FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK: “Has Easter Changed Us?”

FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK: “Has Easter Changed Us?"

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

⁸ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” (Mark 16: 6-8) 

    Well here we are at Easter 2024. Has anything changed? Have we changed? I would say “yes” if you consider where we have come since last year. We made a prayerful decision to leave a beloved denomination in order to hold fast to our Biblical convictions. We paid the price to purchase back our property and make changes to reflect our new name. We have experienced the full spectrum of emotions as we had some dear friends go and have had new friends join us on this unchartered journey of faith. We’ve been here in unchartered territory before. Remember Easter in 2020? On this Easter I want to encourage you that while we may not know or see what God is doing next, do not be alarmed. Have faith that the risen Christ is changing us into something new. We can be confident of this: “that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6).

    We are reminded in all four Gospels of how Easter changed those first followers of Jesus Christ. When the women came to the tomb in the dark hours of the morning, they were shocked to see the stone had been rolled away. They came mournful to anoint a Jesus’ body, not expecting to find an empty tomb. They tremble with fear when they encounter angels as they proclaim the message: “He is risen! He is not here!” (Mark 16:6). As they are invited to come in closer and see where His body lay, they are instructed to “go and tell His disciples.” In the other three Gospels, the women rejoice and run to tell the Good News. However, in Mark’s Gospel alone, he records them leaving unchanged. They left bewildered, mournful, and even terrified. Mark records that “they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” (Mark 16:8)

    I think that is an honest assessment of what happened to these women, and what is happening to us. They have to wrestle with the reality of the situation they can see against believing in the promise of God that they cannot see or understand yet. Eventually these women do come around and become the first ones to tell the disciples the Good News of the empty tomb. But the disciples are not off the hook either. In two of the Gospels they do not believe the women’s report. Believing in the resurrection takes faith. We can either be paralyzed in our fear and doubt, or allow Christ’s resurrection to change us. The empty tomb is our turning point. Paul says that faith is a “gift from God and not a result of works, so no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). At Easter we are given the invitation to step into the tomb and believe and leave as changed persons.

    James Macdonald, an evangelist once asked the question, “If your faith hasn’t changed you, has it saved you?” That is a great question when it comes to thinking about Easter. What kind of evidence is there of the risen Christ is living in me? If we have faith in Christ’s resurrection, our mind, heart, will, and life will be reoriented in to serving him wholeheartedly. We will want to get up in the morning and come to worship our risen Savior. We will want to rejoice that our faith has been resurrected! We will want to walk out of the tomb of our old lives and jump for joy in the promise of our new lives in Christ. And we will have courage to want to go, no run and tell others the Good News that “He is Risen! Hopefully this Easter will change us from being fearful, mournful, and doubtful followers to being fully committed friends of the risen Christ. Let’s show up and see how Christ will change us this Easter!

In Christ Alone, Pastor Mary