Easter

During 1811 and 1812 there was an earthquake in the area of southeast Missouri known as New Madrid. Several tremors rocked this area and were felt 1000 miles away. The most impressive part about this event, however, is that the ground shaking was so severe that it caused the Mississippi river to run backwards for several days. The lakes and islands along the Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee borders were formed by these quakes.

Is there an historical event that shook history so completely, that we experience the tremors today in time standing still and the course of nature being changed?

Easter is such an event. Centuries after the resurrection, when it became necessary to revise the calendar, the birth of Jesus became the dividing line for history. One way to look at this is to say that because of Jesus our time stood still and was reset at zero giving our history a fresh start. The resurrection’s power stops time in such a way that today we remember where we were when that historical fact becomes real for us. When the women, and later many others, met the risen Christ their questions about life after death were answered.

The God who empowered Jesus to perform miracles and to teach with a unique authority sent him back from the grave. Death’s power to frighten us is broken when we embrace God’s truth about Jesus Christ for ourselves. Because of Easter we have the hope of living in God’s presence with gratitude now and for eternity.

I am grateful for the new beginnings God grants to me everyday. His loving guidance has stopped and reset the direction for my life on many occasions.

I am grateful for the promise and the power of the resurrection. The promise does not wait for the last day, but is manifested each time we experience new life coming from a hopeless situation.

I am grateful for the faithful who will gather on Easter morning and with one voice shout “He is Risen!
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