Easter Let Loose

Easter has come once again! The creation has been bursting forth with evidence of the resurrection for weeks now: Green the grass, ripe the bud, pink the flower, blue the sky, beautiful the butterfly, risen the Lord! Easter has come, but it is not gone!

In the drama, The Trial of Jesus, John Masefield has the centurion Longinus report to Pilate after the crucifixion of Jesus. Longinus had been the officer in charge of the execution, and after his official report, Procula, Pilate’s wife calls the centurion to come and tell her how the prisoner had died. This was important to her because she had dreamed about Jesus the night before his death and tried to warn Pilate to let him go.

After the centurion gives her the account of Jesus’ death, she asks, “Do you think he is dead?” Longinus answers, “No, lady, I don’t.” “Then where is he?” asks Procula. Longinus replies, “Let loose in the world, lady, where neither Roman nor Jew can stop his truth.”

Indeed, Jesus is let loose in the world. His truth continues to change hearts and lives. It is such a profound truth that we cannot let it be forgotten or misinterpreted. It is the One Truth that can set us free.

One Sunday late in Lent, a Sunday School teacher decided to ask her class what they knew about Easter. The first little fellow suggested, “Easter is when all the family comes to the house and we eat a big turkey and watch football.” The teacher suggested that perhaps he was thinking about Thanksgiving, not Easter. Next, a pretty little girl said, “Easter is when you come down stairs in the morning and you see all the beautiful presents under the tree.”

At this point, the teacher was quite disappointed. After explaining that the girl was probably thinking about Christmas, she called on a boy with his hand tentatively raised in the air. Her spirits perked up as the boy said, “Easter is the time when Jesus was crucified and buried.” She felt she had gotten through to at least one child, until he added, “And then He comes out of the grave, and if He sees His shadow we have six more weeks of winter.”

What do you believe about Easter’s truth? Is it accurate? In what way is Jesus alive in your world, your life? Ponder anew the mighty truth of Easter. Let its truth loose in every corner of your thoughts. Jesus is alive!