Presented to TSA Alberni Valley Ministries, Resurrection Easter Sunday by Major Michael Ramsay, 20 April 2025.
He is
risen! (He is risen indeed!)
Easter
is the most important date on the Christian Calendar. Do we know why it is the
most important date? What are we celebrating? (the resurrection of Jesus) Why
does this matter? (it means we can all be raised from the dead)
We
read the story of Mary and Mary at the tomb today. I think that is a very
important story about the first Christian evangelists and preachers: Two women proclaiming
the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Do we know the rest of the story?
At the
very beginning of the Bible, in the first few chapters of the first book in
this holy anthology, we have the story of how God created the heavens and the
earth. God created it all and it was perfect. Not only were there no bad things
like murder, stealing, lying, etc. There was also no injury, no illness, no
decay, no death. Even the trees didn’t die. The animals didn’t eat each other.
It was paradise – it was the Garden of Eden.
Then
the very first people that God created did something – they disobeyed God. This
was the first badness to enter the world. The first sin. From that point on all
that erodes life and goodness flowed into the world. Not only bad behaviours
but also decay of plants, animals, and people; injury, illness and death.
The
Bible then, as we know, has many books in the Old Testament that tell how
people interacted with each other and God ever since. Mostly – but not entirely
– after a certain point, the books speak about the family and descendants of
Jacob who was called Israel. Many of these books are looking forward to a time
when the world will no longer be in the state that it is in – when everything
will be finally made right.
There
are many recorded memories of God’s interaction with people, giving us a
glimpse into when and how things might possibly return. Under and after Moses
there is the Law that is given to God’s people to help us know how to relate to
each other – in short it can be boiled down to, as Jesus later said, ‘love God
and love your neighbour’ – while we are waiting for everything to be set right.
Before
that even, God and Abraham make an agreement, recorded in Genesis Chapter 12,
that all the nations of the earth will be blessed through Abraham and then in
Genesis 15 we get our first glimpse of the cross. There is a ceremony, a
covenant and God basically says that if mankind messes up again, like they did
in the garden, God will take the punishment, He will die. We do mess up. On
Good Friday He does.
The
word ‘gospel’ that we still use today means, ‘good news’. On Easter – a few
days later - we have the Good News. Yes God, Jesus, died. He went to the grave.
But then something happened. He came back to life – and when he came back to
life, he came back with a body that no longer decays, no longer experiences
illness, no longer experiences death. He is the first person to experience life
back like it was in the Garden of Eden.
Now, I
say first ‘person’ for a reason. Jesus is God. Jesus is also a person. He is
fully, truly and properly God and he is fully, truly and properly human. At
Christmas we celebrate God becoming human – He, who was around at the creation
of the world, was also, much later, born. On Good Friday he dies. On Easter He has
the first fully resurrected body. His body will now never die, never get sick,
never get injured. And when he overcame death on Easter, he really overcame it
– not just for himself but for everyone. Jesus never died after his
resurrection (like others who have risen from the dead). He went away for a
while; but he will come back.
When
he comes back, he will bring with him the Tree of Life that was in the Garden
of Eden and the whole world will be made anew. We spoke about this a few weeks
ago while we were looking at Romans 5, Genesis 3, and Revelation 22 where the
ultimate return of God is recorded.
So
that is what we are celebrating today: the first fruits of the resurrection, that
the world is set right, and the path has been paved for Jesus’ return. On
Easter, God made a way so that we never need to die (again). The Bible says
that when he returns, even those who are already dead will raise from the grave
and they will never die again and those who are still alive will be changed, healed,
transformed into these never decaying, never dying entities that love fully both
God and our neighbour forever.
Today,
as we celebrate His victory over death, decay, and sin; We are even now awaiting
Jesus’ return. While we wait, we are we are told a couple of things to do
1. Never
forget what he has done for us and that he will return.
a. In the
Bible they meet regularly over a meal to remember Jesus.
b. Now we
meet on the Lord’s Day, Sunday, and at other occasions, as well as have other
ceremonies, to remember what the Lord has done and what we have to look forward
to.
2. And
the other thing we need to do is to share the love of God with others. We can
do this by telling others about God while we take care of one another.
So
today, as we are celebrating Jesus’ resurrection to eternal life and awaiting
his return when the whole world will be set right, let us do our part.
God
has provided enough to feed, clothe, and shelter everyone in the world; He has
given us this beautiful earth to take care of – and He asks nothing more of us
that to love Him and take care of each other until He returns - let us do that until he returns, for when
he comes back there will be no more death, no more decay, no more sorrow, no
more sadness; only joy, peace and wholeness because He has risen! (He has
risen, indeed)
Let us
Pray
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