Matthew 28:16-20
We’ve just come through the Easter season. How would you describe this past Easter for yourself, if you could only use punctuation marks like, a comma, a period, a question mark or an exclamation mark. Joe Lamusio, in his book “If I should die before I live,” writes about how some might experience Easter as a comma. It makes you stop, pause, think and listen. But that’s all it does for you. Nothing changes. Others might view Easter as a big bold period. That is you thought you’d feel excited about it, but Easter felt empty. Some might view it as a question mark. You’re not sure about Easter or where you stand with Christ. Still others might have experienced this past Easter as an exclamation point. You experienced renewal and excitement as you once again enjoyed and embraced the gift of the cross and resurrection.
LoMusio then points out how the disciples moved through the punctuation marks that Easter weekend. When Jesus died on the cross, on Good Friday, Easter became a period for them. Everything they dreamed and hoped for appeared to come to a dead stop. They spent the rest of Friday and Saturday bewildered and grieving at the sudden end of what they thought was their life purpose. But then came Sunday and the period changed to a question mark. They heard the women speak of seeing Jesus’ alive. Some of them went into the empty tomb. Later that day, the question mark became an exclamation point. They encountered the risen Christ!
But the exclamation point of Easter wasn’t the end of the story.
