The Light Switch
Faithful Syence #27
I remember a day in my past when I felt quite desperate. I was about to lose my job, I had two small children, a house with a mortgage, no savings, and no prospects. My car had broken down; I had a bad sore throat and had to take a bus to the doctor’s office to get some antibiotics. It started to rain, and I had no umbrella. I was miserable.
The next day I went to work, and my boss told me that I would not be let go after all, because a colleague of mine had submitted his own resignation, and there was now a spot for me. I was a firm atheist at the time, and didn’t believe in miracles. I had not prayed, of course, only cursed my bad luck. And yet I did think of that new day as a miraculous one, a second chance, an undeserved lucky break.
As it turned out, that day was a turning point for me. Not only did I keep that job, but I embarked on a long term rapid rise in my career.
What always struck me about this experience was the dramatic and sudden change in my fortune. One minute I was down and out, and the next, I was filled with hope and joy. Perhaps that is the nature of miracles. Certainly, that is the way the greatest miracle of all, the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, transpired. The terrible tragedy of the death of Jesus marked a low point in human history. And the third day, the day we celebrate on Easter Sunday, is the high point.
When the stone blocking the entrance to the tomb was rolled back, Mary and the others saw that the body of Christ was not there. It was like the flicking of a light switch, turning a dark room into one blazing with light in an instant. Despair was suddenly and totally replaced by inexpressible joy.
Next week death, defeat, despair, will turn to joy when Christ is risen, and so are we. I will not post on Easter Sunday, but I will on the day before, Holy Saturday. And it will not be about Jesus Christ, but about the man, the ordinary human being who would become known as Saint Peter, but who on that day was simply Simon.
The role of the epiphany in one's faith journey (perhaps through prevenient grace, as John Wesley would have it) populates many narratives that I have read, including yours, Sy. The in-breaking Spirit enters one's personal history, or as with Emmanuel, world history, to transform a life, or life on earth. The disciples had yet to understand the transformation on Easter morning. We share the awakening to a new life in the risen Christ on Sunday next.
My experience also right to this present moment. Like a Good Shepherd He leads His flock and carries us in His arms!