Pastor's Corner

Easter: Bigger than Christmas.
Christ was born to die, and we were born to live!

In our society there are two great religious holidays-Christmas and Easter. For most of us Christmas is the bigger and greater season of the year. It's the time of year when we gather with family and friends to sing carols, decorate the tree, and exchange gifts. Christmas is the climax of the whole year. Easter? Well, for most people it's just another long weekend, another chance to get away for a few days. Even Christians view Easter as a second-rate holiday!

Some how we've gotten our thinking badly mixed up. If Easter had not happened, Christmas would have no meaning. If the tomb is not empty, the cradle makes no difference. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then he really is just a misguided Jewish rabbi with delusions of grandeur.

If Easter is not true, then Christmas is only the story of an obscure baby born in an out-of-the-way village in a forgotten land some 2000 years ago. It is Easter that gives Christmas its’ meaning. Christ was born to die, and we were born to live.

You want proof? In all the New Testament no major doctrinal point is ever built upon the virgin birth of Christ. Not one. It's true. It is true that Jesus was born to a virgin. But it's never discussed or mentioned. In fact, two gospels don't even say anything about it.

But the resurrection? That's a different story, it is all over the place. In every part of the New Testament, it comes up again and again. We read in the book of Acts 4:28 . When the first Christians preached, they didn't mention Bethlehem, Wise men from the East; they talked about the Empty Tomb. They never got over the fact that on Easter Sunday when they went to the tomb that Easter morning, Jesus wasn’t there. He is Alive for death couldn’t hold him down.

In the shadow of the cross, we come to God covered in our own filth, and yet God cradles us to His chest, holds us tight, and sings over us in our suffering and waiting. In the light of our salvation, it is even harder for us to comprehend how great the God’s love for us must truly be. We were born to live, Easter the greatest gift of all time. Alleluia He is risen death couldn’t hold him in the grave.

Be blessed,

You friend and pastor

Web Page prepared by:

Roger Kenner & Jette Blair.
Content-New Topics Last Updated: 2017/03/29
St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal