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| On this day a whole new world is opened to us. |
The Greatest Miracle Ever: In A Garden Full Of Life John 20:1-18
In John's account of the crucifixion he notes there was a garden nearby. This was not the Garden of Gethsemane, an "olive grove" not far away--where Jesus prayed in agony and where he was apprehended--but a second garden where he was to be laid in a newly created tomb.
Gardens are phenomenal signs of new life, where seeds are buried, die and give birth in incredible abundance. It is in such a place where Jesus' body was buried, and from which he rose in triumph.
This miracle is for us. We are to die with him and be raised with him: In our baptism, many of us were given these words as we were taken by the hand and raised to our feet, "...as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so you too are raised to a new life." (Romans 6:4)
A Second Great Miracle: Our Sharing In Christ's Resurrection Colossians 3:1-4
Imagine being empowered to live like Jesus. Imagine God's Spirit transporting us to where Jesus reigns supreme over all, where our minds are controlled by our Master's mind. Imagine our hearts being in tune with where Christ's heart is, full of love for a world of unimaginable need.
WWJD isn't meant to be just a slogan, but a question that affects everything we do or even think. Risen with Christ, we now have a new permanent address, the same as our Lord's, and a Christ-blessed, reprogrammed mind that revolutionizes everything about how we live our lives.
A Third Miracle: Our Being Reconciled With Former Enemies Acts 10:18-34
Imagine being invited into a relationship with, and into the home of, people you've always felt alienated from, or even hostile towards. This is how the apostle Peter must have felt when called to go to the home of Cornelius, a high ranking official in the despised Roman army, one which had cruelly occupied his country for decades.
But here he is, witnessing a repentant new believer, a once hardened general, on whom the Holy Spirit has filled with God's 'resurrectionary'* new life. The transformation is unmistakeable. Peter has no choice but to welcome him and to baptize and embrace him as a fellow-believer.
A miracle indeed.
On this Day We Shout Praise To The God Of Resurrection Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24
There is nothing left to do, nothing better to do, than to breathlessly shout our Hallelujah, or our "Holler-lujah!" Easter is forever and for everyone, for every seeker and follower of God, even in the centuries that preceded the resurrection miracle, as in the words of the ancient psalmist:
The Lord's right hand has done mighty things!
The Lord's hand is lifted high!
...We will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
The Lord has chastened us severely,
but has not given us over to death.
This is the day the Lord has made,
let us rejoice and be glad in it!
- from Psalm 118
* Check this link for some Russian Orthodox "Resurrectional" hymns, starting with Tone 1.
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