A powerful tornado rolls through your neighborhood. A massive hurricane heads straight for your city. A bolt of lightning sends 300 million volts to earth. The raw power and unpredictability of storms can inspire both awe and terror. We cannot stop storms from coming. We can only hope to survive them. However, we know the Almighty God can stop storms. He can calm literal storms. He could remove metaphorical storms, other types of troubles and trials. So, if He can, why doesn’t He?

Well, would you rather have a God who was distant from you but removed all the storms of life? Or would you rather have a God who allowed some storms to come but promised to be right there by your side within them, holding you close? May God give us the top-down faith that sees that the latter is by far the better option. God promises to be with us through all the storms of life. Sometimes He removes them. But when He doesn’t, it’s only because He has plans to use even storms for our eternal good.

Usually, a kingdom advances and is secured through things like military might or political force or worldly wealth. It can be tempting to believe the same holds true in the kingdom of God. Perhaps we think churches would flourish if we had the right rulers passing and enforcing the right laws. Or we believe that for a church to do good requires a robust budget. Political force. Worldly wealth. This way of thinking is breathtakingly wrong.

We need God to give us the top-down faith that grasps the fact that the kingdom of God advances in ways that are imperceptible. Through something that seems insignificant to most—the gospel—the King of kings establishes his reign in human hearts. Even Jesus himself taught that the gospel seems unimpressive, for He often compared the gospel to a tiny seed. Yet within a seed is hidden life. As the seed of the gospel is planted, the largest of all kingdoms grows.

Jesus told his disciples that, though he was going to ascend into heaven, he wasn’t going to leave them alone. He was going to send “the Advocate,” a title for the Holy Spirit. But Jesus wasn’t sending the Spirit just to keep us company. Jesus would have the Advocate give us spiritual power so that we might participate in Christ’s saving work. Here is the final resurrection reality. The Spirit gives us the ability to raise the spiritually dead to life.

We see this happen on Pentecost. The festival of Pentecost was held fifty days after the Passover. (Pentecost is Greek for “fifty.”) It was a time to thank God for the harvest. But on that day, through the Church at work, the Holy Spirit gathered another harvest, a harvest of souls. Therefore, Pentecost is the third great festival of the Church, along with the Nativity and the Resurrection. With the Festival of Pentecost, the festival half of the Church Year comes to a close.

This world is broken. Oh, certainly, we still see beauty in nature. By God’s grace, we have plenty of happy moments. But that does not change the fact that this world does not function the way God designed it to. It is dangerous, especially for God’s children. Jesus once promised that those who live for Him will be hated (just as Christ was hated) by those who live for the world. The even greater danger: the priorities prompted by this broken world tempt the careless Christian to devalue that which truly matters. This world is very broken.

For that reason, our gracious, living Lord promises that one day soon enough, He will take us to a better world. More, He promises that until that time, His Father will protect us, preserving our faith through the truth of His Word. This is the resurrection reality. By God’s grace, we will overcome this broken world.

Generally, our actions are shaped by our beliefs. People who eat low-carb diets do so, probably not because they hate pasta, but because they believe it healthiest. If a man buys stock in a company, it probably is because he believes in their business plan. Our beliefs shape our behavior. This is true of Christians’ belief in the resurrection. We believe that Christ’s resurrection means our resurrection to a glorious eternal life is guaranteed. That inevitably shapes how we will act now.

However, it is not simply the facts of the resurrection that shape our behavior. It is the person of the resurrection. Jesus is not some wise, dead sage whose advice is contained in dusty books. Jesus lives! Therefore, through His Word, He is able to work on our minds and hearts, molding them to His perfect will. Here is a resurrection reality. Jesus fills us with His Spirit, not only so that we have faith, but also so that we produce the fruits of faith He seeks.

In most world religions, the alleged foundational event was experienced by only one person. A self-proclaimed prophet would allege he alone had some special encounter with God. “No really! Just trust me. It really happened.” The resurrection reality is so very different. In the Great Resurrection Chapter (1 Corinthians 15), St. Paul writes an entire paragraph listing all the people to whom Jesus appeared after He rose, including a group of over five hundred at one time. It is like St. Paul is telling skeptics, “You don’t need to take my word for it. Hundreds of us saw Jesus back from the dead.”

The proof of Jesus’ resurrection brought peace and strength to those early believers. They knew there was more to their existence than just their time on earth. They knew the reality that eternal life was theirs, a gift from their living Lord. It gave them incredible joy and courage. May the resurrection reality give us the same.

The Festival of the Resurrection of Our Lord is the high point of the Christian Church Year. We celebrate Christ’s victory over death that is ours by faith. The Paschal candle, as a symbolic reminder of the risen Christ, helps us to celebrate the fact that the darkness of sin and death has been overcome by the resurrection. The Paschal candle will burn throughout the Easter season, until Ascension.

The Triduum (TRID-oo-um, “three days”) refers to the time from worship on Maundy Thursday until the final worship of Easter Day. The “Three Holy Days” of the passion and resurrection of Christ is the culmination of the entire church year. It is over these days – Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter – that we celebrate God’s redeeming love in the dying and rising of His Son, Jesus, and still see that love today. The Triduum is a single celebration. Once we have begun the Triduum on Maundy Thursday, we do not “leave” it until Easter Sunday. It is one continuous celebration of dying and rising, with Christ.

In the early church the Easter Vigil was when the catechumens were baptized and received their first Communion. Baptism remains a central focus in the Vigil today. Even when there are no baptisms the congregation takes the time to remember their own baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. The service traditionally was held late at night so that the pastor’s statement, “Alleluia! Christ is Risen” and the people’s response would be at midnight.

The Triduum (TRID-oo-um, “three days”) refers to the time from worship on Maundy Thursday until the final worship of Easter Day. The “Three Holy Days” of the passion and resurrection of Christ is the culmination of the entire church year. It is over these days – Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter – that we celebrate God’s redeeming love in the dying and rising of His Son, Jesus, and still see that love today. The Triduum is a single celebration. Once we have begun the Triduum on Maundy Thursday, we do not “leave” it until Easter Sunday. It is one continuous celebration of dying and rising, with Christ.

“Prove it!” was the refrain of the onlookers, Jewish leaders, soldiers, and criminals. People today demand evidence too. And isn’t there a part of us that wonders as well—especially when facing this sinful world? If Jesus is the Son of God, why does He ______, or why doesn’t He _____? Maybe they’re right. But Jesus’ gracious words and actions turn our doubts to trust, as they did with one of the criminals (and later the centurion). Jesus asked “Why?” so that we could be sure. God even provided a little resurrection proof that Friday—a preview.

The word Tenebrae means “darkness” and refers to a worship service in which the progressive extinguishing of candles represents the approaching death of Christ. The Tenebrae service is one of prolonged meditation of the suffering of Christ. The service is divided into seven chief parts. At the end of each part the sanctuary will become darker. At the end of the service, the church will be very dark. No offering will be taken during the service. As you leave in silence you may place your offering in the basket in the back of the church.

The Triduum (TRID-oo-um, “three days”) refers to the time from worship on Maundy Thursday until the final worship of Easter Day. The “Three Holy Days” of the passion and resurrection of Christ is the culmination of the entire church year. It is over these days – Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter – that we celebrate God’s redeeming love in the dying and rising of His Son, Jesus, and still see that love today. The Triduum is a single celebration. Once we have begun the Triduum on Maundy Thursday, we do not “leave” it until Easter Sunday. It is one continuous celebration of dying and rising, with Christ.