Monday, April 25, 2011

What Is the Easter Celebration?

What is the Easter celebration to you? What does it really mean?

Below is a video of an advertisement that seems to depict what Easter means for most people today.




How about you and your family? Perhaps you began the day with an Easter Service or even a couple of services. Perhaps you attended an Easter Sunrise service and then a later service as well.

Perhaps not.

Did you get together with family? That seems to be the most common activity for people on Easter Sunday. Did you have an Easter egg and basket hunt? Did you have a big meal? Did you watch a sports activity on the television? Did you catch up on what has been happening in the extended family?

Did you pray together? If so, did you give thanks for the gift of restoration into God’s Holy Communion? Did you give thanks for the new life that is poured out in the cup of the New Testament in Christ’s blood? Do your family members even agree about such things so as to count these as true and as cause for thanksgiving?

Did you discuss together the rich texts from the Holy Scriptures? Did you talk about how death has been swallowed up by death? Did you marvel together throughout the day at what the Lord has accomplished for us all through the suffering, death, and bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead? Did you discuss what the Scriptures teach about Baptism and the Resurrection? Did you spend the day marveling at the limitlessness of the Lord’s goodness and mercy?

The Resurrection of our Lord is the highest feast day of the Church Year. Our Lord’s bodily resurrection from the dead is God’s seal of approval and acceptance of the redemption that Jesus accomplished and of the restoration to Life and Life in its fullness that He came to restore.

The Resurrection of our Lord changed history. It changed everything.

Truly it is cause for endless celebration.

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