It is seems appropriate to wake up this morning to darkness and rain. After all it is Good Friday. This is the day they hung Christ on the cross and he died for our sins. The concept of Christ dying for our sins has always caused me to pause to think.
If he had simply died there would be no story. Like the two who were crucified with him, he would have been the subject of just another public execution. There would have been nothing else to know. The scribes and Pharisees would have been right. He was just another scripture quoting do-gooder who was trying to make a name for himself.
In my mind the cross, while a symbol of Christianity, a reminder of Christ’s suffering, there is a much more important and significant symbol of us as Christians—The empty tomb. It is here where we learn the importance of Christ and the significance of his earthly ministry. It is in the rolled away stone and the pile of burial linens we discover the great message of Jesus.
Today, we reflect on the humiliating public death of Jesus. We see the crowd of followers who turned away from him. We think of the one of his own who denied him and of Judas who turned him over to the authorities. And we may be sad or angry.
We now realize it is on this day which Jesus fought for our salvation. He went toe to toe with evil and set us right. So, while his death is important it is the work he did and the fact he came back to us which make this weekend important.
In the empty tomb we find hope and recognize Jesus as Christ. In dying he died for each of us. But it is in the empty tomb we realize he lived so we may live.
So my friends, acknowledge his death, but celebrate his life and live with the understanding that there is an empty tomb where we all received eternal life. Happy Easter!
If he had simply died there would be no story. Like the two who were crucified with him, he would have been the subject of just another public execution. There would have been nothing else to know. The scribes and Pharisees would have been right. He was just another scripture quoting do-gooder who was trying to make a name for himself.
In my mind the cross, while a symbol of Christianity, a reminder of Christ’s suffering, there is a much more important and significant symbol of us as Christians—The empty tomb. It is here where we learn the importance of Christ and the significance of his earthly ministry. It is in the rolled away stone and the pile of burial linens we discover the great message of Jesus.
Today, we reflect on the humiliating public death of Jesus. We see the crowd of followers who turned away from him. We think of the one of his own who denied him and of Judas who turned him over to the authorities. And we may be sad or angry.
We now realize it is on this day which Jesus fought for our salvation. He went toe to toe with evil and set us right. So, while his death is important it is the work he did and the fact he came back to us which make this weekend important.
In the empty tomb we find hope and recognize Jesus as Christ. In dying he died for each of us. But it is in the empty tomb we realize he lived so we may live.
So my friends, acknowledge his death, but celebrate his life and live with the understanding that there is an empty tomb where we all received eternal life. Happy Easter!
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