Invincible Hope

by Robin Gray

Hurricanes are nothing new to lifelong Floridians.  In fact, if you’ve lived here longer than a couple of hurricane seasons you’ve learned pretty quickly how to prepare, what to prepare for, when you can safely ride it out, or when to activate your evacuation plan.  The past few hurricane seasons have been pretty brutal here in my home state.

In September of 2016, a storm named Hermine blew in on the Taylor County coast and caused considerable damage.  The county had recently built a beautiful dock over the water on Keaton Beach for residents to enjoy fishing and sunsets, but Hermine left it in tatters floating in the tide and lying on the sand.  Many people had homes and property that suffered damage. But there was a small wooden structure still standing on Keaton Beach when Hermine was done, and that was the Keaton Beach Cross.  

A different kind of storm for Lori…

The following spring my sister would be in the midst of the greatest storm of her life.  Her husband of 36 years died suddenly two days before Christmas, and she was processing grief so profound I wondered at times if she could even survive it.  She asked me that Easter if I would take her to a church sunrise service somewhere. And immediately, I thought of Blue Creek Baptist and the Keaton Beach Cross.  I don’t remember everything the pastor said that day because I was too focused on my sister and her reactions to it. I do remember singing hymns with about 300 people in all manner of dress from shorts and casual shirts to the typical Easter church attire.  I remember the pastor talked about an empty tomb and a risen Savior. And I remember seeing the lines on my sister’s face relax a bit, and the light come back on in her eyes a bit… And that’s what Hope does.

Seeking the dead, and finding Hope…

I would imagine that when Mary Magdalene was walking to the tomb that first Easter morning, her face probably looked very similar to my sister’s face.  Red rimmed eyes swollen from tears, and unable to even fake a smile. Her world was crushed and in total disarray. She wasn’t looking for an empty tomb that morning.  She was looking to bury her dead and anoint him with burial ointment, as was their custom. Mary went looking for a dead body and encountered Hope.

“He asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?  Who is it you are looking for?’ Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.’  Jesus said to her, ‘Mary…’” (John 20:15-16)

Hope rises from the ashes…

There will be very few Easter dresses tomorrow morning.  Few children hunting eggs on a beautiful spring day. Total known cases of Covid-19 in our nation are over 492,000.  The death toll is greater than 18,000. In some parts of our country hospitals are overwhelmed with the numbers of sick patients, while in others, employees are being furloughed or laid off.  Unemployment claims are now in the millions, and expected to rise. The overall picture looks bleak this Easter, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.

If seeing is believing and that is all there is, there would be no need for Hope.  Hope rises from defeat. It rises out of the storm. It rises out of depression and doom.  And Hope rises out of death. It transcends our darkest fears and our deepest longing. It is what gets us up and pushes us into an uncertain tomorrow.  It is a smiling and joyful Mary, proclaiming to a group of frightened and grieving disciples, “I have seen the Lord!”

Because he lives!

A few weeks ago I shared a video on my Facebook page of a song rising up from the balconies in Italy after their nation was in lockdown and the death toll was raging.  I couldn’t understand the language, but the melody was unmistakable. It is an old song written by Bill and Gloria Gaither. I’ve heard my Daddy sing it every Easter since I was a little girl.  The words were true then and they are true now. They are true for the Italians leaning out of their balconies and windows and they are true for Americans at their computer screens watching cyber Sunrise Services.  In every corner of the world, may Hope arise this Easter!

Because he lives, I can face tomorrow.

Because he lives, all fear is gone.

Because I know who holds the future, 

And life is worth the living just because he lives!