Pastor's Page - Easter 2023

FROM THE PASTOR

He is Risen indeed! Hallelujah!

Dear friends grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Easter Sunday we consider the question that the heavenly witnesses asked the women at the tomb, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” These women had been devout followers of Jesus. They had come to the tomb to mourn and to memorialize a body with spices; they were seeking to preserve that which was dead. They came to process their immense grief and sorrow.

The women going to the tomb were in the position that all of us find ourselves in at some point. Death issued another judgment upon a loved one and the world as they knew it had ended. They could have remained in this state for the rest of their lives. But the Word of the Lord spoke into their pain. “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” What a marvelous question! Christ had risen from the grave and death was no longer the final word.

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?” Our answer to that question will shape how we live life in this world. In Christ we are sojourners on this earth. We have different goals and values. We follow a Savior who leads a victorious host of believers through this world of pain, sorrow, meanness, and confusion. Our lives in this world are not the sum of our tragedies or trophies. These things mark our journey, but our lives are shaped abiding in Christ and pressing on to the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:14

Paul tells us, “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Cor 5:17 As followers of the risen Christ, (who is King of kings and Lord of lords) we have the joy and privilege of rejoicing in the midst of a world that is passing away. We proclaim life!

To seek life by any of the world’s systems – whichever system that may be – is akin to searching for life among that which is dead, for all that is in this world is changing and passing away. “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”

As Easter people we have the privilege of living in and proclaiming Christ’s victory over death in all that we do. We learn the joy and freedom of forgiving others as we have been forgiven in Christ. We have the privilege of bringing our requests to God and knowing that He has heard them. We have Jesus’ promise to never leave us or forsake us. Because of this we know that whatever the outcome of our earthly goals and pursuits, if they have been brought before the Lord, we have victory in Christ.

For a non-believer such talk does not make sense. In the world’s system the measure of success and failure is assessed by criteria such as power, money, ease, wisdom, etc. And the world’s systems can hold our attention and affections for a time, but with every generation they wither like the grass. But believers in Christ we are children of God, so, in the midst of our frailty, we are being fit for eternity, “…we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

To live as Easter people is to live with the confidence that He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. We proclaim this victory every time we gather and worship together with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We gather in His name and receive His gifts and life. This is why God gave the Sabbath rest so when His family gathers weekly, we encourage and strengthen one another and share True Life together. “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” Find the Living One among His people.

He is Risen indeed! Hallelujah!

Serving the Lord together,
Pastor Steve Lundblom