Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

- Luke 9:23-25 (New International Version)

As I have reflected on the state of the world and the state of my spirit throughout these days of Lent, I have been awestruck by the amount of death in this world. Death from earthquakes in New Zeeland and Japan, death from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Libya, death from illness and famine and peril and sword, and death from self destructive behaviors that invade our neighborhoods like a plague out of the Middle Ages. I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach almost every time I read the news that we are not OK and that our best efforts to build a society that is good and benevolent have made things even worse. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday only reinforce these thoughts. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” are said as the sign of the cross is made in ashes on the hands and foreheads of believers, signifying the inevitability of death in our world. Even Jesus, the most innocent human in all of creation, was subjected to death—a death he did not deserve.

Then I think about the Good News. In the midst of this very troubling year, there is something at work in this world that death can never overcome, the ultimate power of Resurrection. There is nothing that can die that cannot be raised. God has promised us that and sealed this covenant on the third day. Death is never God’s final answer. The question for us is do we really believe this? On an intellectual level, I’m sure that we do. We know that God is calling us into a glorious future, but in our gut, do we really trust God enough to stand up to the evil power of this world with love instead violence and increasing hate? Do we really trust God enough to stand up to the sin in our own lives and own up to our failures instead of running from them? Do we trust God enough to give our lives so that others may experience resurrection with us? The world is constantly selling us death, are we buying?

While death comes in all kinds of forms, so does resurrection. Embrace the Easter promise. Embrace the cross and the empty tomb. Walk in the difficulty and hardship of this world and know that God has always been and will always be able to redeem it. God bless you on your journey to resurrection.

May the joy and love and hope of Easter be with you always!