All four Gospels, in different ways, tell the story of the disciples’ initial encounters with the risen Lord. In each of the four Gospels, they had a hard time believing it.
There are many reasons why it was difficult to believe that anyone could come from the dead. But what shows up in Jesus’ response to their difficulty in believing: They couldn’t believe because of the way he died. They had written off that he was what he said he was―the Son of God, the Messiah. He had been taunted, “If you are the Son of God, the Messiah, come down from that cross” . . . and he didn’t. It was embarrassing, devastating, humiliating for him . . . and for them.
When people are struggling with their faith, their most repeated question is something like, How can God be a good God, and let my child die? How can God be a good God and let my grandmother suffer? How can God be a good God and let famine and starvation happen?
You can’t reconcile suffering and horror with a good God. It’s the same problem the disciples had, and Easter is the feast that helps us deal with that problem.
Jesus says, “I am with you. I am with you in the senseless death of a child. I am with you when there doesn’t seem to be any payoff and I’ll see you through it. I am with you and will lead you to life and to happiness.”
That’s what we celebrate at Easter―the breakthrough in the faith of the disciples when finally they were able to believe. We go through the same struggle at times to believe. And the risen Lord is with us because he promised to be.
