Leon Festinger’s concept of Cognitive Dissonance was presented as part of an undergraduate class. I love the concept. It often applies to me.
Sometimes events just don’t make sense. We can’t wrap our heads around what’s happening. My life has experienced many changes—especially around employment. Accepting the changed environment and moving on can take time. Maybe some people adapt quickly. Not always me.
While I’ve been thinking about things during this Holy Week, I’ve concluded how unfair we’ve always been to Jesus’s followers. It was a tough week.
- Sunday—a huge parade with thousands cheering them on.
- Monday-Wednesday—teaching at the Temple, quiet dinners with Mary and Martha and Lazarus
- Thursday—a quiet Passover meal with teachings they didn’t understand fully, quickly followed by arrest, trial 1, trial 2, judgement.
- Friday—after a long night when they made themselves scarce, another type of parade through Jerusalem, no cheering, just jeering, ending with death.
Preachers will sometimes talk about Saturday people. This is the in-between time. The followers who had scattered and hid on Friday regrouped on Saturday completely unsure of the significance of what happened and fearful of what would happen. Would the Jewish leaders be satisfied with doing away with the leader? Would they search out followers to kill them and put an end of the threat to their leadership?
Sunday, the empty tomb. Try to wrap your head around that! No experience could have prepared them for the shock.
Then Monday. And beyond. How do we live with this new reality? We have to grow up and become the leaders he had trained us to be. We have to learn to live with a different experience of Jesus.
They did, and we can.
Faith Venture 
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