Easter Blessing

On this, the holiest day of the Christian year, it seems appropriate for me to stop, move away from the constant pull of the world, and meditate on a higher reason for my own existence. Therefore, I share with you today, briefly, what is on my heart.

In the account of the Easter story found in the Gospel of John (John 20:1-18), John helps us spend time with Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb of Jesus as she encounters her own emptiness. The story of the Resurrection is not some myth or fable, concocted to explain the Christian faith. No, it is MUCH more than that! It is a report of a real event that took place at a specific time in history, in a specific place, with real witnesses, who continue to provide their testimony through the gospels.

On Easter Sunday morning, when we stand and exchange the historic greeting, "Christ is risen; he is risen indeed," we join the eyewitnesses of the gospels, along with the countless others throughout that last 2,000 years who, with us, have placed their faith and their eternal outcome in that confession. We have experienced the resurrection of Christ in our own hearts, and we are also able to affirm that the resurrection of Christ is more than an idle tale.

This Easter morning when we encounter the empty tomb, what will it mean? There is a mountain of difference between "he's not here" and "he has risen." When Simon Peter and John saw the empty tomb, they believed. Mary stood at that same empty tomb and wept at her own emptiness.

The good news for us today is that God does not leave us to our own thoughts, even when we are full of doubt or despair. The lesson Mary teaches us today is to persevere until God's voice breaks through the fog of our lives.

Two of the disciples ran back to town with a believing conclusion. Mary stayed where she was until Jesus cleared her confusion. Will God do anything less for us? This is my prayer for us all:

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

On Easter morning, let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.

In the Love and Grace of Our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
　
Bill Fisher