John 1:1-18 -- “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in Him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
1 Peter 1:3-4, 18-21 -- “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by divine mercy we have a new birth into a living hope; through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we have an inheritance that is imperishable in heaven. The ransom that was paid to free us was not paid in silver or gold, but in the precious blood of Christ, the Lamb without spot or stain. God raised Jesus from the dead and gave him glory so that we might have faith and hope in God.”
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Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
It is like a breath of fresh air to be able to say these words. The “Alleluias” which have been put away for the past 46 days have gloriously returned to our voices and we shout them out with joy. Alleluia!
The bookend verses we see today from John’s Gospel and 1 Peter tell us the whole story. Jesus was there at the beginning of time, the inception of our life with God, and He is the one who brings it all to a glorious end in the fulfillment of God’s covenant with us.
When I consider all that I see, hear, read and feel when it comes to God and the gift of His Son, how can I not believe? I consider myself a fairly smart person, thanks to the diligence of my parents, the investment of teachers and the continual guidance I receive from my best friend, my wife Greta. I do not think I am easily fooled. Yes, I can get caught up in the emotion of a good book or movie, become inspired by a story on the news or the web, but I pay attention with a skeptical mind and can quickly tell when I am seeing the truth or a lie.
The evidence of God’s work in my life is overwhelming. The miracles I see every day are abundant and wonderful. The Holy Spirit, at work on my heart each time I read The Word is undeniable. It is too perfect to have been created by the mind of man. For those who think that this Faith...Christianity...is all a contrived ploy to suppress the masses, a great plot and farce propagated by some self-serving cult in order to enrich themselves, they are wrong.
Of course, there are all of the worldly trappings of this celebration. Candy, baskets filled with goodies and that fake grass which seems to end up everywhere, decorated eggs and of course “Easter Deals” at the stores; all of these things seem to supersede the true message of Christ’s resurrection. But are they really all that bad? If nothing else, all of these things which have come from that one moment, when the stone was rolled away, glorify God and His gift to us regardless of the intent or direction from which they come. Even if a person ignores the miracle of Easter because of their focus on the material elements of the celebration, are they still not aware of it in some small way? And, when God works on people over time, does He not send little messages which whittle away at hardened hearts? When you see all of this “Easter-ness” today, egg hunts and sales, candy and bunnies, bright dresses and shiny faces, all of this...every little bit...comes from one thing: Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, defeating death once and for all.
It is too perfect. It can be of nothing else but from our glorious Creator: God, Yahweh, Jehovah, Elohim, Allah, El, Adonai, El Shaddai, Abba, Emmanuel!!! My heart, my mind, my soul all compel me to believe. The miracle of God sending His Son as a sacrifice is the overwhelming evidence of His Love for us. Man could not have come up with a story this good.
And the greatest and simplest message of all? The undeniable truth? Jesus Christ did not die for US.
He died for YOU!
If you were the only person on earth, the only being ever created, He still would have laid His life down for YOU. Yes, smile with joy as you feel these words wash over you and refresh you.
So, say it again...over and over...it is undeniable. Alleluia, Christ is risen!! The Lord is risen indeed!! Alleluia!!!
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