Easter Perspective: See You in Galilee

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See You in Galilee

If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 (NRSV)

Whenever you run away

Whenever you lose your faith

It's just another stroke

Of the pen on the page

A lonely ray of hope is all that you'll need

To see a beautiful history

From "Beautiful History" by Plumb

It was a Thursday night.  Jesus and the Disciples had just celebrated Passover together in Jerusalem.  As they were headed out to pray, Jesus said, "You will all become deserters because of me this night...  But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee."¹

Read what Jesus said to the Disciples again.  Make sure you get a good sense of what He was saying, because He actually said a lot more than one might think at first glance.

Jesus told the Disciples that they would abandon Him that very night.  He had kicked a hornets' nest upon entering Jerusalem earlier that week, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before He was arrested and nailed to a cross like a terrorist.  The Disciples all vehemently denied that they would ever abandon Him.  When an angry mob approached Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He he had been praying, the Disciples readied themselves to fight, but, when Jesus told them to put away their swords, they all scattered, just as Jesus had predicted.²

Jesus also told the Disciples that He would meet them in Galilee after He was "raised up."  Jesus knew that the Disciples would leave Him when things got gnarly, but He wanted them to know where they could find Him when the whole ordeal was over.  It was as if He was saying, "You're going to leave Me, but, when you're ready to come back, you know where to find Me."

On Friday afternoon, Jesus drew His last breath upon the cross.  On Sunday morning, He was resurrected from the dead.  Jesus met the women who had come to the tomb and sent them to remind the Disciples to meet Him in Galilee, as He had told them three days earlier.  The Disciples met Jesus on a mountain in Galilee, and they worshiped Him there, though some of them had trouble believing what they were seeing.³

On Thursday night, Jesus knew that His closest friends would soon abandon Him, but He had already forgiven them for what they had yet to do.

In Jesus, we see what God is like.  God is not interested in punishing us for turning away.  God just wants us to come back.  Maybe God has already forgiven us for the wrongdoings we have yet to commit, as Jesus forgave the Disciples.

Jesus, in what is probably His most famous parable, tells the story of a young man who approaches his father and demands his inheritance.  The father gives the son what he wants, and the son proceeds to move far from home and blow his entire inheritance on a debaucherous lifestyle.  Just as his money dries up, a famine strikes the land, and he ends up getting a job feeding pigs.  As he contemplates stealing some food from the pigs, he comes to his senses.  He decides to return home, apologize to his father, and beg him to hire him as a servant.⁴

As the son nears his home, rehearsing his speech, his father sees him from a distance, runs out to meet him, throws his arms around him, and kisses him.  The son tries to make his spiel, but the father doesn't listen to a word he says, because he is too busy planning a welcome home party.⁵  The father is just glad to have his son back.

So it is with God.  Many people like to paint a picture of an angry, vengeful God; however, in Jesus, we do not see a God intent on settling the score.  Instead, we see a loving God who just wants God's children back.  No matter how many times we turn away, no matter how far we stray, God is always ready to welcome us home when we turn back.


Notes:

1. Matthew 26:31-32 (NRSV)
2. Matthew 26:33-35, 47-56
3. Matthew 28:9-10, 16-17
4. Luke 15:11-19
5. Luke 15:20-24

The stained glass window featured in the photograph above can be found at St. Patrick Cathedral in El Paso, Texas.  The photograph was taken by Wikimedia Commons user Lyricmac and is used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.