The Victory of God
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
On this joyful and glorious day, we join with Christians around the world in celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. This is the holiest of holy days. Everything in creation builds to it, and all life and meaning flows from it. The journey of Holy Week begins in humility, models perfect self-giving love, and here today reveals that death is trampled down by death, destroying and taking captive every enemy of God.
Easter is the fulfillment of the cross. It definitively shows that death does not have the last word, that Christ is not left in the tomb but is ruling and reigning today!
When Christ arose on that first Easter morning, the world was forever changed.
We face a temptation to rush past this glorious truth. Easter may be a day of prayer, reflection, and celebration, yet how quickly does this vision give way to sun dresses and suits, chocolate bunnies, egg hunts, and meals with family and friends? Before we know it, Monday morning has arrived, and with it Easter is all but forgotten, quickly fading into the recesses of our mind and lived experience.
Having put in the Lenten work of preparation, do not miss the glory of the Easter season!
Now that we have deepened within us our desire for the Lord and the joy of walking in his ways, let us keep the feast (1 Cor 5:8). Remember, Easter is not a single day but is a fifty-day season of feasting and celebrating! Find creative ways over the coming weeks to show forth the joy of Easter in your life with God and your relationships with others.
Prayer of the Day
O God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Prayer for Easter Day
Key Passage for the Day
The wrapping that had been on his head was not lying with the linen cloths but was folded up in a separate place by itself. The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, then also went in, saw, and believed. John 20:7-8 (CSB)
