Another Easter has come and gone.  It was a time of reflecting on Jesus’ Resurrection and what it means to each of us, and to the world in general.  But the whole purpose of Easter is missed if, after the holiday, its message has gone the way of the Easter bunny!  For the message of Easter is no passing fad, but a life-changing world-transforming reality.  Easter means the transformation of the human body of the dead Jesus to the glorified body of the risen Christ.  For all who die in Christ, it is the same.  Our dead bodies will be transformed into living, glorified bodies at the return of Christ.  Easter represents a valid past event which calls for faith—the promise of divine intervention in a messed-up world—which offers hope—and the demanding of a new communal relationship—which provides love. So Easter is the faith, hope, and love of the Christian reality.  As such it is highly relevant today.  Indeed, nothing is more relevant than the reality of Christ’s Resurrection.  When it is received by faith, it becomes a present reality of joy, peace, and power.  It raises us above the mundane problems of earthly existence, not by taking us around them, but by giving us a new power to overcome them.  We are not to ignore this present world and concentrate on the next; we are to face the world and change it!  The Spirit-filled Spirit-empowered Christians are the Church of the Resurrection and have been given the power to conquer and rebuild.  Don’t be conquered by the world and its attractions or its assaults, but be a conqueror by the mighty power of the Resurrection life in you!

REV. DR. RICHARD L. SHAW PH.D., PASTOR