I may have shared before, but until I moved to the south, I’d never heard of Easter Monday. My friend, Dr. Savitri, schooled me and shared that one not only had an Easter Sunday outfit, but an Easter Monday one as well. I don’t know about outfits, but I do know that every year, I regret that I haven’t taken Easter Monday as annual leave because I am to be sure, exhausted. As believers, we don’t require Resurrection Sunday to be the only day that we have a high time in service, but it surely is the pinnacle of our core belief system. This weekend, I happened to minister in dance Friday night, all day Saturday and twice on Sunday. I’ve not made it to Monday and I already feel like I’m going to “miss it.” If you’re not as deeply plugged into the workout community, there is a saying that admonishes to “never miss a Monday.” It refers to being intentional to workout and set the tone for one’s week. Missing a Monday may get us “off our game” and we want to minimize the potentiality to do so. Yet sometimes, as another sister friend says, “It is what it is.” Regardless as to whether you’ve had a busy weekend or not, you just may not feel compelled to arise early in the morning for your workout, or later in the day for that matter. You just “ain’t feeling it.”
As I reflect upon the goodness of Jesus and the cross, I can imagine that He too wasn’t feeling it. He understood His assignment from the beginning and yet He also knew the agony that would accompany His obedience. Our “tired” cannot be compared, not even a little to what Jesus endured, yet there is space for us to grab a nugget of truth in His example. I’ve heard it said that each of us have our own cross to bear. Succinctly that means, that each one of us are afforded the strength of God to manage what is allowed in our lives. That doesn’t suggest that we should manage without the assistance of God and those whom He’s placed with competencies to move us from being stuck, overwhelmed, confused and weary. So whatever you are maneuvering, please know that you have the ability to “rise” because of the sacrifice that was made over 2000 years ago, just for you. Because of Jesus, even when we “miss a Monday,” we are not utterly cast down. We can have a “do-over” because of what He did. To God Be the Glory!
Missing a Monday as similar to our individual crosses may mean different things to each of us – and therein lies the beauty of Calvary. We were not created to operated as carbon copies of one another. What stumbles you, may manifest in triumph for me, while what cripples me, may compel you to soar. That is why it is imperative that we remain in community with and for one another to encourage and affirm every step along the way. We were and are with sin, and were unable to serve as the sacrifice, but our humanness also enables us to understand the frailty of one another and call each other into the fold, time and time again, and especially on a Monday, the representation of when it’s really hard to do what we purpose in our hearts.
May we compel ourselves to remember when we’ve been weak, troubled and weary such to the extent that we not only miss a Monday, but occasionally, a lot more. Jesus has taken care of our eternity, yet while we are here, we can stand in the gap to encourage one another. It is the work that we do post the Resurrection. It is the Easter Monday on rotation if you will. Jesus remained on the earth for 40 days following His resurrection. Jesus healed, preached and loved. John 21:25 reads, “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” We have no idea how much Jesus did, but we can pick up from where He left off on earth. God please grant us time, space, discernment and opportunity to continue the work of our Savior. May we not celebrate the resurrection and walk away from the memory of what was done for us and how often we need to share the Good News with others. May we never miss a Monday!
