Resurrection Scars

The events of Easter weekend commemorate something bloody, disturbing, traumatizing, and terrifying. From the outside looking in, a relatively harmless, obscure man was abandoned by his friends, kissed in a way that brought condemnation and wounding, betrayed by his religion, tortured by society, sold out by those in power, and assassinated by all who were involved. He faced all of this alone, without any kind of emotional or practical support. He was just one of thousands who faced similar fates during that era in history. The waking nightmare was so hellish, that this man even felt abandoned by God, which led him to cry out to a silent sky "My God! My God! Why have your forsaken me?"

No matter how you spin the story, it is cruel and barbaric. And yet, over the next few days, millions of people will revisit it in vivid detail, and in that, they will draw enormous comfort and hope. The reason for this includes the torture and assassination of Christ - that part of the story can't be discounted. But the comfort doesn't come because of the events remembered on Good Friday. The comfort comes from the events remembered on Easter morning.

If you think about it, Christ was Creator embedded in Creation. The creative energy of everything that exists, existed in this star-man. It stands to reason that the exquisite wonder of creativity had no choice but to once again bring life where there was none - to bring order out of chaos - to bring love and peace out of cruel torment - to bring light out of darkness. We call it the Resurrection.

To me, the wonder of Easter - the miracle of the Resurrection - isn't that it happened. I think the greater mystery is that it took three days! That it didn't happen in an instant. That there was a savoring of death before there was the re-creation of life.

If you read my book - No Longer Alone - I spend a great deal of time discussing the affinity that Christ has with abuse survivors, and vice versa. Creator embedded in Creation gave people an intimate glimpse into God's heart - One filled with love, One who values peace and justice, One who makes it abundantly clear that each of us has value, potential, and limitless life. People experienced something new when they encountered Christ. I also believe that God experienced something new when he encountered us.

There's a further insight that I believe Easter weekend can offer to abuse survivors, which I mentioned earlier. After all the horrors of Friday, after the heart-shattering trauma, Christ waited. His resurrection didn't happen immediately. Even knowing the beginning from the end, he remained in the vacuum of trauma and death for awhile - languishing in the dark unknown.

Why? Why didn't the resurrection occur as soon as he was pried off the cross? Why didn't it take place when the stone was rolled in place? And finally, why is it important for you to see this as you approach Easter weekend - as you move through your own dark unknown, searching for life beyond abuse?

You can see your own experiences of abuse in the crucifixion of Christ. Betrayal. Affection being used as a weapon. Abandonment. Torture. Injustice. Isolation. Shame. Exposure. Humiliation. Feeling completely separated from God. Those are some of the more obvious experiences of commonality abuse survivors have with Creator embedded in Creation. But in that space between the trauma and the sunrise on the third day, there was a dark Saturday.

In your abuse recovery, there is the dark Saturday when all you can do is sit - even languish - with all that has been shattered. There is little comfort at this stage of recovery. It follows the "Why have you forsaken me?" terror and the "It is finished" conclusion. But the beauty of Christ - Creator embedded in Creation - is that we have been shown a way to move beyond what was done to us. This is an important thing to meditate on as you wait for that stone to be rolled away - as you wait to re-emerge as a shimmering being, so luminous that you absolutely know you have been given a new life. A life beyond abuse.

One final thing I'd like to point out as you approach Easter weekend. When Christ emerged from that tomb, he emerged with scars. The resurrection didn't eliminate the scars, but the scars no longer kept Christ entombed. Your scars won't either. They are what they are - scars. They are not an indication that you lack faith or that Christ hasn't done a deep work in you. They are scars. You have them, so did Christ. They are monuments of what you've suffered, but they are also monuments to where you are going - beyond the trauma - beyond the dark Saturday - beyond the stone as it rolls away.

This is Easter weekend. Grieve on Friday. Meditate on Saturday. Celebrate on Sunday. You walk on the same path that our Creator embedded in Creation walked - one beyond savage cruelty and toward love, joy, and peace that is beyond understanding. Happy Easter.