Resurrection Faith

After the Crucifixion, on Friday evening, shortly after Jesus had been taken from the cross and placed in Joseph’s tomb, devout Jews were beginning to keep the Sabbath. There is a pause a day of rest, Hebrew believers in Jerusalem Nazareth, Bethlehem, Capernaum, Alexandria, Babylon, Athens, Rome—devout Jews everywhere—lit two candles and welcomed the Sabbath: “Blessed art Thou, O God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by Thy commandments and has commanded us to kindle the Sabbath lights.”

One candle was lit for the Exodus command, which says, “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.… You shall not do any work.… For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:8, 10–11, nrsv).

The other candle was lit for the Deuteronomy command, which says, “Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy.… You shall not do any work.… Remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 5:12, 14–15).

On Saturday at sundown the prayer was repeated, the candles again lit, and the final prayer, the Havdilah, closed the holy day of rest.1

Matthew 28:1-10

1 Peterson, E. H. (2006). Living the Resurrection: The Risen Christ in Everyday Life (pp. 39–40). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.

Today is Easter. A pastors and spiritual leaders say “he is risen” and in return congregation around the world say “he is risen in deed”. But risen for what, and why?

#1 . God loves us. We experience great loss and pain in death. The Power of the resurrection that defeats death. The scripture say discuss a doctrine of what happens to our bodies at the when Christ returns. God will raise everyone from the dead of those that believe in him.

The word death is to describe something that is serperated. There is a sense of isolation that comes with death. We are restricted from the things, maybe the people that we enjoy and love. It comes with feelings of loss and grief. Those of who have experienced the death of a loved one knows how awful that separation feels. That is physical death.

There is another kind of death. Spiritual death. Separation from God. Adam and Eve gave into that first temptation, and living apart from God became a part of the human equation. What separates of from God? Selfishness. if I am honest, it is easier for me to think of myself and much harder to put others first. Especially God. Are humans capable of good. In a a sense yes. But, the resurrection gives us power to multiply our good with God’s presence working through us. That is reality.

There are two primary ways of dealing with reality. Somethings we can understand by getting the information and adding it to what we know already. Take this virus for instance. Health experts could tell us that there have been Covid Virus’ in the past. We know the basic nature of Covid Viruses. There were many things experts did not understand, and are still trying to learn.

Then there is the kind of knowledge that comes with experience. Understanding is helpful. But what is that like for me? We are working hard to not have this type of personal knowledge. People all around the world are trying to learn how to stay away from one another to slow and stop the spread of this thing.

Many are fearful of it because we don’t know all there is to know yet. We are trying to figure out how it works so we can control it. What we do know is that is not about us. What is important is not how different this may make me feel, but it’s about others and keeping them safe, it’s doing what I can do, but it’s not about me.

That is sort of like Easter, and Jesus’s resurrection. It’s beyond our control. This is a reality can’t understand because only God knows the details. It’s unlike anything else in life. We can only be in awe at it’s power and magnificence. Unlike death and disease which is temporary , the resurrection points to what eternal, what is beautiful and glorious.

We may not understand. We don’t have to . God knows that we are weak. Before I was living as a Christian, I went to church. I acted one way when around church people, and another way when I wasn’t. Then I began to know the love of Jesus. I did understand his love. But in fear he began to comfort me, and Jesus slowing started to heal my heart from the things that meant “death” to me. at the time. Like, the divorce of my parents that led to the absence of my Dad, the anger I felt, and the difficulties that came with growing up and being unable to concentrate on school. My reaction to the hard things in life was not to seek peace but to act out in anger at all of the things that let me down. The resurrection to means me spiritual freedom and happiness, that would have never have possible had Jesus just died on the cross and stayed in the grave.

The resurrection of Jesus makes for us a way to overcome death physical and spiritual death. We become aware of this at the time of lent. We mourn over our sin and death in this world. Some churches make us aware of the foregiveness our sins through confessions and absolutions through liturgy and ritual. But it is a very Christian thing to know that God hears our confessions, and forgives us when we sin. I would go further to say it is a very human thing. We were born to live, and to live in freedom. The very creator that put life and breath in you and gave you a means to be born on this planet. Through ancestors and parents, thought the best thing he could do to sustain your life forever was to send his one and only son for us to believe in. It so happens that that one and only son had to die a horrible death to be raised with a glorious resurrection.

And, this glorious resurrection is the same power that takes you from living your own way in self-ness to life tranformed and new in Godlikeness. He did this because he loves you. Christ deafeted sin and death when he died on the cross. The resurrection is a testement to the power of of what God can do in us.

Colossians 3:1-4

There is no way to understand. But we can test it’s truth through living lives of faith. Though our bodies and our minds fail us over time, viruses spread, there is violence to contend with remember the resurrection. Though everything in this life would beg to tell us differently. He came to give us life, and life more abuntantly.