Doing Easter First

The Resurrection of Christ
by Rembrandt

Although I've never attended a liturgical church, I find beauty in the church calendar. The solemnity of Holy Week paints in dark brush strokes the agony of our Lord and draws our eyes irresistibly toward Easter, toward the light, just like Rembrandt did in his famous painting The Resurrection of Christ. The impact of Easter fades if we refuse to walk the road to the cross.

But somehow the apostle Paul got this mixed up. Maybe he was chronologically challenged, but he blundered when stating his life's goal in Philippians 3:10, "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (NKJV). Everyone knows you have to die before you can rise. Why switch it up like this?

The answer is in the meaning of the cross. If Good Friday were only about getting into heaven, Holy Week would make sense. I should spend that long contemplating the price Jesus paid for me before celebrating His resurrection. However, the cross is much more than payment for my ticket to a good place.

The cross is God's invitation to me to be His friend. He yearns for fellowship with me. He wants to be close, but friendship isn't just mushy feelings. When we're friends, we bear each others' burdens. We carry our friends' sufferings and weep their tears.

How can I be the friend of God? I'm already cracking under the weight of my little problems. How can I bear the burdens of God, who carries the weight of the world? Paul knew the answer. He didn't carry the cross first. He visited the empty tomb.

If I still smile when my heart is aching, if you see peace in my eyes when the storm is strong, I'll tell you the secret. I can face the darkness because God gave me the light. I can bear the pain because He gave me the power. I can walk through Good Friday because I did Easter first.