The Best Sequel

18 Apr

The only reason ever to make a sequel is to spend more time with the characters that people love: to tell more of their story. ~ Elizabeth Banks

When it comes to sequels, there are two different camps opposed to one another:  those who absolutely love them and those who abhor them.  The people who do not like sequels often state that they are more of a commercialization of the movie so that the producers can make more money and not necessarily elaborate a story.  The proponents for sequels say that the extra movies give opportunity to flush out characters and story lines.

We are, in many way, in the best sequel of them all:  the resurrection story of Jesus Christ.  Each day, throughout the Octave of Easter, we celebrate the victory of Jesus over sin and death.  As we do so, we have many characters exposed to the light.  Yesterday, we saw some of the “bad guys” flushed out in the gospel account of maintaining that the body of Jesus was stolen by the disciples while the guards slept on duty.  That story definitely got a lot of play in the early Church and there are still people who think that the resurrection was a hoax.

Today, the spotlight turned on Mary Magdalene as she encountered the Risen Lord.  John the Evangelist tells us that she was the first to see Jesus risen from the dead and that she was the one that Jesus commissioned to tell the apostles of His resurrection.  She joyfully went to them and said, “I have seen the Lord!”, and then told them everything that had happened to her when she went to the tomb to mourn.

We go the Lord in our own lives as well.  Sometimes we go to mourn, other times we go to question or to celebrate.  Our encounters with the Lord are always special and have the benefit of being absolutely unique.  God spends totally undivided time with all of His people whenever they go to Him.

That is at the heart of the Easter message.  We are to go to the Lord, to find Him in our daily lives, to converse with Him, and then to take the message that He gives us to all those who meet.  Our encounter with the Lord may be personal and private; however, the message of the Lord is universal.

The Lord is risen as He said.  Alleluia, alleluia!

FAITH ACTION:  Spend more time with that character you love:  Jesus.  Carve out time in your calendar today to converse with the Lord.