163 Sermon Illustrations on Easter

Nearing the end of His earthly sojourn, Jesus spoke openly about His pending departure. “I will be with you only a little longer,” He told His disciples. This greatly troubled those who envisioned their Master overthrowing Roman rule and establishing His kingdom on earth. Yet that was not Jesus’ plan. His kingdom would not be in earthly dominions but in the hearts of mankind. Jesus said it was necessary that He go away so that He could prepare a place for His followers in His eternal kingdom. In His absence He promised to send another Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to be with them at all times and in every place.

As the shadow of the Cross loomed ever larger, Jesus spoke of the importance of loving one another. “My command is this,” He said, “Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Then He added, “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:12-14). In a short while, Jesus would personally demonstrate the depth of His commitment to those He loved by enduring unimaginable suffering and laying down His life on a rugged cross, atoning for the sins of all who would accept Him as Lord and Savior.

At the end of verses three and four of that great hymn of the Church, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” Isaac Watts beautifully captures the depth of Jesus’ love and its implications for each one of us by writing,

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

As you gather in God’s house this Easter, take time to contemplate afresh Jesus’ sacrificial gift of himself for you. Commit yourself anew to your Lord and Savior, laying before Him your soul, your life, your all. That is what loving the way He loves demands.

In 1874, a Baptist minister named Robert Lowry penned one of the most stirring hymns to ever exalt the resurrection of Jesus Christ -- “Low in the Grave He Lay.” Notice how these verses contrast the impotence of death and suffering with the resurrection power of Christ:

Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior;

Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior;

Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!

Death cannot keep its Prey, Jesus my Savior;

He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!

Death, man’s most dread enemy, is powerless to reign over the Lord of life. And that truth has significance for you and me, here and now in the twenty-first century. You can see it in the most exciting and rousing part of Lowry’s hymn, the refrain that punctuates each stanza:

Up from the grave He arose,

With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,

He arose a Victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.

He arose! He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Do you see in those lines what Jesus’ resurrection means to you? If you are a Christian, you can rejoice in the fact that Christ rose from the dead as a victor, a champion who lives forever to reign, “with His saints.” That refers to the promise based on our spiritual baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ -- it is our hope and the reason and ground of all we believe.

But what if there were no resurrection? What if the resurrection of Jesus Christ is just a first-century myth to be ignored or marginalized as a secondary issue? The implications of that approach are devastating to Christianity.

I want to draw your attention to what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:16-19 so that you can see what happens when you forget the resurrection.

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

Without question, if Jesus is still in the grave, if He is perpetually the sufferer and never the Victor, then you and I are hopelessly lost. And though that is not the case, I want to focus on the hypothetical “what if” that Paul assumes temporarily in 1 Corinthians 15. “What if the resurrection were a myth? What if Jesus Christ were still dead and in the grave?”

First of all, you would still be in your sins, under the tyranny of death along with the most vile and unbelieving pagan. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then sin won the victory over Him and continues to be victorious over you too. If Jesus remained in the grave, then, when you die you would also stay dead. Furthermore, since “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), were you to remain dead, death and eternal punishment would be your future.

The purpose of trusting in Christ is for forgiveness of sins, because it is from sin that we need to be saved. “Christ died for our sins” and “was buried, and ... raised on the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). If Christ was not raised, His death was in vain, your faith in Him would be pointless, and your sins would still be counted against you with no hope of spiritual life.

Second, if there is no resurrection, then “those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” That means every Old Testament saint, every New Testament saint, and every saint since Paul wrote would be suffering in torment at this very moment. That would include Paul himself, the rest of the apostles, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Moody, and the faithful and prayerful saints you’ve known -- every other believer in every age also would be in hell. Their faith would have been in vain, their sins would not have been forgiven, and their destiny would be damnation.

In light of the other consequences, the last is rather obvious. “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” Without Christ’s resurrection, and the salvation and blessings it brings, Christianity would be pointless and pitiable. Without the resurrection we would have no Savior, no forgiveness, no gospel, no meaningful faith, no life, and we could never have hope for any of those things.

To have hoped in Christ alone in this life would be to teach, preach, suffer, sacrifice, and work entirely for nothing. If Christ is still dead, then He not only has no ability to save you in the future, but He can’t help you now either. If He were not alive, where would be your source of peace, joy, or satisfaction now? The Christian life would be a mockery, a charade, a tragic and cruel joke. Christians who suffer and even die for the faith would be just as blind and pathetic as those “believers” who followed Jim Jones and the People’s Temple, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, and Marshall Applewhite and the Heaven’s Gate cult.

Since a Christian has no Savior but Christ, no Redeemer but Christ, and no Lord but Christ, if Christ is not raised, He is not alive, and our Christian life is lifeless. We would have nothing to justify our faith, our Bible study, our preaching or witnessing, our service for Him or our worship of Him, and nothing to justify our hope in this life or the next. We would deserve nothing but the compassion reserved for fools.

But, God did raise “Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:24-25). Because Christ lives, we too shall live (John 14:19). “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:30-31).

We are NOT to be pitied, for Paul immediately ends the dreadful “what if” section by saying, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). As Paul said at the end of his life, “I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him [i.e. his life] until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).

Those who do not hope in Christ alone for salvation are the real fools; they are the ones who need to hear your compassionate testimony about the triumph of Christ’s resurrection. So don’t forget the resurrection; rejoice in it and glory in it, for He is risen indeed.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS FOR SKEPTICS - part 1

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An unbeliever once told a Scottish preacher, “It is upon an empty tomb that Christianity is founded.” What he thought was a rebuke of Christianity was actually a powerful proof of it. A man supposedly went to a famous French statesman for advice. This man tried to found his own religious system and had failed to draw a following or much interest. The statesman told him how he could gain a great following: “Go and be crucified and then raise yourself from the grave the third day.” The resurrection of Christ was a proof that Jesus was the divine Son of God.

Christians are the first to realize, though, that not everyone believes in the resurrection of Christ. For example, in A.D. 150 a Christian named Justin wrote a work on the resurrection. He answered many questions people had about it and some objections a few had to it. Justin was a remarkable man. He was a Gentile born in Samaria near Jacob's well. He was well-educated. He was a truth-seeker. He tried all the philosophies of his day and was not satisfied with any of them. Finally after studying Plato, Socrates and many others, he found what he was looking for in Jesus of Nazareth. He continued to wear his philosopher's gown after his conversion, saying he had finally found the true philosophy. He spent the rest of his life defending Christianity as that true philosophy. His story is a tremendous one and his defense of the resurrection of Jesus is just one in a long string of similar apologies over the past 2000 years.

Nevertheless there are still skeptics, some even pretending to be Christians. Some of the liberal preachers, teachers and theologians in denominations today claim to be Christians yet they deny the resurrection of Christ. Such is a horrible inconsistency. How do they deny something that is taught so plainly in the Bible? They claim everything in the New Testament was written as late as they can date it. The later the better. This leaves a longer gap of time between the events and the recording of the events. Even then, realize we are speaking of less than seventy years for the whole New Testament! During this period of time the liberals claim that everything the church believed was reshaped and transformed by the worship and preaching of the church. Obviously there is some truth to that, but they claim it was drastically changed and altered, that events which never occurred were made up or fabricated to justify some teaching.

The liberals speak of the resurrection faith. What they mean by this is that the disciples believed Jesus was raised from the dead. The liberals do not believe it really happened. They just think the disciples believed it happened and that faith changed them. They ought to be more honest with people and speak of the resurrection hoax or fiction. One well known religious writer, in reaction to a recent book which denied the deity of Christ and his resurrection, said, “Maybe it's time we leveled with the public.” This sort of belief is quite common in many denominations. You need to make sure that the church to which you belong truly believes in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not just in a resurrection faith that some disciples supposedly wrongly held in the first century!

Our study today will examine the resurrection of Jesus from the viewpoint of the liberal critic of the Bible. If a person believes and trusts the Bible as the word of God, all we have to do is show them that the Bible tells us Jesus was raised from the dead. That is all the evidence they need. Everyone does not believe the Bible, though. Some people need to be shown proofs and evidences which we are glad to do. There are certain types of proof, certain ways of examining historical data which some liberals use, though, which are not as commonly known. In our lesson we will use those methods to prove the resurrection. The very techniques developed by the liberal critics who deny the resurrection can be used to strongly affirm and prove the resurrection of Christ.

Here is one example of their methodology. If something is expected to happen but does not happen, then in order to take hold of a claim or a title a devoted follower might distort the truth and pretend it really did happen. If the Messiah was supposed to do something, then the apostles might pretend that Jesus did so that they could convince others he was the Christ. On the other hand if something was not expected to happen and the apostles then made the claim that it did, it probably really did happen. This is a common test of historical credibility by the liberal critic. It takes a very dim view of honesty among human beings, but it is their method nevertheless.

