EASTER CELEBRATION
Many people today picture God in various ways. Some see God as an old Grandpa sitting in His rocking chair stroking His long white beard. Others picture God as a stern judge always watching. Do you think God is waiting for you to do something wrong? God wants you to be’ ‘terrorized” by your sins but He lovingly and graciously desires to draw you into the outstretched arms of His forgiving Son, Jesus. On Easter Day, we celebrate the astonishing, miraculous resurrection of Jesus. The open tomb is the declaration of objective justification for the whole world. Jesus has accomplished His mission and redeemed His people from slavery to sin and the death that results.
The object of Easter’s celebration is not just the resurrection. We are freed not only from sin but we are also filled with grace. The liturgy of Easter has some important things to say about how Christians of today must spend their lives. We are to be living witnesses of Christ’s resurrection by letting the grace it has brought us shine out for all to see. The intent of the Lenten season is to prepare Christians for rising with Christ at Easter from death into this new life of holiness. In the ancient church, Lent was a time of preparation for Baptism, by which Christians are born into anew life.
At first, the resurrection of Jesus was celebrated every Sunday. Easter was the first of the church’s feasts. It was the only festival and the source of all others. As the church year gradually developed by the church, an annual celebration of the resurrection became the norm. Easter is not a single day for the church but a season of forty-nine days, a week of weeks. It is a season of joy and praise, of wonderland mystery, for the power of God has reversed the power of sin and death. The season concludes on the 50th day, the festival of Pentecost.
So where will we find Jesus today? Not among the dead, that’s for sure. As we wait for His Second Coming, we will find Him among the living – those who trust His words. ”You are children of God.” Your gifts and prayers make a very real impact on this ministry every day. Remember the Lutheran Hour Ministries and look forward to see how the Lord will work through us.
The Lutheran Hour can be heard every Sunday on radio stations
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