Resurrection Day!!

The last week of Lent, Holy week is a very special and important part of the churches life. It is the "end" of the church year. Easter marks the new birth, the reset of the church calander. It also invites us to specifically remember, that Sunday (for ever Sunday is a mini-resurrection day), that Christ is risen.

Easter is marked with commercialism and consumerism, much like the other major Christian Holiday (that would be Christmas, the only other time we see EVERYONE in church). With it's eggs and bunnies and chicks and so on, it's easy to forget why this is such an important day. It matters because without Jesus' resurrection, our faith is hopeless, and hope is what drives our faith. Without hope, what do we have? We have a worldwide religion of people who are exulting a dead man. Without the hope that through faith in Jesus and the hope of a community of people who together have faith in Jesus, our worship, our work, or lives are meaningless and dead.

Easter gives us hope that no matter how bad it is, or gets, there is more. Easter gives us hope that, "the meek shall inherit the earth", that "blessed are those who hunger for theirs is the kingdom of God" and that "blessed are those who thirst for theirs is righteousness". It gives us hope that someone, not just anyone, that God knows what it's like to be at the wrong end of the still and despite all the advertisement and difficulties, Jesus won...and that we can win too.

Better life is the message of the resurrection, and not just one that comes in the hereafter, but one that is now. That because Jesus conquered death, we to can conquer death and not just conquer, but overcome death and those things that cause death, like hunger, oppression, homelessness, ignorance, and poverty. So I hope that this Easter is for you a time to reflect on the hope you have in a better life, and I also hope that it challenges you to be a hope sharer in your world.