Holy Week begins on Sunday. I'm always fascinated by this week.
Think about everything that happened over these seven days:
What a week!
Jesus’ resurrection is a climax of the Easter story – and not only that, but it’s the climax of the gospel, of our whole Christian lives.
As we journey through the week leading up to Easter, I want to encourage us to think about how Easter opens the door for us in three ways.
We are people of faith who embrace the story of wonder and surprise.
Mark’s description of the resurrection at the very end of his book is fascinating. He says, “Trampling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid” (Mark 16:8).
Try to enter the story of the Gospels and imagine how it was like for those first witnesses of the resurrection.
The people who crucified Jesus and buried him did not anticipate his resurrection, even though Jesus had told them about it. The women did not expect Jesus to be raised from the dead – they were going from the tomb bewildered at who had rolled the stone away. Jesus has told them it was going to happen, but they still did not expect it to happen.
Mark finishes that passage with a bit of a cliffhanger. I think that's the whole point of Mark’s Gospel. He's showing the raw emotions of the people who encountered the resurrection.
The story reveals the discovery of an empty tomb, kindling an anticipation that Jesus has been raised. But the story ends in fear and wonder and silence.
Mark seems to be trying to evoke a response, inviting readers to join with the women of the tomb and experience the raw emotions of such an earth-shattering revelation that meant so much in their lives.
There's something authentic there.
One thing is clear: the tomb was empty. Christ had risen.
What that means is that Jesus is who he claimed to be. It's good news for all those who have lived in the shadow of oppression – a new world has begun. The evidence of resurrection puts to rest any doubt about who he was. After he rose, Jesus “appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve,” Paul says in 1 Corinthians. “After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time” (15:5-6).
If the claim of Christianity that Jesus rose from the dead is true, then it is true whether we believe it or not. It doesn't change the reality.
I'm not a follower of Jesus because Christianity answers all my questions about the world, about suffering and wars around the globe.
I'm a believer today because I believe that Jesus died for me and was raised to life to give me life.
And that anchors my faith.
The resurrection is simply truth, so authentically described in Mark’s matter-of-fact account.
Sins are forgiven and nothing can prevent the power of the gospel from working in the lives of those who believe it enough to act on it.
We live in such a fragmented, disconnected world today. Don’t we?
Although we claim to be tolerant, we are probably the most intolerant generation ever. One group condemns the other, while another rises united in retaliation, perpetuating the cycle.
The resurrection is powerful because it gave impetus to the new movement.
The disciples were afraid, fleeing the scene of Jesus’ arrest. The day after declaring his loyalty to Jesus, Peter denies knowing him.
Yet after the resurrection, they were emboldened to go and proclaim Jesus. A new movement began. It opened the door to belong to this reconciled community.
One of Easter Sunday’s readings is Acts 10, where we find Peter having trouble believing that God’s salvation applies to non-Jews. He's having a real difficult time getting his head around how the Gentiles can actually be included in God’s saving work.
“I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism,” he says (10:34). And so, when the penny drops, he gives a sermon focusing on life, death, the resurrection of Jesus, the coming judgment and the forgiveness on offer. And this offer is for everyone, including the Gentiles.
Easter reminds us that the Church is first and foremost a family, a community of Easter people who belong to one another and to God. The curtain of the temple has been torn apart, and we've been included. It's only been made possible because of Jesus' death and resurrection. We face no guilt in life, no fear in death. Nothing can separate us from God's love, regardless of how much we might feel we don’t fit in.
I recently heard Ed Vaughan preach at Victory Church from Ephesians 1, a glorious passage about what God has done for us. It begins by praising God for all the blessings that he's given us in Christ – for all the blessings of the past (being chosen before the foundation of the world), the blessings of the present (the forgiveness of sins) and for the blessings of the future (all the things that God has in store for us in the present and future because of his resurrection). He then made the following beautiful remark: We are included!
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation when you believed in Christ” (1:13).
That’s why the resurrection of Jesus is so powerful: love triumphs over hatred, life conquers death, unity overcomes division.
All are welcome and all belong, because we are Easter people. We belong to the family of God in Christ.
We are invited to become a people of hope.
Many people today feel like they do not have any hope. With all the wars, political friction and abrupt societal changes that are happening in the world, there's uncertainty about what the future holds.
The story of God raising Jesus from death is amazing, because it shows that death is not the end.
It's only the beginning. It's a gateway. It means there's more to come.
If God can overcome death, there are endless possibilities for what God can do in us and through us. We see the disciples' lives radically transformed and they become amazing bold people.
It's good to be reminded that the one who raised Jesus from the dead is a work within us. The resurrection is a work of God. We need to lean on him.
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you (Romans 8:11).
The word “resurrection” comes in the same Latin root word as “resurgence” – resurgere. It makes me think of the hope we have that we can be made new again. We can be restored. We can become new people, the people God wants us to be.
We can fulfill his purpose on Earth and flourish in every way. Death is never final, and tears and darkness can never win – joy comes in the morning.
The power of the resurrection changes us, saves us, heals us, sustains us, guides us. And I like the final reading in Isaiah that talks about the future, sort of this promise about the future, about the world that God is preparing for us and His power to bring it about.
My prayer and my blessing to our community this Easter is that God would enable us to respond to this glorious resurrection of Christ. May we live as Easter people – people who celebrate Jesus' power through faith, love and hope, knowing that Easter opens the door for all to believe, to belong and to become.
