“Let the resurrection joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness.” ~ Floyd W. Tomkins
Resurrexit sicut dixit. Alleluia, Alleluia!
The Lord is Risen as He said. Alleluia, Alleluia!
That ancient cry of the Church is raised again today and every day this week through this coming Sunday. Each day, we celebrate Easter anew throughout its octave. The Lord is Risen as He said. We exclaim our joy in the resurrection and embrace the hope that the resurrection of Jesus Christ has brought to His people.
We were once a people living in the darkness of sin and death. There was little hope for us, except for a promise handed down through the prophets from generation to generation. Just as the people were about to give up hope in the promise, Jesus came into the world.
He began to nurse hope into His people by His words and by His works. He told the people that God loved them dearly and He proved it to them by curing many, even going so far as to call some who had died back to life. His love knew no bounds and all was right with the world.
At that point, He was taken from their midst. Jesus was arrested, tried, convicted, and executed in record time. He had become such an object of hate for many spiritual and temporal leaders that they wanted to wipe Him from the memories of others. What better way than to execute Him as they did the worst of the criminals.
Rejection, hate, and death do not hold Jesus down. Even though He was executed and placed in a tomb, He rose triumphantly from the dead and appeared to His followers once again. The message of that resurrection has been transmitted from that moment to this day. The message of that resurrection will be transmitted from this day to the end of the world. It is a message that you can count upon. It is a message that is true. It is a message that brings hope and joy.
Recall that message today, dwell on it in your heart, and feel the joy that God wants to share with you.
FAITH ACTION: In prayer today, reflect upon the hope and joy that is brought to you by Christ’s resurrection from the dead.