Easter Sunday

What meaning and importance does Holy Week have? I hope that this article will help you to prepare for the celebrations of Holy Week that so powerfully express the good news of our Savior Jesus Christ.

The details of Easter Sunday are often up for debate: the chronology and the question of whether or not to celebrate Easter (given that many traditions are of pagan background). Older parishioners of the Worldwide Church of God (Grace Communion International) may remember that we even had a tract on the subject.

However, most believers today believe that it is not pagan at all to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Finally, at Easter, the heart of the Gospel is proclaimed celebrating the most important moment in human history. A groundbreaking event for anyone who has ever lived. It is the event that makes the difference in our lives, now and forever. Unfortunately, Easter celebrations are often just the abridged version of the gospel of a transaction that involves personal gratification and individual fulfillment. Such ideas say: You are doing your part and God will do his part. Accept and obey Jesus as your Savior and God will reward you here and now in return and grant you access to eternal life. That sounds like a pretty good deal, but is that it?

It is true that God takes our sin away and in return awards the righteousness of Jesus Christ to receive eternal life. However, it is anything but a barter transaction. The good news is not about a barter of goods and services between two parties. Marketing the gospel as if it were a trade leaves the wrong impression on people. In this approach, the focus is on us. Whether we agree with the business or not, whether we can afford it or not, or whether we are wondering if it is worth the effort. At the center are our decision and our actions. But the Easter message is not primarily about us, but about Jesus. It's about who he is and what he did for us.

Together with the celebrations of Holy Week, Easter Sunday is the turning point of human history. The events have led the story to another end. Humanity and creation are sent on a new path. Everything has changed with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Easter is so much more than a metaphor for new life expressed by eggs, rabbits and the new spring fashion. The resurrection of Jesus was much more than the culmination of his earthly ministry. The events of Easter Sunday heralded a new era. At Easter, a new phase of Jesus' work began. Jesus invites all who acknowledge Him as their personal Savior to be part of His ministry and to proclaim to the whole of humanity the good news of the new life that Christ brings.

Here are the words of the apostle Paul in 2. Corinthians:
Therefore, from now on, we no longer know anyone about the flesh; and even though we knew Christ after the flesh, we no longer know Him now. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old has passed, behold, something new has become. But all of God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry that preaches reconciliation. For God was in Christ and reconciled the world to himself and did not attribute to them their sins and raised the word of reconciliation among us. So we are now ambassadors to Christ, for God admonishes through us; So now we ask Christ to be reconciled with God! For He made Him who knew no sin to be a sin for us, that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

As co-workers, however, we admonish you not to receive God's grace in vain. "For he speaks (Isaiah 49,8): "I heard you in the time of grace and I helped you on the day of salvation." Behold, now is the time of grace, behold, now is the day of salvation! "(2. Corinthians 5,15-6,2).

From the beginning, God's plan was to renew humanity and the culmination of this plan was the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This event about 2000 years ago transformed history, present and future. Today, we live in the time of grace, and it is a time when we, as followers of Jesus, are called to live missionary life and live a meaningful and meaningful life.    

by Joseph Tkach


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