Let us apply their test to the resurrection. If the apostles were expecting Jesus to be raised from the dead, then according to the liberals it is possible that they made up the resurrection story. In the New Testament, though, we see it is not that way. Despite the fact that Jesus told them ahead of time about his resurrection, they still were not expecting it. For example, Jesus said, “'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up'....He spoke of the temple of his body” (Jn. 2:19, 21). As Matthew recalls, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Mt. 16:21). After the transfiguration Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead” (Mt. 17:9). Repeatedly Jesus foretold his resurrection from the dead (Mt. 17:22-23; 20:18-19; 26:32; 27:63).

Apparently the apostles did not listen very well or did not believe. They were not expecting the resurrection. They were surprised and amazed when it occurred. By the liberal critics own standard of historical reliability, then, the resurrection must have really occurred! Friends, if the apostles were going to make up and fabricate a story about Jesus, they would have made up a story about Jesus conquering a whole legion of Roman soldiers singlehandedly in the Judean desert. That is what people expected the Messiah to do. People did not expect the Messiah to die on a Roman cross and then be raised from the dead. So what the New Testament tells must have really happened.

In our next study we will look at more proofs of the resurrection from the viewpoint of the liberal critic. (W. Harland Dilbeck, “The Bodily Resurrection of Christ,” Firm Foundation, 13 December 1977, pp. 6, 10; Roger S. Busse, “Historical Criticism and the Resurrection,” Firm Foundation, 13 December 1977, pp. 7, 11; 20 December 1977, pp. 8, 10).

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THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS FOR SKEPTICS - part 2

In our last study we began an examination of the historical reliability of the New Testament account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Instead of just accepting what the Bible says, we approached the study from the standpoint of a liberal, skeptical critic. The liberal historian uses certain standards by which he declares documents reliable or fabrications. By the liberal critic's own standards, though, the NT accounts of the resurrection of Jesus are shown to be reliable and certain! Let us continue that study.

One method of determining historical reliability is this. If something is said to make the writer himself or his friends look good, the liberal critic says the statement is suspicious. The writer probably made it up in order to make himself look good. It would be like an athlete telling of an athletic achievement. He is likely to brag and boast a little, stretching the truth a little for his own glory. On the other hand, though, if someone tells a story which is not complimentary to the teller or his friends, it is likely to be true. “Why would he make up a story that makes himself look bad?”, the liberal critic asks. It is a natural human tendency to make self look good. If you are telling a story about yourself you are more likely to skip the parts that make you look bad than the parts that make you look good. Let us examine the NT accounts of the resurrection by this standard or measurement.

The NT accounts of the resurrection do not make heroes out of the apostles and early disciples. The accounts make them look quite bad! When soldiers came to arrest Jesus, the apostles ran away in fear. One of them, Peter, denied he even knew Jesus three times. They hid in fear after Jesus' death. When some women came and told them Jesus had been raised from the dead, they were reluctant to believe it. When some of the apostles saw Jesus alive and believed, they told Thomas who had not been with them. Even with other apostles telling him, Thomas did not believe it either. He had to see Jesus with his own eyes before he would believe. Two disciples on the road to Emmaeus were extremely slow to recognize and believe in Jesus. Even after these resurrection appearances, the apostles had not figured out the complete significance of it all. When Jesus met them in Galilee, they had gone back to fishing. The whole account of Jesus' resurrection shows how frail and weak the apostles and early disciples were. It is clearly not a fabrication. By the liberal critic's own standard of measurement, the apostles must have been telling the truth.

Now let us look at our final method of determining historical reliability as used by liberal historical critics today. If a person is fabricating a story, it is claimed that they will make the story sound as good as possible in order that others will be likely to accept it. If you are making up an argument for an event, you want it to be as plausible as possible. You do not want to write a story in such a way that it is difficult to believe. For example, if you are trying to explain why you are late for school, you would not make up a ridiculous story about being kidnapped by an alien spaceship. No one would believe that. They might believe that you ran out of gas. Let us examine the NT account of Jesus' resurrection by this standard.

If the apostles were making up the account of the resurrection, whom would they have as eyewitnesses? They would want the most credible and reliable persons possible. They would pretend that a Roman centurion soldier, a Jewish priest, a scribe, a Jewish temple guard, and a Roman government official all saw Jesus alive. That would be impressive. That would be a marvelous list of eyewitnesses. When we turn to the NT account of the witnesses to the resurrection, though, we read a very different story. The first appearance of Jesus after his resurrection was to common peasant women!

I do not know how acceptable the testimony of women is where you live, but in the first century the testimony of women was not considered very important. Women were not allowed to give testimony. When the women told the male disciples they had seen Jesus alive, the men did not take them seriously: “But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them” (Lk. 24:11). The word “idle” here is sometimes used in Greek medical language for the wild talk of a delirious person. The Latin word in the Latin translations of this verse is the word from which the English words “delirious” and “delirium” come. The testimony of these women was considered to be a bunch of “wives' tales” as we sometimes say.

If the resurrection story in the NT was made up, the writers who made it up did a horrible job. If they were going to fabricate a story about the resurrection of Jesus, they would not have made the first appearance of Jesus occur to women. The fact that the NT reports it this way, then, is a strong evidence that it must have actually happened that way. By the liberal critic's own standard of measuring historical reliability, the resurrection is shown to be a fact of history. It really occurred. The account is no fabrication but is literal history. Christians should teach the resurrection of Jesus Christ with absolute and total assurance. There should be no wavering of doubt in our hearts -- Jesus Christ is alive!

Some years ago a man's beloved wife died. He suffered from a terrible fit of depression. His wife has been his best friend and closest companion for most of his life. He called in a minister to inquire about the resurrection and eternal life. He wanted to know if there was any evidence for it and if he might ever see his wife again. The minister was a very liberal one who did not really believe in the resurrection. He beat around the bush and gave an evasive answer. The man then called in another minister and asked the same question, telling of his disappointment in the first minister. When he asked the second minister if there is a resurrection and another life, the answer he received was, “Yes”. We can answer that question with a decisive, definite, certain, absolute, confident, secure, and unhesitating “Yes”. We can know it to be a fact, because we know Jesus was raised from the dead.

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In the wake of Easter, I am left wondering what just happened. In a way, Easter is the most natural day of the year for a Christian. We live in the reality that we serve a resurrected Lord; Easter is the day of the year when we are most likely to remember this. But oddly enough, Easter sometimes feels more like an anomaly in the Christian life. Oh yes, we remember, this is the core of our faith. This is the basis on which everything else rests. How did I lose sight of it? I ask myself.

In our day-to-day, twenty-first-century lives, we don't talk about resurrection. The subject only comes up at Easter or when a believer dies. For most people in the world (including, I'm sorry to say, some professing Christians), the death and resurrection of Jesus seems like an extraneous event of history. Jesus rose from the dead, and Hannibal crossed the Alps. Both were significant events at the time, but have little to do with us.

In the book THE GOSPEL IN A PLURALIST SOCIETY, Lesslie Newbigin observes, “It is obvious that the story of the empty tomb cannot be fitted into our contemporary worldview, or indeed into any worldview except one of which it is the starting point.” You can't have Buddha and an empty tomb; you can't have Western Imperialism and an empty tomb; you can't have an innocuous Jesus and an empty tomb. Many have tried to fit these things together as a puzzle, but the power of the empty tomb repels anything that competes with it.

Easter is a reminder to me that, in the course of each year, my worldview has a tendency to get rearranged. I get lost in details and ideas that seem relevant to my life. But there is nothing more relevant to any human soul than the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and there is no more suitable foundation on which to build a life. Christ's resurrection offers the promise that we, too, will be raised from the dead. But also, as the apostle Paul assures us repeatedly in his writings, the same power that raised Christ from the dead is also working in us to accomplish all that God desires (see, for example, Romans 8 and Ephesians 1). The resurrection of Christ changed everything, and there is no going back. Once the sun has begun to rise, it will not reverse its course.

Today would be a good day to take stock of your worldview. (I'm not merely referring to your theological and philosophical convictions; our worldviews encompass the smallest bits of our lives as well as the biggest.) What does the empty tomb have to do with you? Is it an accessory to your life or is it essential? What does God desire to do in your life with that same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead? Allow the mystery of Easter to turn your life right side up and remind you of the foundation upon which your hope is built.

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Copyright © 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

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Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. (Acts 2:23-24 AV)

A small Norwegian vessel lay in an English port for several days. One of those days happened to be Good Friday, and the chief officer carelessly said to the captain, "Shall I hoist the flag at half mast today?"

"Why?" said the captain.

"Well," replied the officer, "They say Jesus died today."

The captain who was a Christian man replied, "Jesus, who is my Saviour, is a living Saviour, not a dead One; and if you put out the flag at all, you must hoist it right at the top of the mast."

Do you know the Lord Jesus as a risen Saviour? The stone which was sealed upon His sepulchre has been forever rolled away. The grave is empty. Jesus is risen – a mighty, triumphant victor.

