He is Risen! Our Lord Jesus conquered the grave. Today we celebrate the First fruits and the Culmination and promise that we shall be raised from the dead as He was!
The raising of the body from death is crucial to our faith. Most religions only promise the fate of being a disembodied spirit (state) or higher consciousness, where your spirit and soul are stuck in some plain of existence. The True God tells us that is not how he’ll leave us, that we shall be raised into His likeness with new bodies, “ But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself,” (Philippians 3:20-21), “ Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed,” (1 Corinthians 15:49, 52), “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. ” (2 Corinthians 10:1-4). This promise is comforting, we aren’t doomed like in Judaism to be stuck in a dark realm as a spirit, or caught in a never ending loop of reincarnation like in Buddhism. No! We shall have bodies like we do now only they will be perfect, without disease, pain, sin, or death, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4). Jesus Christ our Lord’s Resurrection did redeem both the Body and Spirit; His death on the cross and Resurrection from the dead are the two pillars of His slavic work! Christ’s Resurrection is a promise that we shall not lie in graves, that we will have new bodies like His! That our flesh will finally be attuned to the New Creation in Christ and live forever. Amen.
Here are some hymns of celebration for today:
“Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly king, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!
But the pains which he endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured; Alleluia!
Now above the sky he's king, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!
Sing we to our God above, Alleluia!
Praise eternal as his love; Alleluia!
Praise him, all you heavenly host, Alleluia!
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Alleluia!”
-Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: David Willcocks
“ 1 Christ is risen, Christ is risen!
Tell it with a joyful voice.
Christ has burst the three days' prison;
Let the whole wide earth rejoice.
Death is conquered, we are free;
Christ has won the victory.
2 Come, you sad and fearful hearted,
With glad smile and radiant brow.
Death's dark shadows have departed,
All our woes are over now;
Through the passion that he bore,
Sin and pain have pow'r no more.
3 Come with high and holy hymning;
Chant our Lord's triumphant might.
Not one gloomy cloud is dimming
That bright glorious morning light
Breaking o'er the purple east,
Symbol of our Easter feast.
4 Christ is risen, Christ is risen!
And has opened heaven's gate.
We are free from evil's prison,
Risen to a holier state;
And a brighter Easter beam
On our longing eyes shall stream.”
-Cecil Francis Alexander (1846)
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