LENT/EASTER: STUCK IN A FORMATIVE CYCLE

Usually it’s not great to be stuck in a cycle but there is one that is formative to our lives that Jesus modeled that we celebrate every year at Easter.  It’s called the Pascal Mystery.  

We celebrate and experience all of it this weekend.  It is the cycle of death, space and silence, and resurrection. 

The Paschal Mystery represents the central  events of Jesus Christ's life, comprising his Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension. These events, which are commemorated in the sacraments, signify the transition from death to life. 

The 4 Key Aspects of the Paschal Mystery:

Passion: The suffering, trials, and carrying of the cross by Jesus, marking the beginning of his final sacrifice.

Death: The crucifixion and death of Jesus on the cross, which serves as the ultimate sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins and the silence that ensued.

Resurrection: Jesus rising from the dead on the third day, proving his victory over sin and death.

Ascension: The bodily return of Jesus into heaven to be with the Father, opening the path for all of us to follow.

Lent has been a season for us to sit in the cycle longer than most protestant tradition does.  We celebrate Good Friday but I cant tell you how many Good Friday services try to soften the blow by ending any form of looking at my own sin and dying to self with don’t worry, Sunday is coming, or take heart we are going to celebrate. 

Although that’s true, it seems to want to numb the pain I might feel by partaking of the pain of Jesus on the cross for my sin.  Too numb the silence of Saturday when the disciples had no clue what to do, no certainty even though they were with Him for 3 full years.  We’re not good wallowers. We don’t want to be stuck in a cycle yet the pascal mystery cycle of death, silence, and resurrection is one worth living into over and over.  Wash, Rinse, Repeat. 

What is this cycle?  Jesus named it well in John 12 when He said, in vs.24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. This was a picture of what was about to happen to Jesus, as is easter weekend is a picture and lens through which to live our life.  Good Friday, death, Saturday Silence the space to wonder what is growing in death, and Sunday Resurrection new life. 

This isn’t a one time a year cycle, it’s the daily invitation we are invited into.  What kind of deaths must we let ourselves experience if we want to really be transformed by this never ending cycle?  This is why celebrating communion, or the Eucharist is important in remembering this cycle that Jesus first entered for us to bring reconciliation but also to show us the path forward for daily transformation.  I find it not surprising that bread and wine are part of this. 

We have all heard the phrase your aging like a fine wine.  We laugh, but wouldn’t we want that to be true of us.  The reality to age like a fine wine takes work .  It takes this paschal mystery cycle to be lived in real time.  But how do I know I am maturing in this way following Jesus?

Ronald Rolheiser in his book Insane for the Light shares, some movements we must walk through as we die to ourselves and the seeds of that fall to the ground.  What is this kind of transformation asking of us?  He says there are seven movements. 

From….

Resentment to Gratitude

Bitterness to Forgiveness

Imagination to Faith

Wishful thinking to real Hope

Sophistication to Childlikeness

Control to Surrender

Achievement to Fruitfulness

Each of these movements could be a kernel of wheat that needs to die in us, so that with time, these too can be resurrected.  Lent has offered us an invitation in its closing days to continue what Christ began seven weeks ago in you. 

Maybe Lent season didn’t go as well as you planned, or you didn’t reach your goals, or it seemed like a hard distracted season.  This next season enters us into Pentecost where we are reminded that the Spirit within you can help in each of the above movements. 

-Read and reflect on John 12:24

Pick one of the above movements that you feel most resistant to. 

Talk with Jesus about that.

-Read and reflect on John 20:19-22

Imagine what you would be like if you partnered with the Holy Spirit in seeing the change to being a person of gratitude or forgiver, or full of faith, or surrendering more easily to the God who loves you….

How might those around you experience you differently?