Death could not keep its prey–

He tore the bars away,

Jesus my Lord.

A young man in China heard about Jesus Christ from a friend and decided to follow Him as risen Lord and Savior.

But first he had a question for his Christian friend: “Who told you about Jesus?”

The friend told about the believers who had led him to faith, but the young man wasn’t quite satisfied.

“Well, who told them?” he persisted.

The conversation continued along that line until the Christian friend realized something anew: The life, death and resurrection of Christ are the most important events in history, but the Good News still reaches hearts and minds primarily by word of mouth. One person shares with another -– day by day, generation by generation.

“Relational introductions [to the Gospel] must go all the way back to Jesus’ time,” he later reflected. “We all owe our thanks to somebody before us.”

Think about that. Because the earliest followers of Christ -– those who walked with Him personally –- faithfully spread the Gospel in the days after He rose from the dead, that same message is now sweeping China in one of the greatest ongoing expansions in church history.

America needs the Good News, too. Thousands of missionaries are working across North America. But they can’t do it alone. North American missions, like international missions, is the task of every believer. And it’s personal. Telling His story is telling your story. How has Christ’s resurrected life changed your life? How is He living through you? You can’t share what you don’t have.

The historical case for the resurrection of Christ is solid and compelling. But many people would reject it even if they were presented with enough hard evidence to satisfy a district attorney. The evidence of your changed life, however, is harder to refute. If you love someone others despise, serve someone others oppress, listen to someone others ignore, you will soon find someone who wants to know why you are different.

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, observes that the people most receptive to spiritual things tend to fall into two categories: those in transition (new marriage, new job, new school, new town) and those under tension (illness, marriage problems, divorce, financial crisis, alcohol/drugs, problem children, etc.). That covers a big chunk of the population. Sure, they may mock your Christian faith the first time they hear it. But they’ll respond to your life when they see Jesus in you -– and sense Him reaching out to them.

The early Christians shook the Roman world with their courageous testimony about Jesus -– and the testimony of their radically changed lives. In our day, Chinese Christians and Muslim-background followers of Jesus are shaking their worlds. So are hosts of local believers and mission workers in Asia, Africa and Latin America. They don’t just believe in the resurrection; they live it.

“Please pray with us that the Gospel will be shared broadly through the Easter season,” asks a Christian in a major Chinese city. “Very few Chinese have any knowledge or understanding of Easter. Pray that during this time believers will clearly proclaim the message of a risen Savior who takes away the sins of the world to their family, friends, neighbors and coworkers. Pray that literally thousands of people in our city will ‘see Jesus’ for the first time this Easter season.”

Let’s pray the same prayer for our own cities this Easter. It’s time for many more of our neighbors to see the risen Savior in us.

Easter Sermon Luke 24:9-15, 2 Timothy 4:3-4

WORSHIPING WEIRDNESS?

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I. Everyone loves weird religious news.

II. Judas Gospel - you've got Jesus' betrayer all wrong.

A. Is Judas really the hero of the Easter story?

B. The New Age movement is nothing New.

C. The secret heresy of the Gospel of Judas.

D. Hook, line and sinker.

III. Da Vinci Code - you've got salvation all wrong.

A. Hugely popular book and soon to be a movie.

B. Far-out story.

C. Ignorance of the Bible drives this weirdness.

IV. Scientology - you've got mental health all wrong.

A. "South Park" brouhaha, and Tom Cruise.

B. The home-made religion of a science fiction writer.

V. Mormonism - you've got American history all wrong.

A. Their distinctive history and theology.

B. Where it all falls apart.

VI. Isn't Easter weird as well?

A. You can make a strong case.

B. Do we believe it only because we WANT it to be true?

C. The only possible defense.

Every Easter Sunday on the small Greek island of Chios a fireworks war breaks out between two rival parishes. In a bizarre but long-cherished local tradition, two Orthodox churches in the town of Vrodandos fire rockets at each other's churches - while services are held.

The objective is to hit the other church's bell, but many rockets go astray, causing locals to rush frantically for cover. And some say they are sick of having to repair their damaged homes.

DANGEROUS WORK

So-called “gangs” from the two rival parishes - Saint Mark and Panagia Erithiani - spend months preparing more than 25,000 rockets, Reuters news agency reported.

About 150 people are involved in their production, using bronze tools to prevent sparks igniting the volatile gunpowder mixture.

“A good rocket has to fly fast, go far and stay lit until the end,” explains rocket maker Vassilis Barkoulis. “You have to be careful in the details and process of its construction for a rocket to be good. If you do that carefully, you can have yourself a good rocket.”

The work is carried out in derelict buildings with the doors left open - should an extremely speedy exit be required following an explosion. There is also the danger the police may pay an unwelcome visit - technically making the rockets is illegal, although police largely turn a blind eye to the proceedings.

MYSTERIOUS ORIGINS

Several days before the event, residents carefully board up both churches' windows and doors and wrap wire sheeting around the buildings to protect worshippers.

On Easter Sunday evening, as mass is said in both churches, the rival parish “gangs” set to work, lighting fireworks and aiming them haphazardly at each other's church bells.

Amid the melee, priests in both churches attempt to continue with mass, although the deafening sounds of fireworks and cheers as the rockets hit their targets often drown out the proceedings entirely.

Locals are not sure of the tradition's origins, although it is possibly linked to stories of the island's sailors, who used to battle pirates with cannons installed on their ships and began a custom of firing them at Easter.

In the late 19th Century, when Ottoman occupiers confiscated the cannons over fears they would be used in an uprising, locals resorted to firing rockets instead.

Residents also admit it is not the most safety-conscious of ceremonies, with several fires in recent years sparked by rockets and even a few deaths. “We live as hostages to this tradition,” one local lamented. “We can't breathe when it takes place, we have to be on standby in case a fire breaks out, because if you are not careful you can even lose your house.”

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths” (Colossians 2:16 NKJV).

A recent letter to the Editor in the Charlottesville DAILY PROGRESS Lamented the secularization of “Easter.” The store shelves are lined with candy, toy bunnies and chicks, but no crosses, empty tombs, or Bibles. She reported that the puzzled store clerk could not answer her question as to why we celebrate Easter. As with Christmas, therefore, some Christians, in the name of Biblical faithfulness, eschew the “holiday” completely.

Indeed, “Easter” is yet another example (alongside Halloween and Christmas) of the success of past Christian missionaries that has perhaps turned around to bite us in these days. Critics are quick to point out that the English word “Easter” itself derives from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring (Eostre). The missionaries took pagan holidays and infused them with Christian meaning. Pagans had long marked the coming of spring with a holiday that celebrated the fertility of nature and its annual awakening from winter slumber. Christians saw a natural opportunity to teach the resurrection. In an increasingly post-Christian society, the pagans now seem to be taking back all the things that were once theirs. So, many now have Easter (candy, new clothes, egg hunts), without all the baggage of the cross and the resurrection of Jesus.

In the spirit both of Christian liberty of conscience and Biblical faithfulness, we as individual believers and as believing congregations must be guided by the Lord in making wise decisions as to what to do with Easter. Here are some reasons appropriately to mark the day:

1. IT IS GENERALLY CONSISTENT WITH BIBLICAL TRADITION THAT CHRISTIANS GATHER ON SUNDAYS AS THE LORD’S DAY. In a real sense every Sunday is Resurrection (Easter) Sunday. The Biblical pattern establishes the first day of the week as the time for Christians to gather and worship (see John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:2; Rev 1:10). Think about it. Jesus was crucified on a Friday. The cross is central to the Gospel. Why then did the church not begin to meet on Fridays to worship? Because to preach the cross alone would mean a truncated gospel. Jesus was not a good teacher who died a horrific martyr’s death and was merely “raised” in the memory of his close friends after his death. No. His dead and lifeless body, by the power of God, came into a transformed, embodied existence. Paul also said that if we do not preach the risen Jesus then “our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (1 Cor 15:14).

2. IT PROVIDES US WITH A TIME TO FOCUS ON THE CENTRAL CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST THAT IS AT LEAST APPROXIMATE TO THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN THAT EVENT ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE. With Christmas, we do not know precisely when Jesus was born. We do know with certainty, however, that Jesus was crucified and raised in the springtime during the annual celebration of the Jewish Passover.

One of the early controversies among Christians who lived beyond Bible times was when Easter would be celebrated (called by church historians the “Paschal Controversies”). Some argued that it should be celebrated on the actual DATE when Jesus was raised (Nisan 14 on the Jewish calendar), whatever that particular day might be (Monday, Tuesday, etc.). Others argued it should always be celebrated on a Sunday to recall the actual DAY on which Jesus was raised. The latter prevailed, so we celebrate Easter on a Sunday. Another controversy was whether Easter should always be observed at the time of the Jewish Passover or by an alternate lunar plan. Again, the latter opinion prevailed.

