Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Quis ut Deus?

Home
Progressive Christian
Easter Musings

Easter Musings

Last updated on: April 16, 2022 at 11:00 pm by Connor Brennan

Easter Musings 2022-04-16T23:00:25-05:00 Connor Brennan

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’m so happy that Easter is here! It’s going to be a good weekend of love, Christian musings, and spending time with family. And enjoying some good food, too, such as this Finnish Pulla (Cardamom Bread) made using my grandpa’s mom’s recipe!

Easter musings

Image by Connor Brennan

Contemplations

I’ve been digging deeper into the Gospels about everything leading up to Jesus’ sacrifice for us. I’m still baffled by the arguably grey nature of Pontius Pilate, who really didn’t want to authorize Jesus’ execution because he knew that He was innocent. It was interesting seeing this portrayed in this scene here from The Gospel of John:

What strikes me about Pilate is that he tried repeatedly to convince the crowd of Jesus’ innocence. Eventually, he gave up because of their bloodlust. Frankly, I’d hate to be in his shoes, having to deal with a crowd screaming for the death of an innocent man.

Probably the most fascinating part of Pilate’s interaction with Jesus is when Pilate washes his hands in front of the crowd. His declaration that he won’t have Jesus’ blood on his hands has always stood out to me. No matter how ruthless Pilate potentially was as a ruler, he wanted nothing to do with executing a man he knew to be innocent.

When the people demand that Pilate remove the writing on Jesus’ crucifix referring to Him as the “King of the Jews”, Pilate’s response is oddly curt. He essentially responded, “I said what I said” in John 19:22.

It’s so sad to me that the Pharisees were so desperate to see Jesus be put to death. They really treated Him like He was the ultimate threat to their religious authority. Their bloodlust is frightening to read about.

Jesus provides us all with an impressive example of mercy towards one’s enemies by pleading to His Father, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). To say this in the middle of a painful public death, all while being mocked and derided mercilessly.

His resurrection and meeting with Mary Magdalene is so heartwarming. Can you imagine being Mary, realizing with such immense joy that your beloved Teacher has risen? And to see that with your own eyes, no less!

You know, I regret not delving into the Easter story this much before. There’s so much raw emotion in the passages here, and inspiration as well. Not even death could stop Jesus from carrying out His plan.

This carries a delicious parallel with that verse “The last enemy to be destroyed is Death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26). Jesus conquered death in the most poignant fashion. Lazarus was excellent foreshadowing about His miracle!

I’m also looking forward to next Sunday, which is celebrated as “Divine Mercy Sunday“in the Catholic Church. One of my favorite saints, Saint Faustina, inspired this day by her discussions with Jesus about the depths of His Mercy.

I hope that Easter is a time of hope and inspiration for all of us, especially after everything we’ve gone through in the last couple of years! We all deserve this time of contemplation and peace as we remember what Jesus did for us.

I’m so grateful that I’ll get to spend time with my grandparents and family tomorrow for Easter Sunday! The weather might be unpredictable and chilly tomorrow here in Ohio, but we’ll all be warm together, one way or another.

Peace be with you, friends, wherever you are. May Easter be a time of peace for you and your loved ones!

Featured Image by Connor Brennan

Hello, and thank you for supporting my work here on Patheos! If you’d like to support me further, please feel free to “Buy Me A Coffee” here:

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorb943C

spirituality

easter

Personal

Previous Post

April 13, 2022

"I Trust in You": A Call to Trust God in Psalm 56:3

Next Post

April 22, 2022 Evangelical Scorn of Catholicism: A Misunderstanding of Mary

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category afterlife dreams LGBTQIA Media Analysis Personal politics Religion spirituality Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 January 2021 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 July 2020 February 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 July 2019 June 2019 April 2019 July 2018 May 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 August 2017 July 2017 February 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does the name "Elijah" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

God is Light God Provides God Saves My God is Yahweh