by Rev. Canon David b. Tabo-oy
The Holy Week started last Sunday with the commemoration of the last entry of Jesus to the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Our mind is still fresh of that yearly reenactment we now call Palm Sunday. It is also called the ‘Triumphal Entry of Jesus to Jerusalem’. We now have that luxury of information of what happened then, don’t we? Indeed, after that prophesied event (Zechariah 9:9) we continue to cling onto that traditional and iconic image and is engraved in our interpretation and liturgical practices. As I wrote last week, ‘By week’s end, the leaders who see Jesus as a threat to their power and who want to be rid of him will have their way, and Jesus’ allies will be frightened into silence. But that is not the end of that journey. More than triumphant than his entry to Jerusalem is the glorious victory accomplished seven days later.’
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Seventy-two hours earlier, Jesus was betrayed by one of his trusted disciples and arrested by the Roman soldiers. He was tortured, crucified, died and interred into a borrowed tomb. And now we are celebrating Jesus’ resurrection this Easter day! What a blast!
The feast of Easter, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, is a season of fifty days, from Easter Eve (Holy Saturday) through the Day of Pentecost. During this season there is no fasting, and the Council of Nicaea (325AD) directed that Christians were to pray standing. The word “alleluia” (praise the Lord) is said or sung repeatedly, which contrasts sharply with the season of Lent when the alleluia is omitted.
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During those agonizing fateful hours He endured much suffering through beatings and torture we can only imagine. He was mocked and ridiculed by not only the Romans, but also His own people. He was ultimately crucified on a cross and once dead, buried in a borrowed tomb. One can only imagine how His faithful disciples particularly the women must have felt as they helplessly watched Him die. Think of their feelings sorrow, disappointment, confusion and sense of emptiness. Their hopes were dashed and their futures were uncertain. I’m sure they thought it all over. But the truth is, as present day believers, it was really just beginning. Let us revisit to what the gospels tell us.
“Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as He said would happen. Come see where his body was lying.’” Matthew 28:1-6
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Alleluia! Jesus Christ is risen from the dead!
The gospels tell us that on several occasions Jesus told who He truly was and what would take place, but no one fully believed or understood Him. Mark tells us: Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence Him to die and hand Him over to the Romans. They will mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him with a whip, and kill Him, but after three days He will rise again.” Mark 10:33-34
Just as He said, Jesus arose from the dead and everything changed. Despair turned into hope and fear was replaced with joy. Death into life! The painful sting of sin and death was crushed and defeated. The victory was won by Jesus and today we celebrate because we know the victory is ours! The mother of all victories… Triumphal Victory!
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Now we know and must believe. Neither the cross nor the grave was a surprise to Jesus. In obedience, Jesus willingly suffered and died on the cross. He gave His life for the world knowing He would triumphantly arise from the dead! The question for today is, “What does the resurrection of Jesus mean to us today?” The resurrection of Jesus offers us three blessed assurances: First, the resurrection assures our forgiveness! The gospel of Jesus Christ gives us the old cliché “I have some Good news and I have some bad news” scenario. Both can be presented in one scripture – Romans 6:23. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” The bad news: Because we are not perfect and can never live up to God’s glorious standard, we are condemned to death. The good news: Grace. Because of God’s love for us, He offers us eternal life through Jesus Christ. God knew that we couldn’t keep the laws He gave us, so He sent His only begotten Son to take our sins upon His back and pay the price for all of our sin and shame. Our pasts are forgiven. No matter how sinful we might have been, Jesus paid the price for us and now we are forgiven through the cross and his resurrection.
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Secondly, the resurrection assures our transformation. The resurrection isn’t simply an erasure for our past, but is God’s way of making all things new right now. The power of the resurrection assures us with new life. It works into our everyday as it transforms us and makes all things new. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
We are able to experience revival, renewal and rejuvenation in our lives because we have been given the gift of a new life. We have been resurrected. The sacrament of baptism affirms this. What a blessing it is of knowing that your old life of sin and destruction is gone and having the assurance to know that you have been born again with the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead can be used in our lives right now. All we must do is to trust in God and rely on Him each day. He will continually change and mold us into the person He wants us to be. He will transform us toward perfection.
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And finally, the resurrection of Jesus Christ assures eternal life. One day we will all die, that is the undeniable truth. Then, we ask: what happens after we die? We read from the scriptures, “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:27-28)
One day we will stand before God to give an account for our lives. On that day, we will have the assurance of eternal life. We can have hope of eternal life based on our faith in the grace God offers to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. We express that hope as we affirm our faith every time we recite the Apostles’ Creed. “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting”. (The Apostles’ Creed)
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Easter Sunday is not about ‘hunting’ colored eggs and rabbits (oh well, not much here on the bunnies). Let us make our celebration of Easter Sunday or the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to be reminded and rejoice of the blessed assurance of Forgiveness, Transformation, and Eternal Life.
Let us pray.
O God, who for our redemption gave your onlybegotten
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.**