So, in accordance with Christian custom but fully aware there is no Biblical mandate for any such annual observance (again, the only Biblical mandate is weekly worship on the Lord’s Day), we celebrate Easter each year on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. In so doing, we are assured an annual occasion to concentrate, with some flourish, specifically on the doctrine of the resurrection. We do this in a season approximate to the time when Christ was crucified, buried, and raised. In addition, we may also make strategic evangelistic use of the season to share with non-believers the good deposit of truth concerning Jesus Christ with which we have been entrusted.

Is Easter Biblical? Yes and No. Yes, it is always Biblical for believers to gather on the Lord’s Day and remember the resurrection. No, we have no Biblical mandate and are, therefore, under no obligation to make this an annual event. Christians, as always, are to be guided by a Biblically informed and Spirit led conscience as to if and how to participate in Easter. Some do this by avoiding the name “Easter “ at all and use the alternative “Resurrection Sunday.” Others see no problem with using the more culturally accepted title of “Easter” as long as it is infused with real Christian meaning (i.e., it’s not all about egg hunts and bunnies). In Colossians 2:16, Paul addresses questions such as these that were on the hearts and minds of the believers who were also walking the tight rope of being in the world but not of it: “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths.” His words offer appropriate guidance in our age as well.

________

Jeffrey T. Riddle

Pastor, Jefferson Park Baptist Church

When considering the Christian message, it is important to remember that the disciples of Jesus were totally surprised by the events that took place in Jerusalem. After the crucifixion of Jesus, the apostles believed that all was lost.

Though some have argued that the disciples merely refused to accept failure after Jesus’ death and made up the story of the resurrection, a crucified and risen Messiah simply did not fit into Jewish expectations for the one who was to come. Though there was no single understanding of what the Messiah would be like, there were common elements that every Jew would have assumed within their messianic expectations.

The Messiah was closely linked to Jewish beliefs regarding the place of worship; he was to institute a renewal of the temple. It was also commonly understood that the Messiah would be a royal military leader who would overthrow Israel’s enemies and prove his lordship through conquest. Jesus clearly did neither of these, coming in peace and dying in his youth like a criminal. Why, then, would his followers maintain that he was the Messiah? Why did they not just cut their losses after his death and move on?

New Testament scholar N.T. Wright explains:

There were, to be sure, ways of coping with the death of a

teacher, or even a leader. The picture of Socrates was

available, in the wider world, as a model of unjust death nobly

borne. The category of ‘martyr’ was available, within Judaism,

for someone who stood up to pagans.... The category of failed

but still revered Messiah, however, did not exist. A Messiah who

died at the hands of the pagans, instead of winning [God’s]

battle against them, was a deceiver... Why then did people go on

talking about Jesus of Nazareth, except as a remarkable but

tragic memory? The obvious answer is that... Jesus WAS raised

from the dead.

In this light of resurrection, the disciples had to go through a massive renewal of their thinking. Seeing the once-dead Jesus standing before their eyes brought them to what was a radical new way of understanding the Messiah.

It remains radical today. On the day that Jesus rose from the dead he spoke of himself saying, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26). It is indelibly hard for us to see how there could be glory in suffering. But it is not hard to see that the death of Christ carries with it the force of something much more. The glory of the suffering Messiah lies in the magnitude of the love he showed on the Cross.

It was this very point that Jesus’ disciples missed until his resurrection, and it is a point that many are still missing today. The Messiah’s glory was not shown through his power, though it easily could have been, nor was it shown in status or position. But it was shown in his suffering and his love, and this remains a far-reaching hope.

________

Copyright © 2007 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

Thoughts on Easter by a Unitarian:

Three nights in 1803, when Thomas Jefferson was in the White House, he cut up the gospels, excising the miracles and arranging Jesus’ life and teachings into a single narrative.

Jefferson performed this pruning operation for his own spiritual purposes — he had no intention of sharing his bible with a world that surely would have scorned his act as arrogant and impious. But according to the few surviving letters that allude to it, Jefferson was simply trying to rescue Jesus from the captivity of his biographers (whom he considered unlettered and superstitious) and from what he called the “sophistications” of Christian theology. By separating what he believed to be the teachings OF Jesus from the teachings ABOUT Jesus, Jefferson sought reverently to construct for his evening devotions the ultimate in Christian commonplace books. What Jefferson omits is any hint of Jesus’ higher status among mortals. Jefferson opens his Bible not with the Annunciation, but with Jesus’s birth. Its final words are these: “There laid they Jesus, and rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.”

The resurrection was missing. The tale of God’s son — preaching salvation and proclaiming the advent of the Realm of God — ended in the ordinary, all-too-human way. Having for a brief time lived, even having loved and served so memorably and well, the hero died.

This realization is the first of many that have shaped my understanding of religion. If religion is our response to the dual reality of being alive and having to die, THE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS TO LIVE IN SUCH A WAY THAT OUR LIVES WILL PROVE WORTH DYING FOR. As much as anyone in history, Jesus lived in such a way that his life proved worth dying for.

Sermon in series The Church You've Longed For, #8 Matthew 28:1-7,16-20

WHAT KIND OF FUTURE?

====================

I. Futurology.

A. We love to predict the future.

B. Problems on the horizon.

C. What is the future of the church?

II. The promise of Jesus.

A. The gates of hell shall not overcome the church. Matt 16:18

B. Appearances down here do not reflect the reality up there.

III. When the world turned upside-down.

A. The world thought Jesus had his 15 minutes of fame.

B. Easter changed the headline.

IV. The future has already begun.

A. It is not about going to heaven someday.

B. The real work of the church.

C. The correct perspective in 1 Corinthians 15:58.

V. Your personal future depends on a decision.

A. Do you call him your Lord and your God?

B. Which one do you follow?

The year 1515 brought new responsibilities to a young German monk named Martin Luther. He became the overseer of 11 monasteries, and began lecturing on the book of Romans. Luther knew God demanded righteousness, and he tried with all his might to be a good monk. However, in studying Romans he awoke to see the righteousness demanded by God is a righteousness provided by God, the imputed righteousness of Christ. Luther said, “What does avail is God’s imputation of righteousness for Christ’s sake, through faith.” Luther found the Gospel and the Gospel found him. Less than two years later, Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation by nailing his 95 Theses to the church doors at Wittenburg.

Meanwhile, around the same time in another German monastery, Matthias Grünewald began to paint what is considered his greatest work, the “Isenheim Altarpiece” -- a series of paintings of Christ that make up one masterpiece. One element of that altarpiece is “Resurrection” [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isenheim_Altarpiece].

Throughout Western civilization, there have been hundreds of masterworks depicting the resurrection of Jesus. What makes Grünewald’s “Resurrection” so special? What stands out?

The most significant feature is the enormous sun behind the risen Christ. The sun seems to blend right into the top of his head. Stars remain visible in the dark background, for this is the sun of early dawn (Luke 24:1).

Symbolizing Christ as light and sun is directly from the Bible. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). In a messianic prophecy, Malachi 4:2 says, “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.”

The luminous light of Christ’s dawn overcomes the nighttime bleakness. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). The light of Christ also brings life through the Savior, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).

And it is God Himself who brings the light to our darkened hearts. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Jesus of Nazareth claimed to be God. The religious leaders cried, “Blasphemy!”, and sought to kill him. If what Jesus claimed about himself was false, then his dead body would forever remain in the tomb. The dusty bones of another false messiah would exonerate the religious leaders for their hatred of Jesus.

But Jesus was no false messiah. God the Father directed the earth to spin through space, and once again the sun rose on the horizon. And in an even greater display of God’s power, the Son also rose on the horizon. God would not allow Jesus to remain and rot in the tomb (Psalm 16:10).

Look again at the painting, and note the color of Christ’s clothing. Observe the difference in color as your eye moves from grave to sky. Coming out of the ground the cloth is grayish-white with a tinge of blue. These colors are symbolic of mourning and humility. From borrowed manger to borrowed tomb, Jesus lived as a “man of sorrows” among those who “esteemed him not”.

However, from the moment of the resurrection, Jesus was and is forever in a position of exaltation (Philippians 2:9-11). Hence, the color of the mantle surrounding him at the top is bright yellowish-red. Yellow is the color of divinity and sovereign power. Because of the resurrection, Jesus was transformed from the humble and suffering servant into the honored and sovereign savior.

But there is more. Look at the nail prints in the hands and feet of Jesus. Remember how Thomas had doubted that Jesus was alive, saying he would only believe when he saw the nail prints in the hands (John 20:25-27). Christians will one day see Christ face to face, and on that day we too will see the nail prints in his hands and feet (Revelation 5:12). Do you believe this? Does your mind think of Jesus in literal, historical flesh-and-blood terms -– a real man who had real iron nails pushed through skin and sinew? Do you believe? “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

While it is humorous to see 16th century European soldier’s clothes and a German-style gravesite, don’t miss the point. Look at the utter impotence of the powers at work against Christ. The heavy stone plate on the sepulcher is thrown open. The soldiers are sleeping, falling over and knocked out. Matthew 28:4 says of the guards, “And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.”

