"La, La, La, La, La!" (Insert Fingers Into the Ears)

“La, La, La, La, La!” That is what my five year old shouted from the back seat this morning as he was sticking his fingers in his ears.  “I don’t want to hear about this! Sometimes these Bible stories scare me!”
 
I could not agree more.
 
As I reflect this Holy Week, I often want to stick my fingers in my ears, close my eyes and scream, “La, La, La, La, La!” too.
 
The last hours of Jesus’ life bring forth so many emotions in me. I want to scream, No!  As I read scripture recounting Jesus’ arrest, his trials, his scourging and ultimately, his crucifixion, my heart rate quickens and my breathing becomes shallow.
 
I have watched this played out before me on the big screen as I watched The Passion and now, most recently, on The Bible. I can barely watch and I usually end up closing my eyes, covering my head with the blanket or praying that my husband will press the fast forward button.
 
It is bad enough to watch something like this when it is someone you do not know, but even more horrific when you are watching the Son of God who voluntarily underwent this treatment for me, for you. I can only imagine that I would not have made a very good spectator during the days when they did public hangings or the brutal games that the Romans partook in with humans and animals. It is just not for me.
 
I can picture the anguish on Jesus’ face in the Garden of Gethsemane as he cried out to God, “’My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.’” (Matthew 26:39) As I shared this story with my children in the car this morning on the way to school I said, “I just don’t think I would be able to endure it even knowing that it would last but a few hours.”
 
As a seventh grader, there was an eighth grader that had it out for me. I remember shaking every time I went into the locker room. I feared what could happen to me if she was in there. One day, she had sent her friends as messengers to me letting me know today was the day she was going to show up in the locker room. I so wanted to run to the nurse’s office that day, play sick and have my mom come pick me up. I mean, I really felt sick at that point…actually, I felt nauseous. I was scared to death. But the thing was, I had no idea how it would end up. I did not know the end of the story. I had no idea if she would show up or know exactly what she was going to do to me. I was scared and prayed that it did not have to happen. I was not thinking about God’s will at all.
 
But…Jesus knew in its entirety what was about to happen to him. He knew every detail of what was about to take place.
 
And yet, after finding his disciples asleep, Jesus went back to his spot and prayed a second and ultimately a third time. “’My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.’” (Matthew 26:42, 44)
 
Jesus then says, “the time has come.” (Matthew 26:45)
 
The time had come for Jesus to be betrayed, arrested, beaten, mocked, spit upon, ridiculed, tortured, mutilated and killed.
 
My heart aches with pain as I read the accounts of Jesus, the Son of God, being tied to a pole with His hands bound together so His back muscles were pulled tightly in order to increase the pain, suffering and mutilation. My heart aches with pain as I read how Jesus was scourged so hard that His flesh…the same flesh He agreed to put on for me, for you…was ripped from His body. My soul cries out for Jesus as He is forced to carry His own cross up Calvary and how He agrees to endure the pain of the Cross - without any painkiller. 

But, my soul rejoices when He utters the words, “’It is finished!’” (John 19:30)
 
I rejoice because I know fully that Christ was crucified, dead, and buried and that on the third day He rose again!
 
And it is in that moment, when that scene flashes, that I pull my fingers out of my ears, I stop screaming, “La, La, La, La, La!”, I open my eyes and stop fast forwarding.
 
The pain has ended. The misery is over. The sorrow is removed. Jesus has risen indeed!
 
A smile crosses my face. My heart rate now races out of excitement rather than fear. My breathing becomes rapid instead of shallow. And instead of screaming, “La, La, La, La, La!”, I am now screaming, He did it for me! He did it for you! Believe in Him and just like the criminal who hung beside Him, we can live with Him in paradise.
 
As exciting as the celebration of Jesus’ birth is at Christmas, this Holy Week is all the more exciting. Because Jesus walked this Earth and died according to the scriptures, anyone who believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life (see John 3:16). That anyone is me. That anyone is you. That anyone is your worst enemy, your relative, your friend, your neighbor and even those you do not yet know.
 
As hard as it is to watch and read, it is a moment that we need to know. It is a gift that God gave to each one of us. Through Him, your pain can end. Your misery can be over. Your sorrow can be removed.
 
I pray that hearts and eyes are opened this week. I pray for the lost who are seeking that which they do not yet know. I pray God’s will to be done.