Amen.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
Holy Week begins on Sunday. I'm always fascinated by this week.
Think about everything that happened over these seven days:
What a week!
Jesus’ resurrection is a climax of the Easter story – and not only that, but it’s the climax of the gospel, of our whole Christian lives.
As we journey through the week leading up to Easter, I want to encourage us to think about how Easter opens the door for us in three ways.
We are people of faith who embrace the story of wonder and surprise.
Mark’s description of the resurrection at the very end of his book is fascinating. He says, “Trampling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid” (Mark 16:8).
Try to enter the story of the Gospels and imagine how it was like for those first witnesses of the resurrection.
The people who crucified Jesus and buried him did not anticipate his resurrection, even though Jesus had told them about it. The women did not expect Jesus to be raised from the dead – they were going from the tomb bewildered at who had rolled the stone away. Jesus has told them it was going to happen, but they still did not expect it to happen.
Mark finishes that passage with a bit of a cliffhanger. I think that's the whole point of Mark’s Gospel. He's showing the raw emotions of the people who encountered the resurrection.
The story reveals the discovery of an empty tomb, kindling an anticipation that Jesus has been raised. But the story ends in fear and wonder and silence.
Mark seems to be trying to evoke a response, inviting readers to join with the women of the tomb and experience the raw emotions of such an earth-shattering revelation that meant so much in their lives.
There's something authentic there.
One thing is clear: the tomb was empty. Christ had risen.
What that means is that Jesus is who he claimed to be. It's good news for all those who have lived in the shadow of oppression – a new world has begun. The evidence of resurrection puts to rest any doubt about who he was. After he rose, Jesus “appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve,” Paul says in 1 Corinthians. “After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time” (15:5-6).
If the claim of Christianity that Jesus rose from the dead is true, then it is true whether we believe it or not. It doesn't change the reality.
I'm not a follower of Jesus because Christianity answers all my questions about the world, about suffering and wars around the globe.
I'm a believer today because I believe that Jesus died for me and was raised to life to give me life.
And that anchors my faith.
The resurrection is simply truth, so authentically described in Mark’s matter-of-fact account.
Sins are forgiven and nothing can prevent the power of the gospel from working in the lives of those who believe it enough to act on it.
We live in such a fragmented, disconnected world today. Don’t we?
Although we claim to be tolerant, we are probably the most intolerant generation ever. One group condemns the other, while another rises united in retaliation, perpetuating the cycle.
The resurrection is powerful because it gave impetus to the new movement.
The disciples were afraid, fleeing the scene of Jesus’ arrest. The day after declaring his loyalty to Jesus, Peter denies knowing him.
Yet after the resurrection, they were emboldened to go and proclaim Jesus. A new movement began. It opened the door to belong to this reconciled community.
One of Easter Sunday’s readings is Acts 10, where we find Peter having trouble believing that God’s salvation applies to non-Jews. He's having a real difficult time getting his head around how the Gentiles can actually be included in God’s saving work.
“I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism,” he says (10:34). And so, when the penny drops, he gives a sermon focusing on life, death, the resurrection of Jesus, the coming judgment and the forgiveness on offer. And this offer is for everyone, including the Gentiles.
Easter reminds us that the Church is first and foremost a family, a community of Easter people who belong to one another and to God. The curtain of the temple has been torn apart, and we've been included. It's only been made possible because of Jesus' death and resurrection. We face no guilt in life, no fear in death. Nothing can separate us from God's love, regardless of how much we might feel we don’t fit in.
I recently heard Ed Vaughan preach at Victory Church from Ephesians 1, a glorious passage about what God has done for us. It begins by praising God for all the blessings that he's given us in Christ – for all the blessings of the past (being chosen before the foundation of the world), the blessings of the present (the forgiveness of sins) and for the blessings of the future (all the things that God has in store for us in the present and future because of his resurrection). He then made the following beautiful remark: We are included!
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation when you believed in Christ” (1:13).
That’s why the resurrection of Jesus is so powerful: love triumphs over hatred, life conquers death, unity overcomes division.
All are welcome and all belong, because we are Easter people. We belong to the family of God in Christ.
We are invited to become a people of hope.
Many people today feel like they do not have any hope. With all the wars, political friction and abrupt societal changes that are happening in the world, there's uncertainty about what the future holds.
The story of God raising Jesus from death is amazing, because it shows that death is not the end.
It's only the beginning. It's a gateway. It means there's more to come.
If God can overcome death, there are endless possibilities for what God can do in us and through us. We see the disciples' lives radically transformed and they become amazing bold people.
It's good to be reminded that the one who raised Jesus from the dead is a work within us. The resurrection is a work of God. We need to lean on him.
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you (Romans 8:11).
The word “resurrection” comes in the same Latin root word as “resurgence” – resurgere. It makes me think of the hope we have that we can be made new again. We can be restored. We can become new people, the people God wants us to be.
We can fulfill his purpose on Earth and flourish in every way. Death is never final, and tears and darkness can never win – joy comes in the morning.
The power of the resurrection changes us, saves us, heals us, sustains us, guides us. And I like the final reading in Isaiah that talks about the future, sort of this promise about the future, about the world that God is preparing for us and His power to bring it about.
My prayer and my blessing to our community this Easter is that God would enable us to respond to this glorious resurrection of Christ. May we live as Easter people – people who celebrate Jesus' power through faith, love and hope, knowing that Easter opens the door for all to believe, to belong and to become.
Amen.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
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