But it is not just the Romans and the Jews who were impotent in the face of resurrection power, for even gravity does not hold down Christ! Perhaps this is a foreshadowing of the ascension, or a symbolic display of his “being over all” (Ephesians 1:22). Most importantly, death itself held no power over Jesus. “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

Which brings us back full circle to Martin Luther. In 1515, even as Grünewald was painting his Resurrection, Luther penned the following words: “The content of the Gospel is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the seed of David, according to the flesh, and now appointed to be King and Lord of all things with power, and this according to the Holy Ghost who raised Him from the dead.”

But whatever happened to Grünewald? He was not even correctly identified by historians -- his name actually was Mathis Gothart. Historians, though, sometimes make mistakes. Some people thought Grünewald’s paintings were created by the great German artist Albrecht Dürer. What we do know is that Grünewald eventually chose to live in German cities that supported the Protestant Reformation. And when he died, his possessions included some of Luther’s printed sermons. Grünewald painted a crucified and risen Christ, but did he find salvation for his own soul through the living Christ? More importantly, have you?

________

Scott Lamb is pastor of Providence Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri.

Somerfield, a chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, decided to lecture shoppers about Easter. “Brits are set to spend a massive 520 million pounds [US$1.02 billion] on Easter eggs this year,” it said in a press release, “but many young people don’t even know what Easter’s all about.” It then went on to tell everyone: “the birth of Jesus.”

A hasty revision, which made reference to “Britons’ mounting ignorance regarding Easter,” changed the references to “rebirth” before a third version was released to use the word “resurrection” after it had “consultations” with the Church of England.

________

London Times

I read a great story about a six-year-old boy named David who was taking a walk one day with his grandmother. They decided to detour through the local graveyard. They stopped to read some of the tombstones and Grandma explained that the first date on the tombstones was the day the person was born and the second date was the day the person died.

“Why do some tombstones only have one date?” little David asked.

“Because those people haven’t died yet,” his grandmother explained.

David was obviously stunned by his grandmother’s explanation because, that night, he couldn’t stop talking about the excursion. “Mom,” he said with wide eyes, “did you know some of the people buried there in the cemetery aren’t even dead yet!”

________

DON'T STOP LAUGHING NOW! Compiled by Ann Spangler and Shari MacDonald (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), p. 54.

The famous Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded in the tower...and after his execution, his Bible was found, and in it some notes that he had written the night before his execution. Among the notes were these striking lines. “Even such is time that takes in trust our youth. Our joys are all we have, and pays us but with age and dust to win the dark and silent grave. When we have wandered all our ways, shuts up the story of our days, but from this earth, this grave, this dust, my God shall raise me up, I trust.”

Was he right? Could he have that confidence? Is there a resurrection?...The world hopes so. It’s amazing to me that in the midst of their insistent and persistent sinning, the world stops every year at this time to celebrate...hope, life after death, resurrection; and even though it is only a token...of religion offered to Christ, it nonetheless manifests that from deep within the human heart there is that hope. That as Sir Walter Raleigh put it, “My God shall raise me up, I trust.”

Some even more religious souls feel that you sort of have to work your way up to resurrection Sunday, and so they celebrate what has become known as Lent. Forty days of eating no meat and, supposedly, expressing penitence for sin. I suppose its, in most cases, hypocritical, since penitence for sin is not accomplished by some self-directed abstinence or some self-motivated plea toward God, and its hypocrisy is also seen, I think, in the fact that before Lent, people tend to really pile up the sinning since they have to do without for a while...

In fact, there are two words that come to mind when you think of the pre-Lenten season. One is the term Mardi Gras, and the other is carnival. In our country, we’re familiar with Mardi Gras. In other parts of the world, they celebrate carnival. It is a time of unbridled sinning, of drunkenness, rioting, sexual misbehavior, getting ready for penitence...in view of Easter. In fact, Mardi Gras comes from two French words. If you know French, you know that the French word Mardi means Tuesday, and gras means fat. Fat Tuesday is the last day before Lent, and you better get fat now, because you’re gonna go without for a while. Carnival comes from words that we’re familiar with. Carne, we know from chili con carne, means meat. Val, we know from high school days when somebody was the valedictorian and gave a farewell speech, means farewell. Carnival means farewell to meat. So you have a big party before you get spiritual just to make sure you don’t miss anything; and then you hope against hope that it’ll all turn out in the end if you’re penitent enough and abstain from enough, maybe someday God will raise you up.

The world rather confuses the issue further by throwing into the already hashed up situation eggs, rabbits, candy, rites of spring, new clothes, and hopes the mix will solve their destiny... So for most people Easter is simply an event, a break in the sinning. But for the Christian, every day is resurrection day; because we walk and talk with the living Christ every day; because His living is through us every day. We do not celebrate an event. We do not remember a dead Savior. We are not attracted by painfully distorted crucifixes. We worship, we love, we live every day in the presence of a risen, living Lord Jesus Christ.

________

Full transcript at: http://www.gty.org/Resources/Transcripts/1282

The German-American theologian, Paul Tillich, tells of hearing the testimony at the Nuremburg War Crime Trials of a Jewish man who had escaped the Nazi gas chambers by hiding in an empty grave in a Jewish graveyard in Poland. It was the only place that he and many others could live during that treacherous time in human history — ironically, in an empty grave.

During this time he wrote poetry, and one of the poems was the description of a birth which took place in a nearby grave when a young Jewish woman gave birth to her firstborn son. The 80-year-old gravedigger, wrapped in a linen shroud, assisted.

When the newborn child uttered his first cry, the old man prayed aloud: “Great God, hast Thou finally sent the Messiah to us? For who else than the Messiah himself can be born in a grave?”

Is this not the amazing truth of Easter? Out of the tomb, in a place designed for death, came forth instead new life! This is the birthplace of our faith — of all places, a graveyard! Is this not what makes it possible for us almost 2,000 years later to stand in a cemetery at the graveside of a loved one and proclaim it to be, of all things, a place of hope?

Easter sermon on resurrection life. John 11:17-27

BECOMING TRANSHUMAN

===================

I. A mausoleum in Newton.

A. I like old cemeteries.

B. Some people are not satisfied with this situation.

II. Is it really in our power?

A. Different approaches are being tried.

B. Many experts have doubts.

C. Perhaps the key to success is reducing our humanness.

III. Two resurrections in the Bible.

A. The experience of Lazarus.

B. The experience of Jesus.

IV. What will your experience be?

A. Transhumanism isn't doing too well.

B. Why not choose the Jesus experience?

V. We begin the journey the moment we believe.

How early Christians grappled to accept the idea that Jesus returned from the dead.

________

Sunday represents the foundational claim of Christian faith, the highest day of the Christian year as celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. But many Christians are unsure what the claim that Jesus had been raised to new life after being crucified actually means — while non-Christians often find the whole idea of resurrection bemusing and even ridiculous.

These differences over what Jesus’ resurrection represents and discomfort with the whole idea are nothing new, however: Christians in the first few centuries also had difficulty embracing the idea of a real, bodily resurrection. Then, as now, resurrection was not the favored post-death existence — people much preferred to think that after dying, souls headed to some ethereal realm of light and tranquillity. During the Roman period, many regarded the body as a pitiful thing at best and at worst a real drag upon the soul, even a kind of prison from which the soul was liberated at death. So, it’s not surprising that there were Christians who simply found bodily resurrection stupid and repugnant. To make the idea palatable, they instead interpreted all references to Jesus’ resurrection in strictly spiritual terms. Some thought of Jesus as having shed his earthly body in his death, assuming a purely spiritual state, and returning to his original status in the divine realm. In other cases, Jesus’ earthly body and his death were even seen as illusory, the divine Christ merely appearing to have a normal body (rather like Clark Kent!).

The idea of a real, personal resurrection — meaning a new bodily existence of individuals after death, in one way or another — did not originate with Christianity or with claims about Jesus. Instead, it seems to be first clearly reflected in Jewish texts dated to sometime in the second century B.C., such as the biblical book of Daniel 12:2. At the time, it was a genuinely innovative idea. (Alan Segal’s book LIFE AFTER DEATH gives an expansive discussion of the origins of the idea of resurrection.) Many peoples of the ancient world hoped for one or another sort of eternal life, but it was usually thought of as a kind of bodiless existence of soul or spirit set in realms of the dead that might or might not be happy, pleasant places. In still other expectations, death might bring a merging of individuals with some ocean of being, like a drop of water falling into the sea.

