Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.  ~Mark 16:9-11

Easter is a time of joy and a time when we celebrate Jesus conquering death and rising from the dead. It is a time for families to get together, to wear new “Easter” clothes, and get candy.

Now that Easter Sunday is over are our lives any different? Now that we have spent the last 40 days waiting and preparing for Easter, are we changed, or do we just continue with our lives like nothing happened?

Often when we think of the Easter story, we have this idea that once Jesus revealed himself to the women at the tomb, the word quickly spread. We think the disciples all believed the good news of Jesus rising from the dead - except for doubting Thomas, who doubted until he felt the very wounds in Jesus’s hands and side. Despite what tradition might have us believe, that wasn’t the case.

In Mark’s account of the resurrection, Mary Magdalene goes and tells the disciples what she has seen, but they don’t believe her. Then Jesus appeared to two unnamed followers. After this encounter, they went and told the eleven disciples, and yet the disciples still didn’t believe. For some, days and even weeks went by, but they still didn’t understand the magnitude of Easter. After Jesus was buried, some hid out of fear. Others went back to work, doing what they did before they followed Jesus as if the last three years hadn’t changed their lives forever.   

Sometimes I feel that, as Christians, we want to be like Mary in the Easter story. We want to go out on Easter morning and tell everyone about Jesus rising from the dead. We take photos and post on social media that “Christ has Risen.” Despite wanting to be like Mary, or even feeling like Mary for a day, when Monday comes we find ourselves being more like the eleven than we are like Mary. Our lives go back to the things we know. We default to what makes us comfortable, and things are not really any different. However, when Jesus showed up in the upper room after his death to reveal himself to the disciples, he gave them the life-changing gift of the Holy Spirit, and they were never the same.

What if this Easter, instead of just falling back into our normal, everyday routines, we make space for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives? I encourage you to invite the Holy Spirit to guide you as we live into the hope and joy that is Easter.

Monday began our first day of Vacation Bible School here at Pinnacle. The theme this year is Workshop of Wonders, and the children are learning about amazing things God does in science, games, crafts, music, and of course, Bible stories. The energy is palpable as the kids rush from one thing to the next, and you can feel the Spirit is moving. 

Each day the kids learn a different aspect about God. Monday was Imagine with God where they learned that God has a great imagination and He gives us an imagination to do awesome things. On Tuesday, they learned about Ezra and his challenges to build the temple while they Build with God. Wednesday, they will Grow with God as they learn about the tiny faith of a mustard seed. Thursday is Work with God, where they learn about the work of Jesus’ miracles, like the feeding of the 5,000. Finally, on Friday, they will Walk with God on the Emmaus Road. 

The days are full. We are all exhausted by the end of three hours of excitement, and yet the exhaustion does not overcome the energy. There is something moving this week across our campus. Something that can’t be explained by high-energy music and games, captivating Bible stories, or exciting hands-on crafts and experiments. It is something that can only be described in the same way that the disciples stood that day in the upper room on Pentecost - with the Holy Spirit’s fire filling each of them.

Pentecost is the day when the Holy Spirit moved across Jerusalem awakening people to faith. The Holy Spirit was a gift that was promised by Jesus so that God’s people could always communicate with God. Suddenly everyone could understand each other even though they spoke different languages. The people were confused by the loud sounds of wind and the fire shaped like tongues sitting on the peoples’ heads. 

Too often we forget that we all walk around with fire resting on our heads because of all that is going on in our daily lives. Stress, work, family struggles, adventures, and challenges all seem to try to put out the fire within us. That is why weeks like Vacation Bible School are so important; because they remind us that the Holy Spirit’s fire dwells with us each day. It is the exhilarating feeling that God is powerful, in control and working. The challenge is learning to hold on to the mountaintop highs of weeks like VBS throughout the other 51 weeks of the year. 

Often we think the answer is getting rid of all the stuff that tries to dampen our fire. But there is no way to ignore the challenges of life that pile up, because doing so would only make it worse. The only way to keep seeing the fire of the Holy Spirit with us is to do what the VBS experience does, which is to help us refocus our energies on what is really important…being in awe of God. 

The Holy Spirit is with us each day and does amazing things - guiding us through decisions, teaching us about faith, walking with us through struggles. But to continue to be in awe we have to be willing to look for it and to ask for it. 

We can do this in many ways, but I have two recommendations to try. First we have to try to be aware of the small, medium and big ways that the Holy Spirit is present…where have you seen the Spirit today? Did you see the Spirit at work when you were talking with a coworker, or in the hospital as you sat with your loved one? Did you see the Spirit in the car on the way to and from work, or maybe the Spirit spoke to you though your children? The Holy Spirit was working today - look for it.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit responds to our prayers to God. When we pray, God responds in some way. It isn’t always the answer we want and it isn’t always in the timing we want. But the Holy Spirit is with us in that answer. What have you been praying for? Where has the Holy Spirit shown you answers?

I pray the Holy Spirit awakens you today!