Holy Week has never really been a huge thing for me, even though I knew it should be. But I had an experience this week that opened my eyes to the wonder and joy of Easter. So I thought I would share...
Here's a little background info: I teach enrichment classes for the three and four year olds at the preschool where I work. On Thursdays we have chapel time. I usually read them a bible story and talk to them about it, then we say our memory verse and sing a song. Often I tell them about Jesus and how much He loves them. There is a little boy in one of my four year old classes that is sort of a behavior problem. The teachers have come to expect him to act up, and so he does. He has become convinced that he is a "bad boy," and it breaks my heart. I'm going to call him Matthew for the purposes of my story.
This Thursday, since it was holy week, I decided to read the crucifixion and resurrection stories out of the illustrated kids' bible. I skipped the Pontius Pilate stuff and started right at "They nailed Jesus' hands and feet to the cross, and he died." When I read those words, Matthew stared at me, eyes wide, and said "He DIED? Jesus DIED? In real life?" I said, "yes, Matthew, it was real life, but it was a long time ago." He got very upset and said he didn't like sad stories. I told him to wait a little while and see if it got better.
I went on to read about how sad the disciples were after Jesus died, and Matthew just got more and more upset. He said "I am not going to listen to this story anymore! It is too sad!" When we got to the part where Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb and finds it empty, Matthew stood up in his chair and said "Ms. Rachel, WHERE IS JESUS?!" He looked as if he was about to cry. I said "it's ok, Matthew, just wait. The story is going to get better." He didn't believe me.
I finally arrived at the part in the story where Jesus appears to the disciples in a locked room. The story we were reading had the words "Jesus is alive. Jesus is really alive. Jesus is risen from the dead!" As soon as I read those words, Matthew's frown turned into a huge smile! He pumped his fists and shouted "YES!" By this time the rest of the class had picked up on Matthew's emotions. They were as engrossed in the story as he was. When they realized that Jesus had come back to life, all ten four-year-olds started dancing around the room chanting "Jesus is alive! Jesus is alive!" I thought, now this is what Easter is supposed to be like!
I wanted to capture that childlike sadness and joy and keep it through Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I have never felt the crushing sadness of Jesus' death and the extreme joy of His resurrection like I did this week. Those children blessed me so much in those ten minutes, and I will always cherish the memory. I hope I will use it in the future when the world is bringing me down and I need to remember what is really important.
