The opening song from the Rogers and Hammerstein’s musical Oklahoma takes us into the beauty of the setting for the film, with the high corn in the fields and cattle grazing nearby, the sun shining from a bright blue sky filled with white fluffy clouds and birds accompanying Curly, [Gordon MacRae] as he expresses his feelings singing ‘Oh what a beautiful morning…’ It’s a great start to his day as he reflects ‘everything’s going my way…’ I wonder what song is on your hearts as you greet each new day? I am a morning person and love to be out when I can prayer running to see the sunrise as this photo taken just a week ago.
I often check the weather forecast the night before and other than high winds or snow/ice I will venture out, but at least it gives me an idea of what I might face as I run, walk, stop and pray. But I am so often taken by surprise with what I encounter, as I was last week with the sheer majestic detailed beauty of this daffodil shrouded in frost.
This element of surprise as each day unfolds can be both joyous and disturbing and as we move into the familiarity of the Easter story and all that Jesus did for you and me, may we reflect on every detail of this. Jesus went on this journey fully knowing in his divinity what he would face but in his humanness felt overwhelmed by his emotional response in the ‘garden of tears’ and was far from singing the sentiment
‘everything’s going my way’ especially when it was the way of the cross. Try to step into his shoes on each of the days of Holy Week and in awe and wonder consider his feelings and understand just how much he loves us. So in all the horrendous difficulty of the cross let us not avoid it by jumping from the celebration of Palm Sunday to Easter day. Let’s experience with Christ the last meal shared, the betrayal at the table, his anguish in the garden and the denial in the court yard. Let’s in empathy share in every lashing and the pain of the crown and nails delivered into a broken world that so needs to live out God’s sacrificial love. And only then can we truly celebrate the beautiful morning’s glorious sunrise on Easter Day and the resurrection power of hope in Christ as we proclaim ‘See what a morning, gloriously bright, with the dawning of hope…’.
What attention will you give to Jesus the one we can call Saviour and Friend this Easter?
Have a blessed Easter deepening your relationship with Jesus.
Your friend and servant
Alan