“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” Luke 24:5b
Easter 2019
Dear Church Family and Friends,
Most of us have experienced the death of a loved one. The initial news fills us with sadness and grief; sometimes we are overcome by these feelings. Imagine what the early followers of Jesus felt as they witnessed their leader hang on the cross and die such a public and torturous death. For them, like some of us, the eventual death may have felt like a relief because their loved one no longer had to suffer. But in the ensuing hours, regret and sorrow set in.
- Some of them may have played the “If only” game – if only Jesus hadn’t gone to Jerusalem this week, or if only we had protected him better, or if only ….”
- Others feared what life would be like without Jesus. They had devoted their lives to him, and now he was gone. What were they supposed to do?
- Surely others reflected on their few years together and remembered how Jesus taught and healed, and they wished with all their hearts that he was still alive.
While wishes do not always come true, through the miraculous power of God, Jesus was raised from the dead. And that is the message of hope we receive each Easter – the grave is empty, Jesus is ALIVE!
But this Good News does not stop with Jesus’ resurrection. Before his death, Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though thy die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26a). This wonderful assurance is offered to each of us who believe that Jesus died and was resurrected, paying the price for our sins. Christian musicians, Gloria and William Gaither, described our Easter faith this way:
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow; Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future and life is worth the living – just because He lives.
Rev. Martha A. Dominy