Easter Sunday: Hope for a New Dawn

Scripture

Matthew 28:1-10

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet, and worshiped him. 

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Devotion

Before Jesus is resurrected from the dead, the world is lost. All is truly lost because we are separate from God. This ideology is heavily set on many minds today because, on our own, we are simply organic beings with a finite time to exist. We have no way of being anything more than human, so we are doomed. The acts we commit, the words we say, and the memories we make will all be lost with age or the sun consuming the Earth. 

Until Jesus rose. 

Locked in a tomb of hopelessness, just as we are in the world, He rose and shattered reality. 

While Easter is a time for joy and happiness, it is also a radical shift in the fabric of existence. God redeems His children, and angels clothed in lightning announce His victory! Perfect fear of God and joy overwhelms all who hear, and hopelessness is no more. Life now has meaning and a purpose, while the chains of darkness slowly fade. Jesus has defeated death and its oppression with it. 

Artwork

"Jerusalem City" captured by Beatrice Prève

This piece of art was chosen for the representation of the hope that is birthed by Christ rising from the dead. He brings a dawn to what was complete darkness and brings life to the city of His followers.

Poetry