The Joy of Easter
Easter is a celebration of Christ’s victory over death and our hope for eternal life - surely if ever there was anything this gives us hope it is this - the Resurrection.
Easter day for me is the most positive day in the year, a day of Joy and Sunshine, a day of happiness and light and what’s more there are 50 days of Easter.
If that isn’t enough every Sunday is a celebration of Christ glorious resurrection, the 1st day of the week.
Our Sabbath isn’t on the 7th day, Saturday when God rested from creation, but rather we celebrate a new creation, Christ glorious resurrection from the dead on a Sunday the 1st day of the week.
To the Disciples the Resurrection of Jesus was something totally new and unexpected and even unbelievable.
It totally transformed them and gave them a new vision of life itself, real meaning and hope for the future, hope in a world where there was no hope, a future where there was no future and above all a purpose to life itself.
They had been witnesses to the suffering and death of Jesus and during that time they had remained hidden behind locked doors out of fear.
They were afraid that their fate was coming and that they would suffer the same suffering and death as Jesus - their hope in Jesus had been shattered.
The resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit brought about a complete turn around and they began boldly to proclaim that Jesus, who died on the Cross, was alive.
And later when they were arrested, persecuted and imprisoned, they rejoiced as they were now even more closely related to the life experience of their Lord through his resurrection.
The Acts of the Apostles tell us that they were courageous and were ready to suffer for his sake.
That Easter Sunday was a total reversal of the image of Good Friday.
His death which seemed to be a defeat before the world is now shown as a triumph, a victory over death; His dying on the cross in reality was a passage to new life, a far more glourious life.
For Jesus his death was a fulfilment of his Father’s will as he accepted it in total obedience and that led to his victory.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the very heart of Christianity; for his disciples and for us it was indeed a mystery.
Initialy they were not able to comprehend the fact of the Resurrection and grasp its deep inner meaning even though Jesus had spoken to them several times during his public ministry.
The resurrection built up their faith particularly because of their experience of the presence of the risen Jesus and made them courageous and ready to face any eventuality for their master.
Jesus stood among them, talked to them, ate with them just like one of them and He taught them just as they were called upon to build the faith of others.
The disciples once they knew that Jesus was the Messiah and that he had been resurrected from the dead they became totally transformed persons.
They were ready to face suffering and even death in His name – so strong was their faith in Him.
This Easter Joy is something that has to be shared, it is contagious, just like laughter and it is a gift from God, the Holy Spirit working within us to inspire us and to teach us the mysteries of the faith.
It is not sufficient for us to just sit back to experience and enjoy the joy of our Risen Master and Lord we need to share that experience and joy with as many people as possible.. it is our commission.
For them as it is for us the celebration of Easter totally reverses the image of Good Friday. It tells us what Good Friday is all about.
It tells us that what took place on the cross on Good Friday was not just the death of a good man but a real sacrifice, it was not a defeat but a triumph over sin and death, and it was not an end but a great beginning.
St Paul encapsulates this in his letters to Rome and Corinth, he starts by saying boldly, 'we preach Christ crucified' in his letter to the Romans written in about AD56.
Then in Corinthians written about the same time he clarifies that what he preaches is nothing without the resurrection, the power of the resurection makes the death of Jesus far more than the death of a good man.
If it was the name of Jesus bar Joseph he wouldn't even make the pages of history as many died in exactly the same way.
But Jesus bar Joseph became Jesus Christ because of the resurrection and His name lives on, now and in the future.
His death was not a defeat but a triumph over sin and death. His death in reality was a passage to new life and has no end in itself.
Easter is the celebration of the total unending love of God the Father for the sake of Humanity.
He gave His son for the sake of humanity with greater love than we can’t comprehend and with the resurrection Jesus will stay with us forever.
A friend asked Samuel Morse, the inventor of the Telegraph – not the newspaper but Morse code; that during all his experiments, was there ever a moment or stage when he did not know what to do next.
Morse replied that it had happened to him more than once. There were anxious moments when he was unable to progress, a barrier to overcome.
Then how did you overcome asked his friend.... and Morse replied in confidence that in such moments he would just kneel down and pray to God to give him light and understanding.
The friend asked him whether he got that light and understanding from God.... and Morse replied emphatically yes.
And when he received honours from America and from Europe on account of his invention which bears his name he never felt he deserved them.
He had made only a valid application of electricity not because he was superior to others but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, would have revealed it to someone and was pleased to reveal it to Morse.
The irony of electricity is that however hard we might try with the most powerful microscope we cannot see electricity but we know its exists.
Its effects give us light and heat, energy to move things and do the most wonderful things so that our lives are comfortable and interesting.
Electicity is the power source behind so many things; comunications through tv and radio, mobile phones and computers the list is endless.
In the same way the Resurrection of Jesus is the power source behind life and death, we cannot prove it, we cannot prove there is life after death and there is no historical proof that Jesus rose from the dead just as there is no proof that He didn't.
But we can see the effect of the Resurrection and how it changed the lives of men and women to the extent that they were prepared to die a painful death.
It has stood the test of time and a lie does not endure 2000 years!
As St Paul so adequately said in 1Corithians 15:12-15:
Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling.
If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection?
If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ.
And face it—if there’s no resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors.
Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there’s no resurrection.
