THIS WASN’T EXPECTED

“As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.”  (Matthew 27: 57-61 NIV)

I have often wondered what the disciples must have been thinking on the Saturday after the Friday Jesus was crucified. They weren’t expecting this. “This shouldn’t have happened” may have been part of their bewildering conversations. “This wasn’t expected” may have run through their minds as they sat in their grief.  The facts of Jesus’ presence among them had been replaced by the fears for their own lives. They were sheltering in place, not knowing what might come next.

It sounds a lot like today, doesn’t it? This Covid-19 virus wasn’t expected. The hospitalizations and deaths shouldn’t be happening. Grief and fear are ever present, sometimes hitting too close to home. “This isn’t the April we expected.”

On this April Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday 2020 I thought I would share with you a blog post by Max Lucado entitled “Surviving April.” Go to https://maxlucado.com/surviving-april.

Please be safe and keep others safe. And remember that when the disciples went to the empty tomb on Sunday morning this wasn’t expected either.

-- David T. Wilkinson

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