Easter Sunday
How glorious it would be if we could help folks see that our Heavenly Father has built into each Sunday a greeting of its own: �Good morning glory, good morning grace!�
The first day of the week, each Sunday, rolls around every seven days. It punctuates each week with a reminder that our Savior �was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God.� (Romans 4:25) The Supper we share when we meet together on Sunday (Acts 20:7), the Lord�s Day (Revelation 1:10), isn�t just about remembering his death, but also about anticipating his coming again and about living as his presence as the Body of Christ in the world until that day arrives. (1 Corinthians 10:17; 11:23-26) Jesus� resurrection from the dead, and our weekly reminder of his victory over death, means that our lives are not lived in vain (1 Corinthians 15:56-58) and that we are freed from the power of death to destroy and to produce fear (Hebrews 2:14-18). Our Lord�s resurrection guarantees our own, and ensures our reunion with those of faith who have gone before us. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
So what�s the point? Well, actually I want to leave you with two.
First, Easter isn�t about getting dressed up and going to church once a year to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in the springtime. Instead, Easter is a mindset, a lifestyle. It is about living with the firm conviction that death has ultimately been defeated and Jesus has given us �new birth into a living hope.� (1 Peter 1:3) Easter is about living daily with our minds focused on things above, knowing that Christ will come and enable us to share in his glory. (Colossians 3:1-4) We are the resurrection people of God. Life is ours. Not even death can take it from us.
Second, to give us our booster shot for glory, God gives us Sunday every week. This first day of the week, the day the early church called the Lord�s day because it was the day of his resurrection, is our weekly time to awaken and cry out to each other: �Good morning glory, good morning grace!� Just as the dawn gave the crushed disciples the gift of the empty tomb and the presence of a living Lord, we too celebrate that our Lord lives and our life and future are bound up with him!"