GRACE FOR EASTER (PART ONE)

We in the Community of Christianity have just celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Church attendance was high across our land this past Sunday. It has been reported that attendance was up and estimated Twenty-Five percent. We will not see this many people in service again this year until Christmas.

What is the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ? For many it would be the paid holiday our federal government recognizes. It provides an opportunity for a long weekend to kick off the spring season. It is an occasion for the family to get together and share a meal, hide Easter eggs and have fun. Perhaps fire up the Barbeque for the first time this year and look forward to summer.

For others it is all about marketing. Retailers look for an increase in “Easter” spending this year. It is believed that retail numbers were up by 11% and overall spending for the holiday is believed to have surpassed 14 billion dollars.

May I invite you to read the story of the resurrection as it is recorded in the Gospels and challenge you to find significance for the Holiday in the lives of those who were present at that time? If you will look to the story you will find there is also something incredibly significant for our time.

“Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome brought spices, that they might anoint Him…But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away for it was vary large…And entering the tomb. They saw a young man sitting on the right side and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here…. But go tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you into Galilee; There you will see Him, as He said to you…’” (Mark 16: 1-8)

In this account a lady named Mary Magdalene will find significance in the resurrection. You may remember she was described, as a woman possessed of demons. Therefore her story reflects a life of torment and bondage. The priest would not have welcomed her into the fellowship of the spiritual community because she would have been unclean. Also, she would not have had much of a social social life. She would have been treated as freak of nature and a social outcast.

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However, one day her life did change when she met Jesus of Nazareth. He brought healing and wholeness to her life and like so many other undesirables and rejects of His day, she became a follower.

In his book the DaVinci Code Dan Brown presented a Mary Magdalene, which has been fabricated and fictionalized to mythic proportions. Neither the Scripture nor actual history will offer evidence to support the myth presented in the novel. It made for a story line, which has sold millions of copies, but at the end of the day it is still just a myth.
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However, in the scripture you will find that on the resurrection morning it would not be Peter, James or John or any of the other apostles to first look upon and behold the glory of the King. It would be this lady Mary Magdalene from whom he had cast several demons. In the resurrection her life moves from a futile existence to a reflection of grace. He is risen indeed!