As a newer retiree, I’ve checked a few things off my “wish list” of retirement adventures. Taking my wife to Alaska last year, making it to Spring training this year, trying to read more books.
I still want to make a trip out West and especially visit the Grand Canyon. I understand it’s a place that takes your breath away.
Editor Esther Wanning wrote about her first trip to the Canyon, and quoted nature writer John Muir: “Try as I may, not in the least sparing myself, I cannot tell the hundredth part of the wonders of its features — the side-canyons, gorges, alcoves, cloisters and amphitheaters of vast sweep and depth . . .” (Esther Wanning, “For a Change, the North Rim,” www.nytimes.com, June 21, 1987).
Author and photographer Stefanie Payne said, “There will never be a photograph of the Grand Canyon that can adequately describe its depth, breadth, and true beauty.”
President Theodore Roosevelt said, “The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison. Beyond description.”
Another first-time visitor simply stated, “Something monumental happened here.”
Unexpected
Easter shouts that something significant happened in the garden on that morning just days after the crucifixion of Jesus, and we celebrate it not just on Easter, but every Sunday when we gather worship our living Lord.
The Gospel of Mark (16:1–8) records the ladies came prepared to anoint the body of Jesus. They were still processing the horrible crucifixion they witnessed on Friday and were grieving Jesus’ death.
They expected to find a sealed tomb guarded by intimidating Roman soldiers. If they could access the tomb, they expected to find the body of Jesus.
Yet, according to Matthew’s account (28:1–8), something completely unexpected greeted them.
They suddenly found themselves in the middle of a great earthquake. I’ve felt the split-second quivering and brief loss of equilibrium of a small tremor, but never a great earthquake. The ground beneath them quaked and quivered.
Then an angel descended from heaven and rolled back the stone. The angel was as bright as a lightening flash. The soldiers standing guard were no longer intimidating. They were as dead men, frozen in fright.
The angel next delivered a surprising message to the women: “I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:5, 6).
You mean to tell me that Jesus, whom we watched die, is alive!? He is risen from the dead? How crazy is that? Can you imagine their astonishment?
‘Totally blown away’
They were totally shocked in a good way! In that instant of realizing the tomb was empty because Jesus was alive, they came face to face with divine mystery and the supernatural power of God.
Something amazing happened here. I imagine something dramatic happened to them. They were impacted by the wonder of Easter. Simply awestruck. Totally blown away.
Does the reality of the resurrection blow us away?
Is wonder the missing ingredient of our Easter experience? Do we sense wonder at all? Or are we used to the old, old story? Do we have that feeling of surprise and awe? Do we ever expect God to do the unexpected?
G. K. Chesterton wrote, “The world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder.”
Rick Ezell wrote, “The trouble is that we don’t feel wonder anymore. Wonder is rare, especially as we grow older. The catch phrase of our culture is: ‘been there, done that.’ We are spiritually and emotionally obtuse. We are a people saturated with analysis, explanations, and experiences — but void of wonder.”
Not only do we need childlike faith, but we need childlike wonder. Does the empty tomb astonish us? Does the power of God overwhelm us? Do we have any awe? Do we experience wonder?
Easter is a tremendous work of God.
The tomb is empty. The heavy stone is rolled away. Death is conquered. The power of sin is vanquished. The certainty of eternal life is possible, and we celebrate life’s abundance, meaning and purpose through Jesus Christ.
Do you want to recover a sense of wonder? Then experience the presence of the living Lord. He is risen! He is risen indeed!
