Celebrating Easter - Devotionals

By Shirley Jackson

Editor’s Note: Our sister Shirley Jackson wrote these words a year ago, as COVID-19 lockdowns had been in place for only a few weeks. One year on, we are still not free of the virus and its painful consequences. Since the encouragement of this article remains so relevant, we thought we would reprint it once more as we prepare to celebrate Easter 2021. 

As I write these words, my country prepares to face the peak of the Coronavirus Crisis, even as we make plans to celebrate Easter. I can’t help but marvel at the paradox. One event stirs fear in our hearts as we watch the number of deaths grow. The other, because it holds the only solution to death, offers a beacon of hope: 

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Hebrews 2:14-15 (NIV)

Most of us can relate to this fear of death. Beyond the mystery of the unknown, death separates us from the ones we love. Communication, once taken for granted, is gone. Our loved ones no longer hear the words we long to say, just as we can no longer hear their voices.  

Because Jesus understood this heartbreak, He prepared His disciples prior to His death. Just hours before His crucifixion, He offered these words of comfort: 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

John 14:1-3 (NIV)

Jesus longed for His disciples to know their separation would be temporary. As believers, we can hold on to the same promise. 

Jesus replied,  “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” (John 14:23 NIV) 

These words soothe the hearts of those of us who choose to believe and to obey Christ. Although all of us will still face physical death, we know it will be temporary. We can look forward to eternal life with Jesus.   

But what about those who are not believers? I fear more for the people I love, but who have not yet surrendered their lives to Christ. Without the resurrection of Jesus, there is no solution for death. 

Enter Easter. I can’t help but wonder at God’s timing. Never before in history has the reality of our own mortality reached such global proportions. This pandemic has only solidified a truth we all know, but rarely acknowledge: Tomorrow is promised to no one.  

Even as people wrestle with this reality, references to Jesus and the empty tomb abound on social media. As an unbeliever growing up in the United States, I remember becoming aware of Jesus at two specific times each year: Christmas and Easter.

My curiosity pushed me to search for the story between the crib and the cross. Although I tried to find the answers on my own, I only truly understood when a co-worker offered to study the Bible with me.  

I know I am not alone.  

All around us, people are searching to find meaning and answers for our current situation. As Christians, we have the unique opportunity to share the one truth we all need to remember: 

The empty tomb empties death of its power. 

Easter will look different this year. Because of social distancing protocols still in effect, many of our celebrations will be limited to virtual experiences.

But different doesn’t necessarily mean inferior. Despite its unique challenges, the Coronavirus Crisis could actually usher in one of our most meaningful Easter celebrations. As we share our hope in Christ with the people around us, let us remember Paul’s encouragement: 

As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says,

“In the time of my favor I heard you, 
    and in the day of salvation I helped you.”

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

2 Corinthians 6:1-2 (NIV)

Friday, March 12

Read: Hebrews 2:14-15; John 14:1-3, 23.

Reflect: It is a normal human response for us to fear the natural enemies of our soul: death and deception (Satan). Jesus BROKE that power over us – this is true for all those who choose to surrender our lives to Him in baptism and dedicate ourselves to following Him. However -- as long as we live in this world, these enemies continue to attack and gnaw away at our faith in Jesus’ triumph for us personally.  Death means separation from God. Satan’s essence is to lie and deceive.

Take a few minutes to identify the relationships or circumstances in your own personal “journey to the foot of the cross,” which might be rocking your confidence in Jesus’ reassuring words: that He has prepared a place for you; that you know the way there; that God truly and perfectly loves you; that God and Jesus have come to you and made their home with you for eternity. 

Respond: Take a few minutes to pray out loud today, perhaps using these words of Jesus we read from John 14. Share with Him honestly and specifically any doubt or fear that may have settled in our hearts. 

Saturday, March 13

Read: Matthew 26:6-13

Reflect: This woman came to Jesus, though it seems she was not among the invited guests at the meal in this private home. Jesus says, “When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.” How moved her heart must have been to go to these lengths! It seems likely she must have been among those who heard Jesus predict His death at the hands of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. How she must have believed wholeheartedly His words! Though Jesus calls her faith “beautiful,” she was criticized by His disciples for her ostentatious act. They saw it – at this point in time, anyway – as “waste,” and were indignant with her. 

Does the risk of being criticized and misunderstood stop me from some public affirmation of my love for God, and appreciation for Jesus’ death on the cross for me? 

Respond: Pray for a pure heart in this and take some “public” action today that unmistakably shows your devotion to Jesus. This could be a post on social media or sharing your appreciation for Jesus in a conversation with someone who does not yet follow Him, for example. 

Sunday, March 14

Read: Mark 14:1-9 

Reflect: (Editor’s note: an account of Jesus being anointed by a woman appears in all four gospels. Scholars have had differing views at various times in history about whether or not these were four separate events, at least two separate events, or all the same event. It perhaps helps to know that at the time of the New Testament, Simon was a very common name; anointing feet with oil or perfume was a usual part of Jewish funeral ritual; and the breaking of the container so that it could never be used again was a symbol of grief and the finality of death.)1

If you have been a Christian for any significant length of time, it’s pretty likely you’ve sat in a women’s class, at some point or other, entitled, “She Did What She Could.” This detail in Scripture can speak to us so powerfully “for such a time as this,” (Esther 4:14) when there are so many things that are outside of our control that can (and do) cause us tremendous anxiety and “dis-ease”:  the state of the COVID-19 pandemic; the state of our finances or health; the political situation wherever we are; ongoing racism and conflicts and misunderstandings between nations and tribes and family members and church members, and on and on. 

