubt overcome with sorrow and intense grief. Surely her heart was heavy and filled with anguish; the pain so intense it hurt to breathe.
I’m sure she couldn’t bear to look at her son hanging in pain on the cross, but even more so, she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him alone. Her son whom she had cared for and tenderly held in her arms. I’m sure she was overwhelmed by memories. Her mother’s heart could not leave him alone. Even though others were still afraid and moved in secret, Mary openly stood at the foot of the cross, no doubt whispering, “I’m here, Jesus! I love you forever!”
Sometimes God’s blessings don’t look like what we have hoped for or envisioned. I’m sure giving birth in a stable or watching her son brutally killed never crossed her mind when Gabriel called her blessed. But when Mary stood at the foot of the cross she had to trust that what God had told her was true.
While hanging on the cross, Jesus looked tenderly upon his mother and asked John to care for her. Jesus cares for us too as we wait for the hope of Easter. He reminds us to keep our eyes on him, to cling with both hands to the hope we have in Him (Hebrews 6:18-19). “Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5).
We don’t grieve as those without hope, but we trust that one day all things will be made right. He will work all the circumstances that appear “unblessed” to bring blessing. Though we don’t know what His blessings will be, we must have faith and believe that He will do exactly as He has promised. We must wait to see the good that God will do with the blessed assurance that He will do it! This is faith. This is grace. This is the hope of Easter.