The ancient Jewish and early Christian idea of personal resurrection represented a new emphasis on individuals and the importance of embodied existence beyond the mere survival or enhancement of the soul, although there was debate about the precise nature of the post-resurrection body. Some seem to have supposed it would be a new body of flesh and bones, closely linked to the corpse in the grave but not liable to decay or death. Others imagined a body more like that of an angel. But whatever its precise nature, the hope of resurrection reflected a strongly holistic view of the person as requiring some sort of body to be complete. With ancient Jews, early Christians saw resurrection as an act of God, a divine gift of radically new life, not an expression of some inherent immortality of the soul. That is, the dead don’t rise by themselves; they are raised by God and will experience resurrection collectively as one of the events that comprise God’s future redemption of the world and vindication of the righteous.

In the ancient Judaism of Jesus’ time, however, resurrection was not universally affirmed. Some devout Jews (particularly the religious party called Sadducees) apparently considered the whole idea ridiculous, as evidenced by the New Testament, which gives us some of the most direct references to disputes among ancient Jews about the matter. In Mark 12:18-27, Sadducees taunt Jesus with a question about a woman married several times, asking him whose wife she will be following the resurrection. Jesus strongly affirms resurrection, but he insists that those resurrected will not marry and portrays the Sadducees’ question as reflecting a foolish ignorance of God’s power.

In the earliest expressions of their faith that we have, Christians claimed that Jesus’ resurrection showed that God singled out Jesus ahead of the future resurrection of the dead to show him uniquely worthy to be lord of all the elect. However, the paradigmatic significance of Jesus’ resurrection was also very important for early Christians.

In Christianity’s first few centuries, when believers often suffered severe persecution and even the threat of death, those who believed in Jesus’ bodily resurrection found it particularly meaningful for their own circumstances. Jesus had been put to death in grisly fashion, but God had overturned Jesus’ execution and, indeed, had given him a new and glorious body. So, they believed that they could face their own deaths as well as those of their loved ones in the firm hope that God would be faithful to them as well. They thought that they would share the same sort of immortal reaffirmation of their personal and bodily selves that Jesus had experienced. Elaine Pagels, a scholar of early Christianity, has argued that those Christians who regarded the body as unimportant, perhaps including “Gnostics,” were less willing to face martyrdom for their faith and more willing to make gestures of acquiescence to the Romans — for example, by offering sacrifices to Roman gods — because they regarded actions done with their bodies as insignificant so long as in their hearts they held to their beliefs.

By contrast, Christians who believed in bodily resurrection seem to have regarded their own mortal coils as the crucial venues in which they were to live out their devotion to Christ. When these Christians were arraigned for their faith, they considered it genuine apostasy to give in to the gestures demanded by the Roman authorities. For them, inner devotion to Jesus had to be expressed in an outward faithfulness in their bodies — and they were ready to face martyrdom for their faith, encouraged by the prospect of bodily resurrection. Indeed, Christian martyrs are pictured as engaged in a battle with the Roman authorities (and the Devil, whom Christians saw as behind Roman malevolence toward them), with the martyrs’ bodies as battlegrounds in which the integrity of their person and their personal salvation could be lost or retained.

Historically, then, how Christians have understood Jesus’ “resurrection” says a lot about how they have understood themselves, whether they have a holistic view of the human person, whether they see bodily existence as trivial or crucial, and how they imagine full salvation to be manifested. Does salvation comprise a deliverance from the body into some sort of immediate and permanent postmortem bliss (which is actually much closer to popular Christian piety down the centuries), or does salvation require a new embodiment of some sort, a more robust reaffirmation of persons? This sort of question originally was integral to early Jewish and Christian belief in the resurrection. In all the varieties of early Christianity, and in all the various understandings of what his “resurrection” meant, Jesus was typically the model, the crucial paradigm for believers, what had happened to him seen as prototypical of what believers were to hope for themselves.

________

Larry W. Hurtado is head of the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh. His recent books are THE EARLIEST CHRISTIAN ARTIFACTS: MANUSCRIPTS AND CHRISTIAN ORIGINS, HOW ON EARTH DID JESUS BECOME A GOD? and LORD JESUS CHRIST: DEVOTION TO JESUS IN EARLIEST CHRISTIANITY.

In Dr. Seuss’s classic tale “How The Grinch Stole Christmas,” the malevolent main character discovers that Christmas cannot be thwarted. Try as he might, the Grinch is unable to steal, stifle or subdue the Christmas celebration of the Whos who inhabit Whoville.

Even the Whos understand that the reason for Christmas is not to be found in gifts, feasts or decorations. Christmas is a celebration that takes place in the heart.

While the good doctor’s holiday tale is not inherently Christian, it does illustrate that Christmas is essentially a spiritual matter -- a contemplation of the soul.

Those familiar with Seuss’s story know that the reason the Grinch could not comprehend the Whos’ zeal for Christmas is because his heart was “two sizes too small.”

Dr. Seuss demonstrated simply and profoundly that the reality of Christmas does not exist in external symbols. Much of what is associated with Christmas these days has little or nothing to do with why the holiday is so special.

Decorated trees, blinking lights, singing-dancing snowmen, Santa and his flying reindeer have no connection whatsoever with the essence and reality that is Christmas.

Many who celebrate Christmas believe the significance centers on the birth of Jesus Christ. However, the season’s significance transcends the mere fact that Jesus was born.

The only people who celebrate a birth, for the sake of the birth, are family and friends. In order for someone’s birth to be honored by a nation, much less the world, the person must achieve a great deal during his or her lifetime.

In America we remember the birth of certain presidents because of a unique or significant contribution to our country.

Columbus has long been honored because his voyage across the Atlantic opened the door for colonization of the new world. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for his courageous leadership in the cause of civil rights.

What did Jesus do that was so significant that the world should pause to remember His birth? In his relatively short life, he wrote no books, made no earth-shaking discovery and he led no political movement. So, why do people the world over celebrate the birth of Jesus?

Perhaps it is Jesus’ death that makes his birth worth commemorating?

The Bible details the nature of Jesus’ earthly demise. Each of the Gospel writers relates the horrific reality of Christ’s crucifixion. However, the fact that Jesus suffered a tortuous death is not, by itself, justification for the world to remember his death.

What is it that makes Christmas so special? It is not because Jesus lived a virtuous life or died a tragic death. What makes Christ’s birth so significant is the awesome reality that Jesus conquered death.

The Bible boldly proclaims that three days after Jesus was crucified He rose from the dead. The resurrection is the exclamation point on the life of Christ. The resurrection is why Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus.

The significance of the resurrection as it relates to Christmas cannot be stressed enough. When Jesus walked on earth He claimed to be God in the flesh. Had He died and remained in the grave, His claims would have been dismissed. However, an empty tomb and subsequent appearances to His followers validated his “outrageous” pronouncements.

What makes Christmas so very significant, so special, is Easter.

The Grinch learned that Christmas cannot be thwarted. It is not a celebration dependent on symbols or external motivation. It is a celebration of the heart.

While the masses may bury the Gospel truth under gifts, trees, tinsel and lights, the fact remains that the reason for the season is a crucified and risen Savior.

May our hearts be enlarged this Noel in order to accommodate the whole Christmas story -- which includes the cross and the empty tomb.

It’s Easter — that most pleasant of springtime holidays — when children stuff themselves with marshmallows and stain their fingers with pastel dyes. In reality, of course, Easter is about something darker and more fantastic. It’s a celebration of the final act of the Passion, in which Jesus rose from his tomb in his body three days after his execution, to reside in heaven with God. The Gospels insist on the veracity of this supernatural event. The risen Lord “ate barbecued fish [Luke] and walked through doors [John],” is how a friend of mine, an Episcopalian priest, puts it. This rising — the Resurrection — remains at the center of the Christian faith, the narrative climax of every creed. Jesus died and rose again so that all his followers could, eventually, do the same. This story has strained the credulity of even the most devoted believer. For, truly, it’s unbelievable.

Resurrection — the physical reality, not the metaphorical interpretation — puts everything we imagine about heaven to the test. My book, HEAVEN: OUR ENDURING FASCINATION WITH THE AFTERLIFE, argues that while 80 percent of Americans say they believe in heaven, few of us have the slightest clue about what we mean. Heaven, everyone agrees, is the good place you go after death, a reward for struggle and faithfulness on earth. In most of our popular conceptions, we have bodies in heaven: selves, consciousness, identity. We do things. People yearn for reunions in heaven with friends and relatives — and even with their pets. “I want to lay my head on Grandma Lucy’s lap,” the Christian memoirist Barbara Brown Taylor wrote in an essay. “I want to shell field peas with Fannie Belle and listen to Schubert with Earl.” Some people imagine heaven as the place where their most material yearnings are fulfilled. The evangelist Billy Graham once spoke of driving a yellow Cadillac in heaven; the heroine of Alice Sebold’s novel THE LOVELY BONES eats peppermint ice cream; suicide bombers in the Middle East fantasize about the sexual ministrations of 72 dark-eyed virgins. In all these visions, embodiment is the crux of the matter. If you don’t have a body in heaven, then what kind of heaven are you hoping for?

