To Anyone Who Is A Weather Fan

To anyone who is a weather fan, it’s kind of sad to see the month of March go. We were given everything from cold, sleet, and snow to warmth, winds and thunderstorms. Plus a tornado, perhaps a little too close for comfort. But, Time marches on; and now we enter April. Our perception of April is that of warmth, blossoms, and gentle showers. However, if we go back in the records far enough, we can find all of March weather madness has also occurred in April. We’re about to find out whether April will bring us excitement or tranquility.
For we Christians this year, April is the month of Easter. Although the Death and Resurrection story is familiar; and we know the ending, still, it tells of a time of fear and excitement. And, although the story at the time of its telling was scary, the final chapter produces, for us, much tranquility. At least, as we learn to trust and believe.
Even though we are hardened by existence in our present confused culture and amongst a self-absorbed populace full of violence and well-publicized raw emotions, it still seems almost unbelievable that, even in the days of Jesus, a mob could have been led to call for the death of someone who had openly healed, revived and shown love to so many. Yet, the forces of Evil were strong and inexplicable in those times, and they remain so today.
And so we live, as did those who encountered Jesus following His Resurrection, with our human limitations of faith and belief. It was a struggle for the disciples to trust that a Man, so brutally crucified, could be standing in their midst, seemingly strong and healthy. Indeed, at His first appearance, the disciples “were startled and frightened thinking they saw a ghost.” [Luke 24:37] Even though they had heard that the women had been to an empty tomb, and the two disciples had walked with Him on the road to Emmaus. Even though they had come to believe that He was the Son of God. Faith was fragile.
Jesus “rebuked them for their lack of faith” [Mark 6:14]. How much more for us today. We who never walked with the earthly Savior, who never witnessed the miracles, who never heard His wisdom and instruction, face to face. Down through the generations, this story continues to test our belief. Our faith, like theirs, is fragile. We hope that, with the re-telling of this old, old story your faith is strengthened and this Easter will bring blessings and peace. And April results in warmth, blossoms and gentle showers.                          Virginia                                                                     Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
Mark 16:14-15