The Protestant church has a checkered history with Lent.

Recognizing that every church follows some calendar or set of seasonal rhythms, these Christians take advantage of the late winter to till the soil of their hearts. Like Advent, Lent becomes an opportunity to prepare room for Jesus in the overcrowded quarters of our souls.

When we do, we might just find ourselves erupting with a deeper joy as we join the universal shout: “He is risen!”

I hope that you enjoyed your Lent devotions this year.

Hopefully, through these devotions, you were able to draw closer to your Savior while also learning more about Native Ministry through Lutheran Indian Ministries.

On this, the Day of Resurrection, Jesus first sought out people to show them He was alive, of course, but also to show us that our aloneness was now defeated and gone forever. We now go to the lonely parts of the country to bring the Good News that God came to our earth and suffered the punishment of being alone so that, in Jesus and in His Church, we can find family and community that dispels all of our aloneness forever.

Maybe Barabbas looked into the distance and saw the three crosses and thought to himself, “That middle cross was meant for me… but now it’s all yours, Jesus.” As I read this story of Jesus standing in silence and accepting a death sentence he didn’t deserve to save a man who did, I realized who Barabbas really was. He is me. He is you. He is us.

If Good Friday did not happen, if the Son of God did not die, there would be no celebration of his resurrection. Without Good Friday, there would be no need to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world, for there would be no Savior. Without Good Friday, we would still bear the consequences of our sins. 

We must look at the gruesome scene in order to value what it means for us. 

Knowing that Christ has gone through all of this for our salvation does not solve the problem of suffering, but it certainly gives us the assurance that no other religious system in the world does: God has suffered. God knows what it is like to be overwhelmed with sorrow. God knows what it is like to be terminally ill. God knows what it is like to be abused. Whatever suffering humanity has gone through, God knows.

God uses our hard experiences to teach us to trust, to learn more about His love through His Word, which by His grace prompts us to cry out to Him with a song, a poem, or some other expression that praises His name! Our difficult times are powerful healing and growing experiences in Christ. God may want to take the pain in your life and use it to inspire you to do something beautiful, to encourage yourself as well as others, just like David. 

My ancestors response to suffering was to gather and examine the community for wrongdoing and ask for forgiveness. We can learn from them.

When trials come, do not blame God. Repent. Confess your sins and ask for forgiveness. And our joy, in suffering or not, is God’s grace through Jesus and the promise of an eternal joy.

Loving your neighbor as yourself is key to Jesus' teachings, and His death and resurrection allows us the grace to do this. As a member of the Kingdom of God, Jesus' resurrection rebukes any prejudices still maintained against anyone.  

Sometimes the evil one seems to be exploiting every human weakness.  Evil seems to be manifest everywhere in our world.  But there is Good News!

The power of the world controlled by Satan was defeated when Jesus accepted His Father’s will to go to the cross.  He defeated sin and death, but He had to pay a horrible price.  It was not an easy walk Jesus took from the gates of Jerusalem to the cross.