Despite the insistence of the most conservative branches of all three Western religions on resurrection as an incontrovertible fact, most of us are circumspect. The number of Americans who say they believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ has dropped 10 points since 2003 to 70 percent, according to the most recent Harris poll; only 26 percent of Americans think that they’ll have bodies in heaven, according to a 1997 TIME/CNN poll. Thanks to the growth here of Eastern religions, reincarnation — the belief that after death a soul returns to earth in another body — is gaining adherents. Nearly 30 percent of 2003 Harris poll respondents said they believed in reincarnation; of self-professed Christians, that number was 21 percent. Reincarnation and resurrection have, traditionally, been mutually exclusive. Among Christian conservatives, a private hope of reincarnation would be seen as not just illogical but heretical.

Cremation, once viewed as the ultimate desecration of the human body, an insult to God who makes the resurrection happen, will soon surpass burial as Americans’ preferred way to dispose of a corpse. Already, a third of Americans are cremated, not buried, and that trend line is headed straight up. Stephen Prothero, religion professor at Boston University and author of the forthcoming GOD IS NOT ONE, believes that the rise in cremation is linked to a growing disregard for the doctrine of resurrection. “It seems fantastic and irrational that we’re going to have a body in heaven,” he says. Even the Roman Catholic Church has softened its stance on cremation: bodies are better, it said in 1997, but ashes will do in a pinch.

Resurrection presented credibility problems from the outset. Who, the Sadducees taunted Jesus, does the man who married seven wives in succession reside with in heaven? The subtext of their teasing is obvious: if the resurrection is true, as Jesus promised, then in heaven you must have your wife, and all the things that go along with wives: sex, arguments, dinner. Jesus responds in a typically cranky way: “You just don’t get it,” he says (my paraphrase). “You are wrong,” he said in Matthew’s Gospel, “because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.”

Even in biblical times, resurrection deniers who hoped for an afterlife took an alternative route. This is what scholars call “the immortality of the soul.” Embraced by Plato and popular today especially among progressive believers (Reform Jews and liberal Protestants, for example) and people who call themselves “spiritual but not religious,” the immortality of the soul is easier to swallow than resurrection. After death, the soul — unique and indestructible — ascends to heaven to be with God while the corpse, the locus of our senses and all our low human desires, stays behind to rot. This more reasonable view, perhaps, has a serious defect: a disembodied soul attaching itself to God in heaven offers no more comfort or inspiration than an escaped balloon. Consolation was not the goal of Plato’s afterlife. Without sight or hearing, taste or touch, a soul in heaven can no more enjoy the “green, green pastures” of the Muslim paradise, or the God light of Dante’s cantos, than it can play a Bach cello suite or hit a home run. Rationalistic visions of heaven fail to satisfy.

Another popular way out of the Easter conundrum — ”I want to believe in heaven but can’t get my head around the revivification of human flesh” — is to imagine “resurrection” as a metaphor for something else: an inexplicable event, a new kind of life, the birth of the Christian community on earth, the renewal of a people, an individual’s spiritual rebirth, a bodiless ascension to God. Progressives frequently fall back on resurrection-as-metaphor, for it allows them to celebrate Easter while also expressing a reasonable agnosticism. They quote that great theological cop-out: “We cannot know what God has in store for us.”

The intellectual flabbiness of this approach causes agonies for such orthodox Christians as N. T. Wright, the Anglican bishop of Durham, England. “People have been told so often that resurrection is just a metaphor,” he once told my editor Jon Meacham and me in an interview for this magazine. “In other words, [Jesus] went to heaven, whatever that means. And they’ve never realized that the word ‘resurrection’ simply didn’t mean that. If people [in the first century] had wanted to say that he died and went to heaven, they had perfectly good ways of saying that.” The whole point of the Christian story is that the Resurrection REALLY HAPPENED, Wright insists. The disciples rolled back the rock on the third day, and Jesus’ body was gone. This insistence on the veracity of resurrection is no less sure in Judaism, where the Orthodox pray thrice a day to a God “who causes the dead to come to life,” or in Islam. “I swear by the day of resurrection!” proclaims the Quran. “Yes, Indeed!”

And so, the paradox. Resurrection may be unbelievable, but belief in a traditional heaven requires it. I think often of Jon D. Levenson, a Jewish scholar at Harvard Divinity School who hopes to bring the idea of resurrection back to mainstream Judaism, where it has been lost in practice for generations. I visited him one cold November afternoon because, as a literal-minded skeptic, I wanted him to explain to me how it works. How does God put bodies — burned in fire or pulverized in war — back together again? Levenson looked at me, eyes twinkling, and said, “It’s no use to ask, ‘If I had a lab at MIT, how would I try to resurrect a body?’ The belief in resurrection is more radical. It’s a supernatural event. It’s a special act of grace or of kindness on God’s part.” For my part, I don’t buy it. I do, however, leave the door open a crack for radical acts of grace and kindness — and for humbling ourselves before all that we don’t understand.

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Adapted from the forthcoming book HEAVEN: OUR ENDURING FASCINATION WITH THE AFTERLIFE by Lisa Miller. Copyright © 2010 by Lisa Miller.

The pattern of the Christian year is an exercise of the Church’s annual remembrance and proclamation of the Gospel. The annual celebrations of Christmas and Resurrection Day help the Church to ponder again the truths of Christ’s incarnation and resurrection from the dead.

Christians understand that every Lord’s Day is Resurrection Day, but this Sunday is the festival which draws all Christians face to face with the empty tomb and the truth of the resurrected Lord.

Resurrection Sunday is the central event in the church year – the climax of worship, expectation, and celebration. This celebration is also an acid test of the Church’s faithfulness and conviction.

The secular world has done its best to make a mess of Christmas, but it has largely ignored our celebration of the Resurrection. Where commercialism intrudes, it comes in the forms of eggs and chicks and rabbits – none of which claim any connection with the Resurrection. The fact is, the secular world will attempt to domesticate, commercialize, and tame the babe in the manger – but it will run at breakneck speed from the cross and the empty tomb.

That cross stands as condemnation on all human attempts at self-righteousness, and the fallen world will do all within its power to hide the cross from sight. The empty tomb is the seal and confirmation of the cross, and the world will shield its eyes.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead separates Christianity from all mere religion – whatever its form. Christianity without the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is merely one religion among many. “And if Christ is not risen,” said the Apostle Paul, “then our preaching is empty and your faith is in vain” [1 Corinthians 15:14]. Furthermore, “You are still in your sins!” [v. 17b]. Paul could not have chosen stronger language. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” [v. 19].

Yet, the resurrection of Jesus Christ has been under persistent attacks since the Apostolic age. Why? Because it is the central confirmation of Jesus’ identity as the incarnate Son of God, and the ultimate sign of Christ’s completed work of atonement, redemption, reconciliation, and salvation. Those who oppose Christ, whether first century religious leaders or twentieth century secularists, recognize the Resurrection as the vindication of Christ against His enemies.

Those who would attack the Church and reject its gospel must direct their arrows at the most crucial truth claim of the New Testament and the disciples: That Jesus Christ, having suffered death on a cross, though sinless, having borne the sins of those He came to save, having been buried in a sealed and guarded grave, was raised by the power of God on the third day.

As Paul well understood, Christianity stands or falls with the empty grave. If Christ is not raised, we are to be pitied, for our faith is in vain. Those who would preach a resurrectionless Christianity have substituted the truth of the gospel for a lie. But, asserted Paul, Christ is risen from the dead. Our faith is not in vain, but is in the risen Lord. He willingly faced death on a cross and defeated death from the grave. The Resurrection is the ultimate sign of God’s vindication of His Son.

As John A. Broadus preached over a century ago: “It was the signed manual of the Deity, it was the seal of the Sovereign of the Universe affixed to His claim, it declared Him to be all that He had ever professed to be, and so it establishes the truth of all His teachings and the truth of the whole Christian society. The great fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is the central fact of the evidence of Christianity.”

Believers have no reason to be defensive concerning the Resurrection. To the contrary, any denial of the Resurrection is a denial of the Savior. The biblical evidence is overwhelming.

As the disciples preached in the earliest Christian sermons, “This Jesus God has raised up, of whom we are all witnesses .... Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” [Acts 2:32,36].

The Resurrection was not a dawning awareness of Christ’s continuing presence among the disciples, it was the literal, physical raising of Jesus’ body from the dead. The Church is founded upon the resurrected Lord, who appeared among His disciples and was seen by hundreds of others.

The Church does not have mere permission to celebrate the Resurrection, it has a mandate to proclaim the truth that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The resurrected Lord gave the Church a sacred commission to take the gospel throughout the world. As Paul made clear, the resurrection of Christ also comes as a comfort to the believer, for His defeat of death is a foretaste and promise of our own resurrection by His power. “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” [1 Corinthians 15:53].

