Easter Sunday

I wrote and read the Easter Narration for our church this year. I'm pasting it below. It went around the music, so it's a little disjointed, but for the most part it flows. Enjoy, and Happy Easter! :)

Most stories begin with “Once Upon a Time.” This story, however, begins with “Once, before time…” when God penned a novel incomparable to anything we could have imagined.

There was a King who created a world for His own glory, but His arrogant creatures constantly rejected His ruler ship, wanting instead to be kings themselves. Because of their rebellion, the King declared their sentence – permanent separation from Him and all things good. The rebels needed a hero to rescue them from their deserved punishment, but no one was qualified to go before the King.

In an amazing act of love that even his flying messengers couldn’t fathom, the King Himself provided the needed Hero: His Princely Son transformed into one of them, moving from a world of eternity to a life trapped by time and space, in order to live a perfect life in complete harmony with the King and in the end, to be the one qualified to take the sentence that was reserved for the guilty creatures.

The King chose a group of people and declared that the Hero would come from among them. Years upon years went by as the people waited. The time came for them to travel to their Homeland, the city of Jerusalem, to celebrate the Passover – an ancient miracle that was used to deliver them from their enslavement in Egypt. They gathered together each year to worship and sing praises to their King Jehovah – through whom their final deliverer would one day come.

During the celebration, word spread quickly that a man named Jesus had entered by the Eastern Gate. Some rushed through the gate to meet him, joining with the crowds that followed Him there from Bethany. Many believed Jesus would be their earthly Ruler, saving them from the oppressive Romans. Although the enemies stood by watching and loathing every moment, the crowd loudly showered praises on Him as he rode in triumph. They cried, “Hosanna! Save us, we pray!”

There were those in the crowd who witnessed many of Jesus’s miracles and wonders. Blind people could see. The crippled were walking around town. Even Lazarus, who was pronounced dead, was alive again. And although His fame spread, there were others who were filled with questions.

Who is this Man? He hangs out with the scum of our society, he has no home or credentials, he doesn’t even look very regal… Where are his Horses? Chariots? Robes? Riches?

He wasn’t remotely what they had expected.

Jesus didn’t appear to be the King, nor did He speak like a future conqueror. When he had spoken to the multitudes on a hillside near the Sea of Galilee, His words were not of this world. He taught of another Kingdom, an eternal one, not confined by time and space. A Kingdom He came from, and to which he would one day return.

During the Passover, Jesus gathered his closest followers and shared a special meal. He explained that the bread was a symbol of his body, and the wine was his blood that would be poured out for all the people. He was giving them hope before the heart-wrenching days that were ahead, assuring them that they would one day dine together again with Him in the Kingdom of God.

The enemies of the God-King took their stand against Jesus. The rebellious people would not submit to the authority of their Creator. In a whirlwind of events, the crowd was swayed against Him. Betrayed, Arrested, Beaten, Abused, Cursed, Crushed, Condemned.

The Perfect Hero, who had stepped out of the throne room of the Almighty to help His hostile enemies, was stabbed with nails and murdered on a cross to die like a criminal pauper.

They thought they had won. They thought they had burned the end of the novel and foiled the plan as their God-King intended, to rewrite their own saga. But where His enemies saw personal triumph mixed with disgust, God saw love – a love that we can’t even begin to put our minds around.

God is not bound by the laws of our land or the rules that dictate our mortal lives. As life poured back into his veins, Jesus ascended to victory.

Jesus – our Prince and Hero - will return, as He promised, to claim His rightful Kingly throne, and until then, He holds out His offer to His creatures – ‘Accept my love, repent of your evil rebellion, and follow Me.’