Hurtgen: The hope of Easter

The week leading up to Easter is one of the most significant in the Christian calendar. Beginning with Palm Sunday in which a crowd enthusiastically welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem only to conclude with another crowd condemning him to death. Easter, the third day, celebrates Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Yes, there are many cultural traditions surround Easter, each centered on life's newness. The core of Easter is however Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection. Here briefly you will find two foundational implications of Easter.

First, Easter gives hope in this life. Like many ages before, we live in an age that questions the meaning and value of life itself. War, disease, natural disasters, families, and friends divided over political loyalties fuel a sense of uncertainty and bewilderment, fueling questions of purpose and meaning in this life. Easter tells us there is a reason and solution for the tragedies we experience.

Easter tells us that death is our reality but has not always been that way. Easter tells us that the greatest crisis of our lives is the separation from God that marks and mars everything we see and cannot see with the naked eye. Nothing in this world functions as God created it to. Easter, however, turns our attention to such fundamental questions: our lives' meaning, purpose, and direction. Easter points us to renewal, second chances, the love of God, and the love of family and friends.

Easter also gives hope for the life to come. The resurrection means that death, the last enemy, has been defeated. The Bible boldly claims that all who look to Christ in faith are conquerors of death. They possess a spirit that is immediately with the Lord upon death and a certainty of the resurrection of their own mortal flesh. Easter Sunday proclaims that death has lost its grip. We can truly live now, for there is no more fear of life or death.

In the past handful of years, my family has experienced a great deal of death. We have cried at the funerals of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends. But at each funeral, we had a hope that filtered our grief--a hope because of Easter -- a hope that is a firm foundation -- a hope that this life in its brevity matters for you and has a purpose in this generation. Easter matters, for it tells us of life now and life forever.