4-12-2020

Good Morning All, 

      Matthew 28:2; “And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.”

    If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?  That is one of the simpler, yet oftentimes perplexing questions of a philosophical nature which we use to pass the time and to encourage discussion, debate, and critical thinking.  Does a tree make a sound?  Some say yes, some say no, some say, “I don’t know, I wasn’t there”.  Yet it can make you think.

    If no one was there to actually see the resurrection, did it occur?  The Bible does not list a single witness to the resurrection.  The soldier guards are probably the closest, but they fainted in fear at the sight of the angel.  No one saw the resurrection, but hundreds saw the risen Jesus.  In 1 Corinthians, Paul gives a detailed listing of who saw Jesus after his resurrection.  Thus, we know it happened, even if we didn’t actually see it.  We see everything else.  We see the empty cross and we see the empty tomb.  Some felt the earthquake, and nothing has been the same since.

    The resurrection of Jesus changes everything.  It gives to us, a people who were dead in our sins, lost in our journey, despondent in our existence and desolate in our future hope for today and peace for tomorrow.  With Jesus, our whole outlook changes.  We no longer have to look to this life for our greatness.  We know that death is not an end but a transition.  We know that we always have Jesus with us.  It is with full certainty that we can face life’s many challenges.  Yet these challenges do not overwhelm or destroy us.  They may, and oftentimes do, serve as reminders that we truly need Jesus.  We truly need a loving God who will not abandon us.  We need a loving God who will provide for us, keep us safe and protect us from the schemes, taunts and threats of the devil.  We need that God and the empty cross and empty tomb show us that God.  In this event, we see a God so intent on loving us that he died to pay our debts and rose again to show what is ours from now on; eternal life with Him in the perfected creation.

   The phrase “Christ is risen, he is risen indeed!” should always give us hope.  It should always remind us that we have the victory over death and that nothing in all of creation can ever separate us from the love that God so richly pours out upon us as his people.  We have his eternal promise to never forsake us or leave us, we can face all that the world throws at us with the confidence that Jesus has already defeated all our enemies and won all our battles.  “Christ is risen; He is risen indeed!”  We can go forth in the peace of the Lord!  The ground is still shaking because Jesus changed everything.  The change was to give you eternal life.  Have a blessed and joyful Easter!

Father into your hands we commit our spirit for you have given us life eternal.  Keep us ever mindful of your great love and great mercy.  Keep us ever watchful for that glorious day when you return and bring to completion this wondrous event.  Guard those who are struggling, give them your Spirit of comfort and hope.  Let your holy angel look over us and protect us.  In the precious name of our Risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret