Easter in the wild east

And comfort in the third day

This Easter we went home from Germany to Hungary and Romania, driving through the night and looking forward to spending some time and celebrating with our big families.

These visits are usually quite intense for us. We see these people again after months, and we have to quickly process the changes in them that happen over those long periods.

But sometimes I realize I expect changes to happen, and I am actually surprised if they don’t. Especially now, in one particular “not great” family relationship, I really expected that by this time some positive change would have happened. I was praying for it. But the answer to that prayer was no. After a conversation, I felt really disheartened that this problem is just not getting better. “Are You planning to do something about it at all, God?” Or are my hopes just false, imaginative, colorful bubbles waiting to be popped? Did God promise me to solve this, or is it my fault to even hope?

I did not see God’s plan at all. It felt like the enemy was winning the game. I was really confused and deeply sad… I was longing for God to speak to me in this.

And He did.

As Good Friday arrived, the church service was simply the reading of the crucifixion story from the Bible. We came to the part where people mockingly told Jesus to come down from the cross—why couldn’t He? I assume this was also what His friends probably wanted to say to Him. He had done so many wonders in front of them, so why are we here now, in the dark, in this horrible situation, losing all the hope we had? Why is He not just coming down from the cross and showing His power? Did God just lose the game against the enemy? Is Jesus dead?

Yes, He was truly dead. But that was exactly how He wanted to win. He did not just save Himself from suffering—He went all in and actually died… AND He rose from the dead! He wanted to do the real miracle, not just an easy one. He wanted to win in a groundbreaking way, shaking the whole universe by His act. Nothing bigger has ever happened before or since. He WON.

And this was my answer after all. I might be standing right now in front of the crucified Christ, losing hope, thinking that “we lost,” not knowing yet that He will rise again. But He will.