You know the experience of “the morning after,” right?  The celebrating is over, the challenges and burdens and disappointments are back, what a headache…  we have to face the world as it really is!  It’s the same with our celebration of Easter, the great victory of new life when God raised Jesus from the dead.  We have been rejoicing in that message throughout this Easter season.  But alas, the Easter season is over and we’re right back in the world, as it were, “the morning after.”

It reminds me of a cute story I came across recently.  It seems a farmer’s best mule got sick, and the farmer called the veterinarian.  The vet examined the animal and then gave the farmer some extremely large pills with the instructions to give the mule one three times a day until the mule recovered.  The farmer was puzzled as to how he would get the pills down the mule’s throat.  “Easy,” replied the vet.  “Find a piece of pipe wide enough to fit the pill into.  Then, put one end of the pipe into the mule’s mouth, put the pill into the pipe and give it a blow.  Before the mule knows what happened he will have swallowed the pill.”  It sounded easy enough, but shortly after, the farmer walked into the vet’s office looking terribly sick himself.  The surprised vet exclaimed, “You look awful.  What happened?”  The farmer replied, “The mule blew first!”

That’s what “mornings after” are like; even for disciples of Jesus who celebrated the victory of life over death.  Our mornings and days are filled with times where our neat plans and carefully worked out lists of things to do run into “mules” which blow first.  And then we have some large and bitter pills to swallow.

But all is not lost.  It never is where God is concerned.  Our Risen Lord is also our Ascended Lord, to whom has been given “all power in heaven and on earth.”  That means that while our Lord Jesus Christ has the power of heaven at His disposal, He exercises it on the earth, right in the midst of disappointments and problems and things that go wrong.  And He has promised to be with us always.  Easter morning has made it possible for us to face “the morning after,” with faith and courage and even joy!!  Pastor Craig