He's Not There

After the curtain has been drawn, the last stage light put out and all the casts wiped off their make-up and hung their wardrobe, the recent Easter play will become just another buzz word for the next few days. Or should it be? What does Easter really mean to us? Have we made it to another ritual play, a yearly staple adding on to the already many ‘Christian things’ we need to do? Two thousand years ago the scenario was not much different. From the Triumphal Entry of Jerusalem right till the Crucifixion, the breathtaking pace of the drama as it unfolded left very little room for the people present to make sense of all the going on. The after taste of the drama varied. For most it was another gruesome end to a good man, for the disciples it was a sledgehammer blow to their dream and for the religious elites it was pure relieve from the thorn in their flesh. But what is the aftertaste of the recent Easter for you? Just like the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, all too often we left the ‘Play’ going back to our daily struggles, hardly could recall what the ‘Message’ of the ‘Play’ is (Luke 24:13-32). We left feeling disillusioned and disappointed. Where is the power?! Where is the New Kingdom?! Have we also forgotten the ‘Message’ today? Unknowing to the two disciples, Jesus’ presence was not far from them. Like them, though we may not recognize Him in our midst, He is there. Let us not be too quick to reset our eyes to our daily struggles. Linger on a little longer. Listen to what the ‘Lone Traveler to Emmaus’ has to offer. And in doing so, we too may be able to echo the same words the disciples said two thousand years ago, “Were not our hearts burning within us…” The Message of Easter is still relevant and powerful. It was never meant to be a Shakespearish drama. It was meant for you.