We Have Much to Celebrate this Easter!
Dear Calvary Family,
Below, you’ll find all the details for what’s coming up during Holy Week at Calvary. We are looking forward to celebrating the good news found in Jesus as our risen King! And, that’s worth reaching out and sharing. So, be sure to pick up some invites this Sunday and help spread the word.
There is one thing you won’t see in the schedule of the many meaningful events, yet it carries profound significance – Silent Saturday.
I had never really connected much with the thought of the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. However, the span of 2020 - 2021 changed all of that for me. It was partly due to the pandemic and the storm we all encountered in various ways during that historic time. However, it was mostly due to a big loss of my own family that gave me a new depth of understanding around this day and an invincible joy in celebrating Jesus' victory over sin and death.
In April of 2019, my parents celebrated their 50th anniversary. My mom had just gone through a hard 8-month battle with cancer, and we were hoping for the best in her recovery. She would not make it to another Easter, passing away in January 2020. Then the pandemic hit and all the trials and uncertainties that came with it. My dad made it to his first church service in over a year when he came to the Good Friday service at Calvary in 2021. This would also turn out to be his last time at church. His failing health finally took him home to be with the Lord in October of that year.
After losing my parents in such an unexpected way, I resonate much more with what will be the fourth Silent Saturday without them. Many of you have faced, or are currently facing, your own griefs and question marks through life's challenges. Much like on that Saturday nearly 2,000 years ago, there is an anticipation we all live with in the in-between of God's promises and God's answers.
We know and love the surprise plot twist that Easter Sunday morning brings. The whole of our faith depends on it. But Jesus’ followers didn’t yet have the full story. For them, it was a day of despair, and grief, and fear. It wasn’t in between anything. It was The End.
Just imagine those first disciples gathered together, afraid, remembering, going over it all again and again - what was done, what was said - searching for clues about what it all means. I think the disciples in all their fear and confusion could have still had it right – remembering what Jesus said and all He had done.
Because at any point, the story can turn and what Jesus said will come true - “...very early in the morning... while it was still dark...” (Mark 1:35)
So, let’s remember the day that lingered between the cross and the empty tomb. Not all of life in Christ is yet victory. We celebrate Easter, holding on to what we know of His faithfulness and of His promises. And, we long with hope-filled expectation for the joyous Good News of His return, the resurrection of the saints, and the restoration of all things. Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
Blessings,
Trevor Behrns
Creative Team Pastor
See Events at CalvaryLife.org/Easter