Excerpts From: The Messenger |
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Easter Faith
(Matthew 28:1-7)
Eugene Peterson writes, "The Bible is not a script for a funeral service, but it is the record of God always bringing life where we expected to find death. Everywhere it is the story of resurrection." With the past forgiven and the future opened with a cross-shaped hole blasted through the grave, the stress is on the present as it stretches through the future into eternity.” It is Friday, but then Monday is coming!
If Easter signifies more than bunnies, brightly colored eggs and new clothes... hard questions must be answered. Palm Sunday, the last supper, Jesus praying in the garden, his arrest, the appalling crucifixion and the resurrection has to be more than just an annual story-time hour… doesn't it? The movie of the year may be compelling drama but would you see it every year? I think not. So how does Easter help us find real answers for Monday morning problems?
Maybe it would help to remember the followers of Jesus as they removed his lifeless body from the cross and laid it in a borrowed tomb? For three years their lives had meaning and purpose. Once, they were preparing for a "New Kingdom" and Christ would be their Messiah. Now, they were holed up like frightened rabbits awaiting the strike of hungry predators. Confused, grief-stricken and deeply troubled the disciples faced a Monday morning filled only with despair.
But Easter morning brought about a dramatic transformation… “Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was breaking in, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell and fainted.
Then the angel spoke to the women. "’Don't be afraid!" he said. "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples he has been raised from the dead…’" (Matthew 28:1-7)
Jesus was alive! The disciples could restore their broken dreams and continue preparations for a "New Kingdom." Christ was their Messiah after all. No longer would they be frightened. The now bold followers of Jesus would launch a movement that would change the world. "Hear the Good News! Jesus Christ has defeated death and offers eternal life to all who believe."
We can now wake up on Monday morning in the secure knowledge that we will never again face life's obstacles alone! A risen Jesus will give us much needed hope for the future. Because Jesus is alive, Easter is never simply a story. Easter is a testimony of faith offering continual guidance and courage to deal with Monday morning decisions we all face in life.
Most of all… Easter is the promise of living hope that will enable us to cope with disappointment and tragedy. Christ is risen, he is risen indeed. It’s worth celebrating the resurrection of Christ on Sunday morning. Remember that the tomb, after all, is empty. Christ is alive in us! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! May the Spirit of the Resurrected Christ live in you. Amen.
Your friend and pastor
Pastor Samuel King-Kabu
Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged with man. Now the story goes, a little shepherd boy was watching his sheep one Sunday morning and he heard the bells of the church ringing. And watching the people walk along the pasture where he was, he happened to think to himself, "I would like to communicate with God! But, what can I say to God?"
He had never learned a prayer. So, on bended knee, he began to recite the alphabet. Repeating this prayer several times, a man passing by, heard the boy's voice and peaked through the bushes. He saw the young boy kneeling with folded hands, eyes closed, repeating the alphabet.
He interrupted the boy. "What are you doing, my little one?" he asked. The boy replied, "I was praying sir." The man seemed surprised and said, "But why are you reciting the alphabet?" The boy explained, "I don't know any prayers, sir. But I want God to take care of me, and to help me care for my sheep. And so I thought, if I said all I knew, He could put the letters together into words, and He would know all that I want and should say!"
The man smiled and said, "Bless your heart, God will!" And he went on to church knowing full well that he had heard the finest sermon he could possibly hear that day.
Maybe if we thought like little children and let God put together the letters, what we should want, and what we should say, things would probably work out a lot better than we planned!!!
Author unknown
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
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St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal