On to the next big event!

     We are a people who are obsessed with the next thing, the next person, and the next big event.  Christians aren't immune to this phenomena.   We too look to the next big event.  At Thanksgiving we look for Christmas.  At Christmas we look for Easter.  At Easter we look for Memorial Day.  at Memorial Day we look for Labor Day.  On Labor day we look for Thanksgiving.  And the cycle repeats itself year in and year out.  The events of the year seem to be the guiding forces in our lives.  Once upon a time these were set as feasts and festivals for the Israelites in order that they could remember what the Lord had done for them.  It was also a time of renewal and rededication of you and your family to what God wanted for the people of Israel.  Times have changed, commercialism has crept in to the point that most holidays now reflect "sales events" for everything.  The next big event isn't then about Jesus but about the world.  When anything over shadows Jesus, it's not about God.  The next big event is today.  Easter is here.  It marks the empty tomb and the risen Son of God.  His Resurrection is our a reflection of the believers resurrection.  The concept of our being dead prior to having life in Him is dimmed today and so is the resurrection.  Between the Easter bunny and chocolate vying for attention over who has what new outfit; so many miss  the point.  They don't remember.  The world has convinced them there is no need to remember.
     I'm not suggesting we need to adhere to legalism in order to have our priorities right.  There is no Scriptural basis for that.  What I am saying is that we need to remember the reason for the event.  Celebrating our birthdays isn't so much about being 63 in May (my birthday!) as it is that God has brought me through another year.  His grace and mercy allowed me to stay on earth another year for His will to be done.  Birthdays are not future focused because the Christian (and non-believer) are not promised tomorrow.  Our lives can be demanded of us at any time.  Celebrating the birth of Christ is a fulfillment of prophecy.  For centuries the Israelites looked forward to the coming of the Messiah.  Future focused.  Then when he came, because it wasn't like they defined it, they denied him, arrested him, killed him, and put him in a tomb.  He wasn't the future they envisioned he would be.  Yet, we celebrate his birth today as a gift given years ago.  Get the difference?  We celebrate another year of life that has been given to us.  His birthday celebration is for eternity in the future!  And so we come to the next big event.  Easter.
     No one hid Easter eggs on the third day.  No one had an Easter basket.  There were no new Easter outfits.  Easter began with dread, depression and delusions.  A world had ceased to exist.  The Savior of the world was dead and the believers were left alone.  They saw an end rather than a beginning.  The next big event had just taken place three days earlier when they killed Jesus hanging him on a cross.  Life as they knew it was over.  They knew Jesus had said he would be resurrected on the third day.  Yet, they also knew he would be handed over to the religious authorities (those who knew the prophecy of his birth, death and resurrection) and killed.  When the event happened, what was left was shock, disbelief, and dismay.  Decimated they hid in their room.  I can't even imagine what things must have been running through their minds.  Their Lord and Savior was dead.  When the women went to the tomb that morning, they went to properly prepare the body of Jesus.  They weren't there for the next big event.  They were there for the old event.  When Jesus said "It is finished." he meant it.  That event was done.  The next event was to come.  He told them it would.  He told them when it would and he told them how it would take place.  He would be resurrected!  He would rise from the dead! 
      It's important that we understand that these same feelings take place in our lives day in and day out.  We don't understand the why of some things, complain about the what, when and where.  We even challenge the how of events.  We don't remember.  We don't look at the event from past perspective.  We look at it from a forward perspective.  What's wrong with that you may ask?  Good question.  If we don't remember the prophecies of the Old Testament about Jesus we don't remember what we are commanded to do.  Our focus changes from Godly to worldly.  We move from caring for the lost, feeding the hungry and being their for the orphan and the widow to wondering if so and so will have new outfits for their little children, when the Easter egg hunt will begin and whether the ham will be done in time for dinner when everyone comes to our house.  We forget the next big event.  By the time the holiday (should be Holy day) is here, our focus isn't on what needs to be done.  We've long abandoned that for what we want to do.  Are the March madness basketball games more important than Jesus.  For some Christians the answer is yes.  Is it more important that we "appear" at church on Easter than any other time of the year?  For some Christians the answer is yes. 
     The next big event is today.  Tomorrow the next big event will be tomorrow.  The following day that day will be the next  big event.  These will only happen when we do what Jesus said for us to do: "be me to the world."  Heal the sick, bind up the broken hearted, care for the orphan and the widow and teach all men (mankind) to be my disciples and do the same."  Are you ready for the next big event?  It's always your choice.