Hope in Grief

The next week will be one of the most difficult weeks of the year as we remember the Genocide. Tomorrow morning we’ll take some time at 8:00 to begin praying for healing as we enter a season of grief.

This past Sunday we began the Passion Week at CCR. We celebrated Palm Sunday. Approximately, 2000 years ago Jesus of Nazareth entered Jerusalem as a King of Peace. Life is full of perplexing paradoxes. Five days later, Jerusalem turned upon Jesus and crucified him.

It seems to me that the intersection of the Passion Week and the Week of Mourning in 2009 is a mark of God’s desire to bring healing.

Jesus spoke of our need to grieve when he stated, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4).”

Jesus modeled compassion when he wept for the family at the loss of his dear friend, Lazarus (John 11:33-35). At that moment he proclaimed that death would not be the final matter. Then he raised Lazarus from the dead.

A few days later, Jesus faced death; but in 3 days triumphed over death. Now, history counts itself based upon the historic reality of Jesus’ resurrection. Everything changed.



It is this strange paradox of life that we must continually undergo in order to be whole people. We must both grieve and celebrate.

This week I invite you to join us in this paradox at CCR.

On Friday, 10 April we will remember the death of Jesus with our Good Friday service at 3:00 p.m. I believe that as we ask the question, “Where is God when we suffer?” We find that God is in human form as Jesus suffering with us.

Three days later, we’ll stare at an empty grave. I believe the best evidence proclaims Jesus of Nazareth is God himself and He conquered death. On Easter Sunday, 12 April we will celebrate resurrection. I believe this historical reality fills us with hope in our process of grief.

I hope you will be able to join us in this journey.

Imana ikurinde,

Dave Jenkins