The deafening roar was interrupted as the Southwest Airlines 737 rumbled down the runway at Denver International Airport. This is typically a moment reserved for the language of power… but voices overshadowed what the thrust of GE engines was producing.
The source of the competing noise was a women’s softball team from Whitworth University in Spokane, WA. They were headed down to Orlando for some early spring play.
As the engines roared and the wheels began to turn in appropriate acceleration, a unified and powerful cheer began to erupt. Perfect in their orchestration and synchronization, the hoots and claps and chants collided with crescendoing power until the roar of the women forced the mechanical blast to take a back seat. As the velocity of the airplane increased and the aerodynamic design delivered, the women concluded in one final and grand explosion with a cheer for Southwest Airlines.
We’ve all heard cheers… big, outrageous and powerful cheers. But when cheers erupt from unexpected places and unplanned times, they penetrate more deeply into both memory and meaning.
We expect cheers in a stadium or along a sideline or during a parade… but not at takeoff. Not when something overpowering seems to mute our voice.
No doubt you are ready for the next great opportunity to cheer. It’s appropriate. It’s Easter. We laud and lift the name of our King to the highest heights. It’s Easter. Church bells will ring. Voices will shout. Preachers preach. It’s Easter.
But what if our cheers rolled along the runway of Good Friday? What if we lifted our voices in unexpected praise while the roar of death and pain and suffering and sacrifice was upon us? What if we not only cheered on Sunday, but we included Friday as well?
We are often sullen and somber and reflective on Good Friday. Bibles slam, tears are shed, pain is remembered… all with grand and appropriate tradition and purpose. But what if we also found it in our hearts to cheer… for:
Forgiveness Redemption Transformation Grace Mercy Courage Obedience Compassion Respect Yes, and Victory.
On Good Friday the roar of the enemy seemed deafening and daunting and insurmountable – but praise be to God… there are voices in the back of the plane. They are those who have gone before us. They are the voices of the redeemed. They are the liberated souls of those who understand the amazing atoning sacrifice of Jesus.
Cheer like never before this Easter… but start early. Our sins have been paid for.
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:50-54)
Not only does resurrection scream the name of Jesus… so does the cross.
{ 0 comments… add one now }