17 Apr Easter

The lilies make an appearance on Easter Sunday. It’s a way of remembering loved ones and clinging to the hope we have in Christ.

Cory Wilson, in “Why Resurrection People Remember the Dead” says this:

“When I was a child, a family in our church lost their daughter in a tragic car accident just weeks before her high school graduation. Years after Victoria died, my mom touched base with her parents, long after the community had stopped talking to them about it. On one occasion my mom asked them, ‘Do you ever wonder what Victoria’s children would have looked like?’ Talking about the dead is uncomfortable for people, but for Victoria’s parents, it was a breath of fresh healing air. Victoria’s dad said, ‘You are the only one who has ever mentioned her name. Everyone else is afraid. Hearing her name brings comfort.'”

There are numerous evidences of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The empty tomb, the eyewitness accounts, the changed lives, the graves being opened and bodies walking around (“I see dead people”), and those who gave their lives for the gospel, are a few of them. It is true that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” We worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, because the resurrection of Christ occurred on this day. Each Sunday is a celebration of that incredible day!

Of course, Easter Sunday is like the Super Bowl for us pastor types, It’s the highest attended Sunday of the year, with Mother’s Day a close second. We’ll have people who only come this one Sunday of the year, and perhaps Christmas Eve too. I suspect, and hope, that we will have people who are attending a worship service for the first time in their lives. Easter is a great time to welcome and invite people to church.

Easter Sunday is the basis for all the other Sundays. The resurrection of Christ validated everything Jesus said and did. It is the basis of our hope beyond the grave. Jesus is the “firstfruits” from the dead, and those who believe in him will also be resurrected from the dead.

I’ll look forward to this time together. “He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!–DC