Respond: In our own journey to the cross, may we decide to leave the things we are not able to influence or control at the foot of the cross, trusting in Jesus’ victory. These things might need to be stated out loud in prayer to God, in order to effectively leave them in His care. Pray for strength and wisdom, and choose to take some kind of action to demonstrate love for Jesus today.  

1 https://research.avondale.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1082&context=theo_papers, accessed March 10, 2021 

2 Thanks to our brother David Jung for his graphic, “Things You Can Control”: David C. Jung, RPC, Q. Med Facilitator & Consultant, ACHIEVE Centre for Leadership. Adapted from https://www.habitsforwellbeing.com/the-circle-of-concern-and-influence/, accessed March 10, 2021

Monday, March 15

Read: Luke 7:36-50

Reflect:  Jesus said to this woman, “…her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much.” Though we probably don’t like to think about it, each one of us is guilty of many sins. Some of us, on the other hand, may dwell incessantly on those “many sins,” leaning too far over toward the other end of the spectrum. No one escapes that fact of human nature – it is as certain as the fact that death will eventually come to claim each one of us. This woman seems to have had an active awareness of her “many sins,” which, though we know nothing of the state of her mental health or her personality or family of origin and its possible trauma, inspired great love for Jesus and great faith in Him. 

Think for a moment about my own assortment of “many sins.” Take enough time to be able to name them specifically, at least one or two of them; and no more than one or two, if you happen to be of the more-easily-accused type of person in your thoughts. (Neither is “better,” by the way. It’s just who we happen to be at the moment.) 

Respond: Jesus said to this woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”  Claim this promise before God in prayer, refusing to trust in our own performance, in our own goodness or lack of it; but rather in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection on our behalf.  Consider voicing the sins you thought of, and Jesus’ victory over them, to someone close to you. 

Tuesday, March 16

Read: John 11:12; John 12: 1-9

Reflect: Life on this earth can be both rich with exquisite blessings and really complicated with pain and trauma. Imagine what it must have been like to be present at a private dinner with a man who had actually been raised from the dead. You’d think that that miracle would have been the center of conversation and would have eclipsed anything and everything else going on in anyone’s life at the time. But no. Swirling around in the current of time at this moment was also Judas’ duplicity; Mary’s grief as she interrupts the flow of the meal to perform a funeral ritual for her Lord and Savior; the certainty of Jesus’ impending death; the mixed motives of the large crowd who turn up, clamoring to see the two celebrities, Jesus and Lazarus; and the corruption, the unbelievable murderous intent, of the Jewish religious and political leaders. Everything was hastening toward the awful event of Jesus’ crucifixion – and then the triumphant miracle of the resurrection, proven already in the extended life of Lazarus, there at the table.  We live amidst the same kind of spiritual and emotional chaos. What can I do today to connect to Jesus in the same kind of deeply meaningful way that Mary did in this passage? 

Respond: Take some meaningful time with God today in the midst of whatever chaos there may be at the moment. Remember the power of the resurrection! Demonstrate to Him in some way the desire to focus in faith on Him, the One who is ultimately victorious for us over all our enemies, disappointments and difficulties. 

Wednesday, March 17

Read: Mark 8:31-33, 10:32-34; Hebrews 10:39

Reflect: Jesus was speaking plainly about some very painful and upsetting truths on His way to the cross. He did not minimize them, even though it was clear that Peter did not want to hear what Jesus had to say, at first. As I follow along the Way with Jesus, do I minimize my own or other people’s pain? It can be confusing, as we don’t want to complain; and yet God wants worshippers who worship “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). What are my true feelings? When they are negative, do I, can I name them before God? The Bible is full of raw, emotional laments which God does not address as “complaining” in a sinful sense. Rather, we are taught that the prayer of others, following our confession, is healing (James 5:16); as is pouring our authentic hearts out to God (Psalm 62:8) in prayer. Am I skimming over, stuffing, or minimizing some painful thoughts or emotions? Or am I allowing a litany of negative thoughts to repeat themselves in my head, without mindfully depositing them at the Lord’s feet in prayer? 

Respond: Allow yourself to be specific and honest in prayer. Name any negative emotions before God and tell someone else about them, asking them to pray for you. 

Thursday, March 18

Read: Mark 11:12-25; Isaiah 11:1-5

Reflect: As I imagine myself in the group of women following Jesus on His way to the cross, I think that at this point I might have been really tied up in knots about what on earth was going on. Jesus seems…different somehow. I can imagine being taken aback: why curse a fig tree for having no figs when it isn’t even the season for bearing fruit?  And then Jesus is making a terrible scene in the temple! Offensive, impatient, violent…even dangerous, Jesus seems. Suddenly I don’t feel attracted to following Jesus but rather repelled. How do you respond when you see or hear something that, at first glance, seems so wrong; be it having to do with family, with classmates or teachers, at work, or church? Do you immediately believe your own first impressions? I am convicted about how wrong the conclusions I may jump to can be; how quickly I may condemn someone in my heart, without having access to all necessary information to make a righteous judgment. In this case, the time had come for God to pronounce judgment on His chosen people, and Jesus was doing nothing other than exactly what God had told Him to do (John 5:30, 6:38).

Respond: Recommit with God in prayer to having the heart of a disciple (literally, from the Latin, a learner) to be curious rather than judgmental, if that can be a challenge. May God help us all continually grow in self-awareness. May “…the eyes of your heart be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”(Ephesians 1:18-19) Praise God for the evidence of that power in the resurrection!