Submitted by Pastor David Wynn, Tarkio Christian Church

Charles Dickens, in his masterpiece epoch “A Tale of Two Cities,” opened his account of the French Revolution with one of the most quoted beginnings of all time. Its words are timeless. Its meaning is universal. Its message is for us all:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”

Depending on who you were, and what role you played in that last week of the life of Jesus Christ, and the Resurrection on that first Easter Sunday, these words from Dickens all had a special significance, a certain meaning. Let’s look at some of the players . . .

The disciples . . . they had all met with their Master one last time for supper, the last meal he would share with them. In their hearts they still refused to believe that this was so, that this pilgrimage that had been the “best of times” would end so abruptly this night, and that for some of them the “worst of times” was about to begin.

Was Judas, the betrayer, of the same mind-set as the rest of the disciples gathered together that evening? Hard to say . . . open to opinion, I guess. Certainly he was disappointed in Jesus’ message of peace to the world. He wanted that challenging knight who would defeat the Roman Empire, with God’s help. Was he hoping that selling out Jesus would bring about an uprising, or was he just fooling himself? Whatever the reason, it was sheer foolishness on his part, and as a result the darkest of nights ahead for him.

Peter the Rock declared his devotion boldly to Jesus at the table that night, saying, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” In the end Peter let his fear of prison and death deny that he even knew Jesus. It was the worst period of darkness ever for any person, the “winter of despair” for his soul.

We shouldn’t forget that Peter was one of the two disciples who had the courage to follow Jesus into the courtyard of the High Priest’s house, while the others fled into hiding. The person of courage always runs more risks than the person who seeks safety by hiding from danger.

Let us not forget here the Jews who had come to arrest Jesus that night in the Garden of Gethsemane. They displayed themselves not as men of faith for which heaven was a one-way road of a predestined journey, but instead as those who “had nothing before them,” and would in all likelihood be “going the other way.” I say all likelihood with reservation because Jesus demonstrated his “spring of hope” for them that night when he healed the ear of one of the High Priests after it had been hacked off by Peter, and the next day on the cross, when he looked out to his enemies, and said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Pontius Pilate, governor of Palestine, who condemned Jesus to death. In the scripture account of Pilate’s involvement, one thing is crystal clear: Pilate did not want to condemn Jesus. He made no fewer than four attempts to save the life of Jesus. For Pilate, it was “the worst of times.” The one thing that the Roman government could not afford to tolerate in their far-flung empire was civil disorder. It would be a catastrophe that they would be unable to handle.

Throughout history we have seen the results of nations who have over-occupied, mercilessly killing and maiming those who before were their neighbors and allies. We see it in the genocide in Ukraine.

Demas, the thief who hung on a cross beside Jesus, who said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” For Demas, whose life had been a trail of darkness that led nowhere, Jesus offered an honored place in the Kingdom of Heaven, saying, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise.” This short but powerful telling proves that it is never too late to turn to Christ, that so long as a person’s heart beats, the invitation of Christ still stands, that while there is life, there is hope. For Demas it was now the “season of light, with all paths turning towards heaven.”

On that journey to his death, Jesus was not completely alone. By his side were the women of his life, those followers who stood by him throughout it all, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, Jesus’ mother.

Who can forget that scene from the film “The Passion of the Christ,” when Mary runs to Jesus, who has fallen from the weight of the cross, his face covered with blood and tormented with pain, and Jesus said to her, “Behold, mother, I make all things new…” And Mary Magdalene, the first to discover the resurrected Jesus on that first Easter morn, the one whom Jesus had saved from a life of despair. Mary Magdalene stood by Jesus, and was with him at the cross. Mary Magdalene was a devoted disciple whose courage and hope in the “worst of times” was her redemption, and ours, a hope that says the “best of times” are always here – you just have to know where to look.

Lastly we look at the key player in the story today. Jesus had fulfilled his promise. God’s promise. He had come to earth to save all the people of the earth. On His day of Resurrection we can and must find hope, and look once again to the words of Charles Dickens who closed his account in “A Tale of Two Cities” with the words of Sydney Carton, who sacrificed his life for another, on the way to his death, saying… “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.”