A Resurrection of Our Own

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If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above…Colossians 3:1

I love the Easter lilies, the candles, the Alleluias and the sanctuary banked in white and gold! Easter, with all its familiar sights, smells and sounds is such a welcome contrast to Lent. Every Easter as I sit in Mass I get lost in the glory of it all and my mind wanders to the “wow” of it all; the questions and wonders about what that first Easter must have been like. I wonder things like: How did that giant stone just get moved over? How must Mary have felt to hold her sons face in her hands and look lovingly into his eyes again? How did the Apostles feel when they saw Jesus again? How did Peter feel when he faced the Savior he had denied? How must Thomas have felt when Jesus loved him enough to let him touch his wounds so he would be convinced? The list of questions goes on and on and all I come away with is, “wow – I can’t even imagine!”

It’s wonderful to realize that because of Jesus’ resurrection, we also received a resurrection. He paid the enormous cost for all of our sins. It’s not often in life someone does ALL the hard, horrible, painful work for us and we simply reap the benefit but it happened one Easter long ago. That Easter lives on to this day, and as Christians, we’re still basking in the blessings of the resurrection. Sometimes I wonder if Jesus looks at the world and thinks…so this is how they repay me after all I did for them? As we revel in the blessings and “Wow” of the resurrection, it’s a good time to ponder the things we need a resurrection from. Jesus rose from the dead to bring us new life and in order to claim that new life there are some things we need a resurrection from. They might take work, maybe some sacrifice and perhaps even a fair dose of suffering but if we want to share in the joy of Jesus’ resurrection, if we want him to know we really were worth the price he paid, then we’ve got a little work to do. If we could be resurrected from a few things that drag us down we could truly become an “Easter People” full of his hope, joy, peace and mercy. How about a resurrection from…

* Selfishness! Complaining is the greatest form of selfishness. We whine and complain to let others know something happened to us that wasn’t convenient or pleasant. Lord, help us realize the world isn’t obligated to ensure my comfort and happiness; that comes only from you!

*Narrow-mindedness! We’ve got to remember we don’t know what we don’t know! We see a tiny sliver of the situation but if we had the chance to see the whole thing we would realize how narrow our perspective can truly be! Lord, help us see with eyes of mercy instead of judgement.

*Indulgence! We approach the comforts of this world with our hands poised to reach out and take rather than with hands lifted to thank and share. We often want the first, prime choice things instead of being satisfied with the crumbs or the crusts. We approach things and feel the need to grab them up in case they won’t be there later instead of trusting that we will always have exactly what we need exactly when we need it! Lord, remind us all we need is You!

*Doubt! Our blessings outweigh our struggles by a hundred-fold but we seem to forget that daily! Jesus, heal us of our unbelief; teach us to trust in you!

*Fear! Jesus broke the chains of death and did all the heavy lifting to bring us peace and eternal life. Lord, help us remember your protection is bigger than any fear.

Jesus didn’t rise by himself; it was through the power of His Heavenly Father. We need to remember that He is our Father too and if we but call on His name and trust in His infinite wisdom, power and love we too will experience a resurrection from all the things that separate us from him. The power and glory of the Resurrection are not confined to one day on the calendar…the joy and salvation of the day is everlasting! Happy Easter and may the power of HIS resurrection give us the strength to experience our own personal resurrection.

Blessings on your day!