Genesis 1:1-2:2; Genesis 22: 1-18;Â Exodus 14: 15-15:1; Isaiah 54:5-14;Â Isaiah 55: 1-11; Baruch 3:9-15; 32-44; Ezeckiel 36: 16-17a; 18-28;Â Romans 6: 3-11; Mark 16:1-7
The celebration of our reason for being Christian begins. Christianity is not about lovely music at Sunday liturgies (though that is nice and, no doubt, brings many closer to God) nor community (though as the Body of Christ we are united to each other through baptism) nor even earning a ticket to heaven (no one can earn salvation) but about Christ and His Conquest of death. For it is through the Resurrection that we see the power of Jesus and the validation of His public ministry which on the surface was a failure (e.g. the majority of the Jews did not accept Him and his end was not as a ruler on the throne of David with a restored Israel but dying a very public and humiliating death on a cross). Death – which we will all face within ourselves and someday face to face upon our last breath- has no ultimate power over us for through Christ we have been given an example of how to join our sufferings to His and a promise of life beyond this one. This should not only remind us of the infinite value of all life but also give us courage to be boldly Christian in a world which looks askance at those who ‘turn the other cheek’ and ‘love your enemies as yourself’.
Today we celebrate our God who offers to help us live, reminds us of the dignity of each person (regardless of how we may have muddied our life with sin) and calls us to life as a Christian, Â loving, serving and trusting in a God who underwent the horrors of death to bring us life.
Please remember Mission Doctors on this day through prayer and donations.
Happy Easter!