ST. LUKE 13:22-24
APRIL 25, 2009
HOW DID YOU CELEBRATE EASTER?
22 And He went through the cities and
villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one
said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
St. Luke 13:22-24 (NKJV)
This may seem like a very strange text that I have chosen to talk
about the Easter Celebration. It is my hope that as I share these
thoughts that you will see that the relationship between the theme
for this devotion and the text really do go together.
We must begin by remembering that both the Seasons of Christmas and
Easter begin with the Holy Days of Christmas and Easter. The
Christmas Season continues to the Festival of the Epiphany, January
6. The Easter Season goes much longer, this year until the Vigil of
Pentecost on May 30. The length of the Easter Season depends on the
date of Easter. That date changes yearly but the Season always ends
on the Vigil of Pentecost.
The first question then becomes, “Do you celebrate Easter only by
observing it during the hour of Worship on Easter Morning?” Or, “Do
you observe it the harder way by intentionally celebrating it each
day of the Season?”
The second question is “How do you prepare for the Easter Sunday
Worship Service?” Is it in the selection of clothing to be worn
that day? Years ago many women had to have a new hat and purse or
they did not feel properly dressed for the service. Today is it
still a high priority to have a new outfit? This applies to both
male and female. Or is the greatest preparation found in planning
and cooking the Family meal or in coloring eggs or buying Easter
presents. All of this takes time and work, but it is still the easy
way to celebrate. Here is the harder way to prepare for Easter
Worship. Many Good Friday Worship Services now conclude in
Silence. The worshipper is encouraged to leave in silence and to
contemplate on the death and suffering of Jesus on the Cross until
they return on Easter Morning. The vast majority of worshippers will
keep silent walking out of the church but may well stop and tell a
joke to a fellow worshipper, or as soon as they are in the car turn
on the radio for their favorite music or sporting event. And so it
continues throughout the weekend to the point that some might not
make it to Easter Worship because they were too tired from the
events in their lives on Saturday. Because so few people do it, the
hardest way must be to spend those few hours concentrating on the
fact that Jesus suffered and died on the Cross for me. This could
take place in planned family discussions and in many other ways.
The third question is, “What was the most meaningful thing for me
from the Easter Worship Hour? If you took the easy way and did
nothing to prepare then the things you would remember would be the
beautiful music, the wonderful display of Easter flowers, how
wonderful someone looked in their choice of clothes for the day and
the joy in seeing some folks at worship who had not been there for
several months. If you prepare the hard way, then at Worship when
you sang, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” you offered your thanks
to God that His Son arose from the tomb for you. Or if you sang, “I
Know That My Redeemer Lives” there is no doubt in your mind that He
Lives for you that you might have Life after you enter the grave.
This returns us to our text. It is important to ask why it is so
hard to enter by the narrow gate. Not too far from where Jesus was
speaking, there was one of the many fortresses that were situated
throughout the country. To get to these fortresses from the
traveled paths, there was a long, winding, narrow path that led to a
narrow gate. The path was probably steep in places as most
fortresses were located in the hilly areas. In my mind, the gate
was open and the path was not guarded. Nothing would hinder someone
going through the gate except for the hard work of getting from the
traveled path to the gate. It is difficult to paint a picture with
words that would describe this difficult task, yet the people
understood. This is not unlike the gate to the Kingdom of Heaven.
The gate is open but the path to get there is hard. The path is
Jesus (“I am the Way,............... no one comes to the Father but
by Me”) The path is hard as Jesus said, “Take up your cross and
follow Me.”
The only way that we can do things the hard way is when we ask God
to send His Holy Spirit upon us that we can shut out the
temptations, the noise of the world. The only way we can experience
the TRUE joy of Easter is to ask God to send His Holy Spirit to lead
us to prepare the hard way. The only way to enter by the narrow
gate, or as it says in another verse, for a camel to go thought the
eye of a needle is to ask God to send His Holy Spirit to help us
through the hard task of striving to enter through the narrow gate
for it is then and only then that we will live in the unimaginable
Joy of the Resurrection.
Did you only enjoy Easter? I hope not. We are still in the Easter
Season. There is still time if you are willing to approach the
celebration of Easter the hard way. Join with me in claiming the
promise “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life. (St. John 3:16 )
WE PRAY: LORD JESUS, Why is it so easy to sing the Words of Praise
on Easter Sunday but so hard to live those same words in the days
that follow? Lord, lead me to read and study Your Holy Word on a
daily basis; then fill me with the Holy Spirit to lead me through
the Word so that I can walk the hard and difficult path to the
glories of Your Eternal Kingdom. AMEN.
A SUGGESTION FOR LIVING THE DEVOTION
Select a time and place each day where you can spend at least 30
minutes of uninterrupted time reading of the Bible. Each person
needs to develop a Study Plan that meets their needs. I prefer to
read each of the Testaments from the beginning. I think it is
important to begin each session with prayer and to leave a few
minutes at the end of the time period to ask yourself what you have
read and what meaning did it have for your life?