[LIFE…Easter Celebration

Why is it so important to observe Easter? Jesus was already raised from the dead so why is that so important? Ok, I know that just the thought of someone being raised from the dead has to be right up there as the most fascinating and remarkable miracle that people of faith have to accept and believe. Now, we are about to observe and celebrate our Lord’s resurrection from the dead, but why did He allow Himself to be crucified, died and buried in first place? Jesus’ resurrection shows us that He is truly the Son of God, the Alpha and the Omega, Lord of all. But did He have to die and be raised from the dead to prove it? There has to be more to all the above questions than just its face value.

Everything that Jesus did highlight the fact that He is the Son of the living God. The answer to all the questions above lies in the reason He went through such a radical process to show us that He is indeed the Son of God, a process that included the virgin birth, His walk upon this guilty sod, the scourge of going through the crucifixion and finally, being buried in the tomb of the wicked. But why did He come down from all His glory to go through all that? The reason is because of Life.  Jesus did all this because He wanted to pull His love ones from the jaws of death. Through Him and only Him do we have life! Life everlasting can only be obtained through Christ Jesus.  On Easter, we are celebrating the fact that we are alive because of Him. We were dead to sin:

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people, because all sinned”— (Romans 5:12)

We are now alive because of what Jesus did on the cross and even now as He sits by the right hand of the Father interceding for us. The physical death He endured on the cross was the bodily agony He suffered, but what we tend to forget is the more agonizing suffering of carrying the burden of our sins, our death. In other words, Jesus took on Himself our death before He died on the cross; He carried the weight of the death that all of us deserve, everyone of us from the beginning of time to present and for those who are yet to come.  Now, this is why the resurrection is so important.  Just as Jesus took on the death of every soul, through Him, and in Him, is the life of every soul that is realized because of His resurrection. Just imagine the glory of such an event! In Jesus is every aspect of life, the celebration in heaven and on the earth.  As a matter of fact, the whole cosmos rejoices with all the glory of His resurrection.

This is what Jesus taught us about life through Him:

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over form death to life.  Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself.”  (John 5:24-26)

Maybe we should celebrate Easter as LIFE Day, the day when we commemorate Christ overcoming death for all of us.  After this, Jesus left us with one command: take this true way of life everlasting to all ends of the earth. Share the good news! This is such a precious gift, that we should do everything to protect each and every stage of it: We should strive to protect life at conception, in the womb because the precious babies are the most innocent among us, and God has a plan for them.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:13, 16) 

We must protect life on earth so the light of Christ can shine through us for the world to see.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) 

For those who are in the twilight of their years, have respect for their lives because the Giver of life still emanates in them:

“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17)

As the world sees Christ in us and through us, they are reassured that though they die, they will have life everlasting.

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30).

This I add, because we now live in a society, that in their own power and warped wisdom, is trying to determine which life is worth saving. We no longer measure life in the sacred realm; it is now measured on a scale created by man to suit his own purpose.  Fight against this, because the life in all belongs to Him who died for all.

O, the glory of Christ’s resurrection is life, life abundantly, life now and life everlasting! Happy Easter, or should I say Happy Life Day…welcome to life eternal!

Fr. J R Tracey