After Easter

I noticed a cartoon posted on Instagram last week by thesimplecatholic. It showed the little children sitting at Jesus’s feet as he teaches them, and he’s saying, “So then I was like, ‘Mom, chill out, I’ll be back in like 3 days, tops.'”

I smiled, then winced. It seemed to make light not only of Jesus’ pain and suffering but his mother’s as well. I saw the cartoon on what many Christians call Maundy Thursday, the day they remember how Jesus humbled himself to the clueless disciples by washing their feet and instituting the Last Supper. Judas had left to betray him, setting in motion the horrible events that would soon transpire, beginning early Friday morning and concluding with Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross at 3 p.m. that day. Christians held services commemorating these events last Thursday and Friday.

But, of course, that’s not the end of the story. Thousands of believers gathered to celebrate the victory this past Sunday. Easter Sunday marks the day Christians rejoice in a risen Lord. Because Jesus rose from the dead, the torture people inflicted on him changed the world’s worst Friday into its best Friday: Good Friday.  

And that means Christians can smile today, the week after Easter, knowing that what Christ did can transform their lives, replacing their sad faces with happy ones. On Easter Sunday, sadness turned to joy, tears of shame into tears of praise, and mourning into dancing. Christians affirm that they will see Christ and their loved ones again because Christ rose from the dead.

With that wonderful news, the mystery is why so many choose to live in negativity and melancholy. Of course, there’s plenty to be sad about these days and enough meanness to make the most optimistic of people want to stand in a pit of anger, kicking and screaming about how ugly this life can be. But according to the gospel accounts, Christ has (past tense) overcome the world, including Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, the nastiest drug dealers, the most heartless school shooters, the sickest child abductors, habitual gossipers, and, yes, don’t forget: the potential for all kinds of evil lurking within each of us, roaming around in our inner being looking for the opportunity to incite a coup d’etat in our souls. 

So, why shouldn’t Christians smile, even in pain, if it’s only on the inside when the heart is so heavy that any attempt to break a smile would seem hypocritical?

Years after the resurrection of Christ, a tradition emerged. Following the thrill of the resurrection on Sunday, the early saints gathered together on Monday to feast, sing, and dance. One author commented on this practice: “With Eastertide began the ‘laughing of the redeemed and the dancing of the liberated.'”

Some believe John Chrysostom (c.349-407), Archbishop of Constantinople, inspired this tradition with a famous Easter midnight sermon. In that message, he described his vision of Christ confronting the devil. To Chrysostom’s amazement, Christ laughed at the devil.

It makes sense: Satan thought he had won on Friday, but God had the last laugh on Sunday. It was God’s cosmic joke on Satan.

And that brings me back to the cartoon. I learned that the post’s author, Matthew, has endured his portion of pain. His blog is the fruit of his suffering from losing his unborn child, Jeremiah, the posts blossoming into a mission intended to inform others about the Christian faith and “to show how joy can be found in daily life (even in suffering).”

Matthew’s story and humor remind me that though Christians grieve and mourn, they aren’t like those without hope. The pain of life’s evils will always be with us. But take heart: if Jesus told his disciples he would be back in “like 3 days, tops,” why should we doubt him now and trade today’s joy, even laughter, for tomorrow’s worries? 

After all, he did say he was coming again.

Like, any day now.

Right?