Since 1839, Christians in Houston have gathered together to celebrate the resurrection of a man known as Jesus. This Jesus was born in the small town of Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. After the death of King Herod, Jesus and his family relocated to Nazareth. Jesus “grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him” (Luke 2:40). Beyond these details, little is known of Jesus’ life before the beginning of a public ministry. According to eyewitnesses who wrote down their accounts, Jesus’ ministry consisted of restoring sight to the blind, causing the lame to walk, cleansing lepers, restoring hearing to the dead, raising the dead, and proclaiming good news to the poor, oppressed, and marginalized in society (Luke 7:22-23).
In due time, though, Jesus did not fulfill the expectations that many people maintained for him. Instead of confirming the people’s misguided hopes, he confronted them with their need to repent and trust in him as the One sent from heaven by God the Father to deliver them from the penalty of their rebellion. While the people were looking for a warrior king that would organize a rebellion against Rome, Jesus came riding on a donkey, a symbol of peace, facing the certainty of his own predestined death and resurrection in Jerusalem through which he would deliver all who placed their hope in him. As the apostle Peter put it in his Pentecost sermon, “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it is impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”
Since 1839, Christians in Houston have gathered each year on Easter to be reminded of and celebrate this Jesus. This man of humble birth. This man full of confounding compassion and conviction, truth and tenderness. This man who could overturn the tables of self-righteous religious leaders one day and recline at tables with “prostitutes and sinners” on the next. This man who believed and taught his followers that he and God the Father were one (John 10:30). This man who understood himself to be “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). This Jesus is the reason why Christians in Houston have gathered year after year to be reminded of the hope that tells us that just as he rose from the dead on the third day, so also, those who place their trust in him, will one day be raised from the dead as well.
But this year was different. Since the first church in Houston was organized in March of 1839, most Christians in Houston chose not to gather physically for Easter worship out of love for their neighbors and submission to the governing authorities that God has placed over them. While different for everyone and sad for many, the fact that Christians in Houston could not assemble this Easter should in no way diminish their hope. Hope is rooted in the unseen realities (Hebrews 11:1). And the hope for Houston right now during this time of uncertainty and great upheaval is the same hope that was offered in 1839. Times and seasons change, but Christian hope remains secure. Thus, as we face the trial of what is seen, let us fix our eyes on what is not seen. Are we hurting? Yes. Are we hopeless? No. For, “we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:2-5).
CBH
