EASTER MONDAY . . . NOW WHAT

 

APRIL 10, 2023

John 11:25-26

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

We prepare our hearts in anticipation of Easter. We reflect on the cross and its significance. We feel the long, heavy pause between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, waiting for the discovery of an empty grave and a risen Savior. And then it comes. He comes! HE IS RISEN! ALLELUIA we say.

And then it’s Monday. Now What?

It is a temptation to let down spiritually after Easter when the events and the excitement are over. We are drawn back into the routine and commonplace repetition of our jobs and responsibilities.

Sometimes, even unintentionally, we tend to put Easter carefully back on the shelf as a holiday until next year kind of like we do with the Christmas Nativity sets.

So what is next for those who believe in Easter, in resurrection? 

If there was ever a time for significant life changes, it should be the Monday after Easter. Because Easter is a beginning, not an ending. That is essentially the theme of Easter Sunday worship.

It’s THE beginning, the fresh start all our hearts long for. It is about the radical death, relentless love, and revolutionary power of our God. The cross, the empty grave and the resurrected Jesus not only give us a reason to hope for change, they give us the power to change. Resurrection changes us.

In Romans 8 Paul reminds us: “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” And in 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Perhaps Frederick Buechner’s words are helpful, he wrote:

In the end, God’s will, not ours, is done. Love is the victor. 

Death is not the end. The end is life. 

His life and our lives through him, in him.

If Jesus’ death on the cross has been defeated by the empty tomb at Easter, what other victories is God working on?

How is God working in your life and in mine to bring resurrection and new life in those “dark, dead places”?

 Where does God keep showing up in our daily walk now?

 

LET US PRAY

Risen Savior, may the power of your resurrection, fill me today and for the rest of my earthly life. May the memory of your sacrifice never be far from my mind. And May I be an example of your unselfish love and care for all, today and every day. In your most glorious name, I pray. Amen.