Easter Day
CHRIST our Passover is sacrificed for us: * therefore let us keep the feast, Not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; * but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Cor. v. 7.
CHRIST being raised from the dead dieth no more; * death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: * but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, * but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. vi. 9.
CHRIST is risen from the dead, * and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, * by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, * even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Cor. xv. 20
ALMIGHTY God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened
unto us the gate of
everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee that, as by thy special grace preventing [going
before] us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we
may bring the same to good
effect; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost
ever, one God, world
without end. Amen.
[all above appointed for Easter Day]
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus, the Risen Christ.Today, of all days, we are reminded of the Good News that the Church has preached to men of all nations: Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life, and through belief in him, though men be dead, they shall be resurrected on the last day [John 11:25].
Christ Victorious! That is the central message of Easter. The words of Paul in his fist letter to the Corinthians are central to our faith:
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [1 Cor 15:51ff]
There has been confusion of the nature of the Resurrection and various heresies have arisen from time to time, including today. That is understandable, for the appearances of our Lord Jesus were mysterious. But in no way should one dismiss the Resurrection as only "spiritual". It was indeed bodily-yet with an incorruptible body. As Paul said, he has "become the firstfruits of them that slept" The Resurrection represented a new state that had never existed before or after, and will only by realized for Christians in the Last Great Day. Our Lord's nature is now as it was in the Incarnation: fully human and fully divine, with no separation or division between the natures. No less shall we also be resurrected: fully human, as sons of God, yet incorruptible. John testified to this truth in his first letter, saying Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
Can a man be saved who does not believe in the Resurrection? God knows. The Scriptures say that this belief in the physical resurrection is essential. Paul said, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Our Lord made a special point in proving to the disciples his physical resurrection the evening of Easter. He appeared to them. He ate before them. He instructed them to examine and touch him. When Thomas had not been present, and doubted the resurrection less he personally verify it, the Lord returned to the disciples on the Sunday following Easter and confronted Thomas saying, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." After Thomas confessed the Resurrected Christ, Jesus said, " Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." [John 20:19ff]
Be blessed this day friends. Confess the Lord Jesus Christ physically resurrected from the grave. Believe on him ascended into heaven and seated at the right hand of God-man and God, and believe on his promise to come again on that Last Great Day to resurrect his elect -- the sons of God.
Easter Sunrise Services have become popular these days. For our ancestors in the camps there was no other alternative... reflect on this beautiful painting by Kunstler Easter Morn
Preached at Holy Cross Anglican Church-Fredericksburg, Virginia
"Sunrise Service" in a Confederate Camp
Christus Victor
Parson
Mark Carroll
Colonel
Ben Caudill Camp -
Easter Day - the Year of Our Lord MMX
