Everything Between Grief and Hope

By Bob von Trebra

Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you – unless you have come to believe in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Happy Easter! Christ is risen! During the recently completed season of Lent, we have been invited to follow a devotional with the theme, “Everything in Between…”. The “betweenness” we were to reflect on for Easter Sunday was “Everything Between Grief and Hope.”

In recent years, as I have thought about the Easter story, I have wondered about the Sabbath day before that first Easter morning: the terrible Friday night when Jesus was crucified and laid in a tomb, and the following Saturday. The gospel stories don’t say much about that day, but the grief must have been overwhelming for those who loved and followed Jesus. They had lost their dear friend and teacher to death – a gruesome and unjust death. But it is important to remember that people can grieve not only the death of people they care about, but also the loss of anything they value. The followers of Jesus grieved the death of Jesus, certainly, but they also grieved the loss of hope for a new kind of world. They may have wondered whether life was still worth living. They probably didn’t feel between anything. Rather, they probably felt more like they were at a dead-end. Grief can feel like that. Hope was unrealistic, and nowhere to be seen.

I don’t know what happened on that first Easter morning. The biblical tradition claims there was an empty tomb. But according to biblical accounts, many of the followers of Jesus seemed to experience his living presence with them – even after his death. Exactly how that happened is a mystery, but the experience transformed them.

In my years of living and ministering in church communities, I believe I have also experienced that living presence at times: when we worship and feast together; when we share and learn together; when we do our mission work together; when we face challenges together. Those experiences can transform us. My faith is that Christ is alive and present with us even more often than we catch glimpses of that presence.

Whatever else Easter might mean, for me it means that Christ is still alive and with us. And there is always hope – even when we can’t see it or understand it. In the midst of grief at what people can do to one another and to our world, there is hope that we can be transformed, and a new way of human life is possible.

Christ is risen indeed! Hallelujah!