The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
~John 3:8
The last few weeks in Ohio have been windy. A dear friend who lives in Alabama endured several days of heavy rains and high winds. She shared a video of the rain and wind pelting her property. Twenty-four hours later she sent another video. The difference was surreal. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and there was a sense of calm… peace.
Today is Maundy Thursday in the Christian church. It is part of the Christian church’s celebration of Easter and marks the evening of The Last Supper as depicted in the Bible. During this meal, Jesus gathered with his twelve disciples to remember the Hebrew people’s long-awaited exodus out of Egypt. The Hebrew people sacrificed a lamb and painted their door frames with its blood. As the Angel of Death swept through Egypt killing the first-born son of every household, the Angel passed over every home that was marked with the blood of the lamb. This final plague prompted Pharaoh to let God’s people leave Egypt. The Passover Feast was celebrated as a way to remember God’s goodness and faithfulness.
Jesus would soon be the final Passover Lamb. All of the events that unfolded after The Last Supper ~ the betrayal of Jesus in the Garden, his imprisonment, trial, torture, and crucifixion remind me of the heavy winds and rain that pummeled my friend’s property. There seemed to be no let-up in sight. Jesus’ followers must have watched in horror as their teacher, friend, and Savior was brutally murdered. Their hearts must have been broken; fear and uncertainty surely consumed their souls. At the moment of Jesus’ death, the Bible tells us that the curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom ~ the earth shook and the rocks split. In my mind I can hear the wind roaring and see the rain pelting down.
And then… silence. Silence for three days as Jesus lay in his tomb. On the third day, the unfathomable happened. A dead man rose. Our Jesus defeated sin and death forever. I imagine the birds sang, the sun shone, and the earth exhaled a breath of peaceful adoration for its King.
Wind…. this Easter take a moment to examine your life. Have wind and rain roared through, leaving chaos and despair? The One who silences the wind and rain also conquers sin and death. Jesus transforms lives. He leaves us with His peace.
Have a blessed Easter!