One of the cherished memories of my youth is playing trumpet in the Easter dawn service
held on God’s Acre in Winston-Salem, NC. I recall years of glorious sunrises as well as cold
and rainy years, the sound of a five hundred piece Moravian band, and the spectacle of
thousands of Christians gathering to celebrate their Lord’s Resurrection.
One of the repressed memories of my youth is the utter fatigue which overcame me each
year when, with the arrival of dawn and the conclusion of worship, the sustaining power of
Krispy Kreme doughnuts, coffee, and Moravian Sugar Cake no longer sufficed to keep me
awake.
Sometimes we complete Easter feeling a bit like that – fatigued – even if we didn’t get up at
midnight to begin early morning rounds with the band. If we embrace the discipline of Lent,
with its weekly services, the nightly services of Holy Week, and attend the Easter Sunrise
Service, we do so in addition to our other responsibilities to family and career. Then too, we
may have lost loved ones in the past year, faced illness, or loss of a job. Sometimes what we
need most after Easter is rest.
It was that way for the disciples. They had faced the persecution of the state and religious
leaders of their day. They had seen their friend, Lord, and Savior crucified. They had
experienced the depths of despair and a rebirth of hope beyond their wildest imagination.
Now what they needed was time to process all that they had done, experienced, and seen.
Previously Jesus had urged his followers to action on behalf of God towards those who were
most vulnerable in the society of that day. Now Christ tells them to be still – to wait for the
Lord to act.
After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs,
appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While
staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the
promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; or John baptized
with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts
1: 3-5)
The human soul has seasons just like the year. There are times for vigorous action and times
for contemplation and rest. Without both we cannot fully become what God desires us to
be. Are you getting adequate spiritual, emotional, and physical rest and rejuvenation in your
life? If not, what adjustments do you need to make to return to health and draw closer to your God?
See you in church,
Pastor Derek