easter sunday

This is not the kind of Easter story many expect. Nor is it a sermon you hear preached very often on Easter.

“Easter is the season of miracles,” said Reverend Robin Hedgeman of Cleveland’s Bethany Christian Church. “But not always the kind of miracles we think or want.”

Don’t Christians believe Jesus died on the cross and three days later rose from the dead? Don’t they know when Jesus walked the earth, he healed the deaf, the blind, the emotionally tormented and even raised some from the dead?

What about those miracles?

Yes, they were miracles. It’s the heart of the Christian gospel.

But as I talked with Hedgeman, we began to concentrate on the different types of miracles.

“How about the cancer patient who doesn’t get good news,” said Hedgeman. “But something rises up inside of her, something miraculous that helps her get through the cancer — and making the most of the days she has left.”

Many who have been around people with cancer or Parkinson’s or strokes or disabilities see the power of God in them to face every day without being better — that’s a miracle.

“It’s just not the kind of miracle we want,” said Hedgeman.

‘THE TOMB OF NEGATIVITY’

“It’s so easy to be trapped in a tomb of negativity,” said Father John Thomas Lane of St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Church in Highland Heights.

I love that phrase, “trapped in the tomb of negativity.”

How many of us feel that way? Politics? Relationships? Finances? Workplace gossip? It can feel like we’re being buried under an avalanche of negativity.

“Jesus knew about negativity,” said Lane. “He felt it. He lived it. He suffered. He died.”

Not only did Jesus endure an agonizing death on the cross, he also was the target of ugly rumors during his three-year public ministry. As he was headed to the cross, he was ridiculed and spat upon. Many who had cheered and followed him earlier abandoned him.

This is one of the most powerful and least mentioned aspects of the Easter story — the emotional suffering of Jesus.

Lane told the story of a man many years ago who spread rumors about him. The man had a major drinking problem. He was on a mission to have Lane removed as pastor. Lane survived, but there were emotional bruises.

“The man later went to A.A. and became sober,” said Lane. “He came to me and apologized. He told others what he had done.”

It was like the man rose out of the tomb of negativity. Healing came to both men with that conversation.

The real miracle of Jesus on Easter is the empty tomb. His disciples went to find him in the grave, but he was gone. Later, he appeared to them after rising from the dead.

“But the scars were still there to be seen by Thomas (his disciple) and others (John 20:24-27),” said Lane. “It shows how we can be scarred by what we’re going through, but still rise above with the power of Jesus Christ.”

EMOTIONAL BATTLES & EASTER

At some point, everyone will be in an emotional or spiritual battle. Irrefutable research reveals that stress has a negative impact on physical health.

“Stress that’s not dealt with can lead to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, obesity and diabetes,” according to the Mayo Clinic website.

That’s another aspect of the “tomb of negativity.”

I know many people who long to have a stable family relationship with a parent or child. But it seems impossible. When it does happen, it seems like a miracle.

But there can be another type of miracle, a quiet one. There is no reconciliation, no matter how hard you try.

“There can be finding a sense of peace when it’s hard to feel peaceful,” said Hedgeman. “Find joy with those people who are close to you.”

FORGIVENESS & EASTER

I know people who are mentally beating themselves up over a failed marriage, a troubled child or messing up a good job. Those things keep them up at night, staring at the ceiling. Yes, it’s true of people of faith, thinking, “I can’t forgive myself.”

Jesus was misunderstood by many because they thought he would set up a powerful kingdom, much like King David. Instead, he kept talking to people about the need for forgiveness.

But my favorite verse in the Bible is John 3:17: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

That’s the message of Easter today to those who are tied up in regrets.

“It’s one of the miracles of Easter,” said Lane. “It’s a fresh start. It’s the lifting of those burdens through the power of forgiveness.”