Since April 5, when we celebrated Jesus’ rising from the tomb more alive than ever, I’ve been putting myself in the place of his disciples, mostly his original guys, but those others who followed closely, too. I’ve been struck by how difficult it would be to live through Holy Week, see Jesus die on the cross and be buried, then while barely starting to process all that, Jesus is back! It doesn’t surprise me that they were awestruck, frightened, troubled, even doubting. Sure, it was wonderful to see him again, but . . . the questions were unending! I mean, was that a win? It sure didn’t feel like a win. Then the shaky, raw, probably inappropriate, hows and whens that went unanswered. The world had turned upside down – twice! Every day felt surreal, dreamlike. “Is this awake? Is this dreaming? When does the next shoe drop?”
When a loved one dies, especially tragically, those feelings are understandable for a time. I still remember the weird feeling when, driving home after my father’s funeral, seeing people walking their dogs, going into a grocery store, teens playing a game of tennis, such blatantly normal things – on a day like this! So, for the disciples, I imagine them being emotionally paralyzed, their hearts not fully able to register events, whether big or small.
And yet, Jesus had made all things new! Sin’s power had been broken. The grave had been robbed of its sting. God’s glory was on display. A new age had been given birth! But it was not with marching bands and banners and victory shouts. It was an unstoppable, from the inside out, kind of new. It was a new to be revealed by God’s Spirit. The additional forty days Jesus gifted his disciples before his ascension to the Father were lovingly, and patiently, filled with assurances of his mission having been successfully completed. Those days were also filled with truths pointing to a new life in the Spirit. Much, much more was about to be experienced, and soon! PD
Don graduated from Regent University in 1988 and moved to France for seven years, coming back to the US briefly to marry Sue in 1990. The work in France included working in a Christian School and helping plant a church before returning in 1995. He’s been pastor of Peninsula Vineyard since 1999. He enjoys counseling, especially married couples, traveling back to France (with Sue), reading, doing Sudoku puzzles and sleuthing out good, dark chocolate. Don serves as the senior pastor of the Vineyard Church Peninsula, in Newport News, Virginia.