It is Easter morning. Do you believe? Are you rejoicing? How are you announcing the Good News? We are the disciples of Jesus. We are the spiritual heirs of Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, Salome, Simon Peter, and the other disciples. What is our reaction to the resurrection some 2000 years after the fact?
Do we truly believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Do we know that the resurrection allows us to achieve eternal life? In addition to transforming the whole of creation and all of human history, Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection renewed each of us—personally. Jesus died for us and our sins. His life was meant to save us.
Therefore, the resurrection is a cause for celebration. We should rejoice because this is the day the Lord has made. Death has been conquered. Life has been restored. The gates of paradise are open to those who genuinely believe and desire to enter God’s Kingdom. We are invited to sit at God’s banquet table in heaven.
The Good News, then, needs to be proclaimed and shared with everyone—but not just verbally. We need to share it through the very ways we live our lives. Discipleship, like the word “love,” is an action. It is a decision containing a definite purpose. As disciples of Jesus, we need to live like Jesus and be Jesus for others. Discipleship is not merely paying lip service to the Gospel but instead taking its message to heart, allowing it to become an integral part of our very being, and then issuing forth in our words, actions, and lifestyles.
This Easter is an opportunity to recommit ourselves to the Gospel message and truly believe what we have heard, rejoice in the message, and then announce it to the world.
Happy Easter from all the clergy and staff in the Disciples Unleashed Family of Parishes. May the Risen Christ continue to enlighten our hearts and minds throughout the Easter season.