April 2010

Read Luke 24:1-8

“CRUCIFIED AND RISEN FOR YOU"

With anxious hearts, we will begin to gather in our church well before the breaking of the dawn. We will direct our gaze to the altar that had been stripped of its appointments just a few evenings earlier. The dark shroud that had concealed the cross is gone. The sanctuary is marked by the whiteness of the paraments that symbolize the purity and perfection of our Blessed Redeemer. The fragrance of fresh lilies fills the sanctuary and delights our senses.  The blessings of eternal life abound as we feast upon His Word and Sacrament. The church celebrates our Lord’s triumph over death and the grave.

The empty tomb is the very foundation of our Christian faith. All that is recorded of Christ’s life in the four Gospel accounts, spanning from the time of His virgin birth to His death on the cross, would be rendered meaningless apart from His resurrection from the dead. Apart from the events of that first Easter morning, there would exist no basis for future hope whatsoever. The Apostle Paul confirms this when he writes, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). Thanks be to God! The Son has set us free! The Resurrection of Our Lord is the fulfillment of our great hope. At the hearing of this Good News, it’s easy to understand why many of us might regard Easter Sunday as the glorious finale of our church year. This day marks our God’s crowning triumph in Christ!

 But did you know that the Resurrection of Our Lord lies at the very heart of our church’s calendar? From that center, our church year receives its meaning and takes it shape from the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. As we faithfully gather around His Word on Sunday mornings, we share in the great privilege of walking alongside Jesus from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, where His journey reaches its climax at that place called Calvary where “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13).

Paul’s words to the Galatians make it clear. Nothing can ever surpass Easter Day as a time for rejoicing with thanksgiving in the life of the Church. It is the most important event in salvation history for every believer in Christ. Yet, in the midst of the great excitement that surrounds this event year after year, there can exist an equally great temptation to celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord apart from those sobering events that led up to the divine necessity for this glorious day. The arrival of Easter Sunday in all of its incomparable glory must be tempered by the realization that two events will always remain inextricably linked. Paul identified them as a matter of first importance to the Church in Corinth and to all of us when he writes, “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3b-4). Humility preceded glory. Sacrifice preceded salvation, and even in the hour of celebration, we must never fail to faithfully reflect on the cost associated with that great sacrifice. “He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). The great suffering, death and burial that Christ undertook for the sins of the entire world remain forever inseparable from His resurrection. 

The forgiveness of sins, life and salvation that we celebrate on Easter Day is the result of His death and His resurrection. From there Our Lord continues in His Work through the life of His Church where each believer is joined to Christ in death and resurrection through the waters of holy baptism. And from there, our life and witness in Christ is securely anchored in the sharing of His suffering and the promise of His glory. Easter is more than a day that a Christian can look forward to once each year; it is celebrated every day through the life of the Church until the time of His return.

CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! ALLEULIA!

 Pastor Bruce