Resurrection Sunday

 I’m Rev Jay Stuart Glover and you are listening to Faith Talk. 

The celebration of Resurrection Sunday has come once again. And people around the world are celebrating their faith in different ways.  

I want let you know that: 

The resurrection of Christ was a historical event that changed life on earth forever. 

The resurrection of Christ remains as an incorruptible witness to the power, mercy, justice and the love of God towards all of humanity.

The resurrection of Christ invites us individually and collectively to a new life.

In The Gospel of Mark 16:9 we see a woman named Mary, who was the first person to whom Christ appeared after his resurrection. 

Then we have the Gospel of John 20:18 where Mary, by the power of the Holy Ghost, stands  as an  incorruptible witness and boldly proclaims to the disciples  “I have seen the Lord” After everyone new Jesus had been crucified on a hill and his body laid in a tomb, Mary boldly and accurately tells of her seeing the risen Jesus. 

The question becomes: What exactly is the power and the relevance of the resurrection for us today? 

1-The resurrection of Christ was a historical event that changed life on earth forever. Through the resurrection we are reconciled, redeemed, and restored to the possibility of right relationship with God. Through the resurrection Christ was risen with power over death. And yes, through this divine intervention over death we know that righteousness  prevails over evil. It is the resurrection that gives us hope for a brighter tomorrow even as we navigate our way through this troubled world. 

2-The resurrection of Christ stands as an enduring testament to God's power, justice, mercy, and love for humanity. We also have  the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper  that serve as witnesses to God’s faithfulness. These ordinances celebrate Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, acting as memorials to God's activity and love. For over two thousand years, they have steadfastly directed minds and hearts toward God, standing as an incorruptible and faithful witness. 

The resurrection invites us to  be faithful in our witness to the beloved people we encounter. Mary offered an accurate testimony of who she saw and what she experienced when She encountered the risen Jesus. My prayer to day is that preachers , and anyone who claims to be followers of Jesus, offer an accurate testimony about the attributes of God and the historical person of Jesus instead of being drawn away and seductively influenced by capitalism, exclusion and political power. The modern day Christian narrative often strays from the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. Therefore it is critical for you to prayerfully seek God’s will and purpose for your life. A good place to start is prayer and learning to hear the voice of God through the scriptures. 

3-The resurrection of Christ invites us to a new life. A life where our internal freedom, granted by the grace of God, allows us to love God and others. 

We thank God that He  lifted Jesus from the grips of death. We thank God that we are also lifted and raised above anything that would try to destroy the image of God in us. The same power that lifted Jesus from the grave is able to lift us above our misguided anxiety and despair.  God is able to  resurrect us from hopelessness to faith, and from fear to strength and from confusion to clarity. 

We thank God for the gift of the resurrection. As a society we can be lifted, resurrected above the paralyzing grips of poverty, racism, wars, senseless violence, political corruption, greed, the exploitation of the poor, injustice and anything else that is not representative of Gods will being done on earth as it is in heaven. 

But God will not do it alone. God wants humanity to partner with Him to work towards justice and righteousness on earth. 

The resurrection gives us hope. The risen Christ  lets me know like the songwriter said:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives. All fear is gone, 

Because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living 

Just because he lives……

Yes,  I stopped by to tell you that 

there is life beyond death and in the mean time

Justice is on the way

There is joy beyond the sorrow

There is hope for a brighter tomorrow. 

The resurrection empowers us to reject the power of sin and death

The resurrection affords us the ability to be

reconciled and in right standing with God and others 

The resurrection enables the Reordering of our values and enables us to impact and bring a much needed change to societal structure.

The resurrection restores and uncovers the image of God in us and claims victory for us over the sin imposed upon us.

The resurrection grants us our human dignity as a gift from God. We who were dehumanized, outcast and marginalized  are re-humanized with dignity from on high. 

But remember Jesus didn’t  get to the resurrection without the dying, 

And in our religious observance we don’t get to Easter before Good Friday

We are also called to a dying of self interests that stand in the way of loving God and loving our neighbor. 

So then: are we willing to let God resurrect us from social complacency and disordered individual comforts? Will we allow the dying to the idolatrous attachments to power, greed and corruption.  If we are willing to die to the corrupting influences in this world, If we are willing to stand up for justice and peace, then   we can celebrate the resurrecting power of God  with great relevance and integrity. 

 I’m Rev Jay Stuart Glover and you are listening to Faith Talk. These episodes are available on i-Tunes, Amazon, Spotify YouTube and other podcast platforms. Please share with family and friends and thank you for joining our global listening audience. Amen