So, as the Church gathers to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we should look backward in thankfulness to that empty tomb and forward to the fulfillment of Christ’s promises in us. For Resurrection Day is not merely a celebration – it is truly preparation as well. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the promise of our resurrection from the dead, and of Christ’s total victory over sin and death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the very center of the Christian gospel. The empty tomb is full of power.

By now, most sermons scheduled for Easter are sitting on the hard drive -- complete. Well, maybe complete or maybe not.

If a word search of those sermons fails to find words similar to “ascended,” “enthroned,” or “reigning,” then I would humbly suggest those sermons may be incomplete. If those sermons end with the risen Christ still earthbound, the hearers are missing the rest of the story.

Those who only attend on Easter know Christ is risen. They have heard that message every year. The resurrection is central to the Christian faith, but they need the rest of the story.

The lost and the redeemed need to know what happened 40 days after resurrection Sunday. They need to know the Son ascended to heaven. A royal wedding in England will garner much attention this month, but that is nothing compared to the Coronation that unfolded as the Son returned to glory. The Father, bursting with pride, enthroned his Son at His right hand. Then, remarkably, He placed the scepter of authority in the Son’s right hand.

God revealed Himself to mankind in various ways over the centuries, but in this age of the Church, He has revealed himself most clearly through the Son. It is by the will of the Father that the Spirit crafted the words, “that in all things [the Son] may have the preeminence.”

The groundbreaking National Study of Youth and Religion revealed that the “faith” of many church teenagers could be defined as moral therapeutic deism. (“God exists and wants us to be nice. He is distant and not relevant for daily life. But, He quickly will show up any moment I need Him to make my life happier, more prosperous, and less stressful. It’s all about me.”)

Briefly, the blame for a young generation full of moral therapeutic deism fell on youth leaders. But then more research led to an earth-shaking revelation. The young were full of moral therapeutic deism because they had absorbed that from parents and church adults. Teenagers do not have a stunted faith because they have rejected the faith of the church; they have a stunted faith because they have absorbed the stunted faith of the church.

Virtually every shortfall in the American church can be traced back to this -- too many church members, including core leaders, are mostly saturated with moral therapeutic deism. And that flows out of a limited view of Christ.

I preach in a different church every Sunday. Almost always I lift eyes to the Son, using Scripture to allow worshippers to see Him dwelling in unapproachable light, more glorious on His throne than we can imagine, ruling and reigning over all creation. When I come off the platform, sometimes I am met by a senior adult who says something like, “Brother Richard, some would consider me a spiritual anchor for this church. How can it be that I have been sitting in church for decades -- and only this morning am I beginning to see God’s Son for who He truly is today?”

The only antidote to moral therapeutic deism is a biblical Christology that reveals the full extent and majesty of who the Son is today. The current crisis in Christology is so pervasive and so deep that a great many Christians need to be (almost) reconverted to the true Christ as presented in Scripture. If the faithful need their vision lifted to the supremacy of the Son, imagine how deep that need is among the Easter-only crowd.

I believe the Father is orchestrating an awakening to the Son in our day. I believe He is prompting a high Christology to flow from pulpits, to ripple through small-group Bible studies, and to transform private worship before the break of day. Easter messages in U.S. churches that lift eyes to the kingly reign of the Son may be part of the plan.

We’ve begun the holiday marathon. With Halloween behind us, Thanksgiving in the past, and Christmas and New Year’s just days away, this time of year can seem like a never-ending cavalcade of festivity: jack-o-lanterns give way to turkeys which give way to decorated evergreens which give way to fireworks and confetti. It can be a bit overwhelming.

But, at the same time, it’s wonderful; it’s a way for us to invest the passage of time with both grandeur and significance. After all, who in his right mind would really prefer a calendar stripped of all the holidays, a calendar in which the variegated seasons of our lives were flattened out into a bland and changeless uniformity? No one, that’s who.

Still, as enjoyable and meaningful as holidays can be, we have let many a holiday season slip by -- sometimes without even knowing it.

Consider that for centuries, Christians observed something called “the Christian year” or “the Christian calendar.” Followers of Jesus would structure their entire year around the various episodes of Christ’s life, reflecting the themes implicit within them in different seasons of devotion with all sorts of special days meant to emphasize important biblical truths about God, man and the relationship between the two. Now, this isn’t merely some historical relic, it’s an on-going practice in many parts of Christendom to this day, including my church.

Indeed, in countless congregations -- Catholic and Protestant, Reformed and Arminian, traditional and even contemporary -- the Christian calendar remains a very present aid in the process of Christian discipleship. But other than Christmas and Easter (and just maybe Good Friday), many Southern Baptist churches have overlooked the traditional Christian calendar. And in doing so we’ve not only impoverished our understanding of time as a vehicle for God’s grace and a servant of His Word, we’ve missed out on a lot of holiday fun, too.

Maybe, then, it’s time for a change. As Malcolm Yarnell, a professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has asked in reference to this topic, “might it be of some value if we Baptists were to make more of the specifically Christian holidays, literally treating our ‘holidays’ as ‘holy days’?”

The first step in reengaging with the Christian calendar is to know what it is, and to that end here is a brief summary of its seasons and major holidays:

• Advent. It’s not just modern retailers that want us to think about Christmas for a good long while before the day actually arrives. The season of Advent, which covers the four Sundays preceding Christmas Day, is intended to bring Christians into the same sort of expectancy regarding the coming of Christmas (and, further, the second coming of Christ) as the ancient Jews felt as they longed for the arrival -- the advent -- of the Messiah. To this end, churches which observe Advent may focus on prophetic passages from the Bible.

• Christmas. Well, this is pretty self-explanatory. Only that traditionally, while Christmas begins on Dec. 25, it also includes the next 11 days in its focus on the birth of Jesus. (Remember the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”?) This extended period is sometimes called “Christmastide.”

• Epiphany. This is one of the traditional holidays/seasons Southern Baptists may be less familiar with. Epiphany is from the Greek word epiphaneia, which means “manifestation.” During Epiphany, which falls on Jan. 6, Christians reflect upon Jesus’ “manifestation” before the public, sometimes with an emphasis on the visit of the Magi from the East. After Jan. 6, this thematic focus is maintained for a while, giving Christians a chance to reflect on the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and His rise to prominence -- an arc that climaxes on Transfiguration Sunday when the Transfiguration is front and center.

• Lent. Lent gets its name from the old English word for spring. During this time, the 40 days preceding Easter, Christians reflect on the growing opposition to Jesus during His ministry, His own personal self-abnegation, and finally His self-sacrifice which culminated on the Cross -- an event commemorated on Good Friday. Lent is a chance, then, not just to remember some of the most important episodes in Christ’s life, but also to ask ourselves how we might sacrifice to the glory of God and the furtherance of His Kingdom.

• Easter. This is another of those days that we already know and love. But just as with Christmas, traditionally speaking, Easter Sunday was just the tip of the iceberg; the season of Easter lasts for another 49 days after that. That’s a full 50 days to celebrate Jesus’ victory over sin and death.

• Pentecost. Pentecost marks the close of the main, tightly packed sequence of observances in the Christian calendar. It’s a day that closes out the Easter season and marks the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the fledgling church in Jerusalem. As such, it’s a chance for us to consider all that God has given us to enable us to live the Christian life. It’s also a chance for us to remember just how awesome a responsibility rests on our shoulders: being Jesus’ witnesses throughout the world.

It’s my hope that many of you will join with me in re-digging these old wells, embracing a calendar that doesn’t honor just fathers, mothers, veterans, and Presidents -- as worthy as these things are in their own right -- but which also recognizes and celebrates the fully orbed life that Jesus lived for your salvation and mine.

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Eugene Curry is pastor of First Baptist Church of Granada Hills, California.

There is a stopping point in the North Carolina mountains called Pretty Place. Pull off the main road and follow a dirt one to a clearing and there stands an open-air chapel on the side of the mountain. Simple concrete benches encompass a stone pulpit. The area is open on all sides so you can see the breath-taking beauty of the scenery. There is a feeling of reverence about the place. People talk quietly, as though in church, in this wonderful place of solitary reflection.

At Easter time about twenty years ago, a group of friends and I decided to attend the sunrise service at Pretty Place. I had always wanted to go but never managed. I was an Emergency Room nurse and had to work on this particular Easter Sunday too, but worked it out to go to the service, and then go to work my shift. We got up about 2:00 a.m. to make the drive to Pretty Place. We arrived in the dark, parked, and proceeded toward the chapel. A huge gathering of people collected in and around the chapel. In darkness, a simple nondenominational church service was held including a hymn, a prayer and a short message.

I was content just to sit and enjoy the tranquility, the smell of earth and pine, and feel the coolness of the morning air on my skin. I heard the birds and the sounds of the woods around us and enjoyed the pleasure of being with my friends. The sky lightened as the day broke and a glowing orange ball began to appear as if it was rising out of the earth. One minute there was a gray canvas and the next, a glowing sphere of orange, yellow, pink rose filling the sky. Then, more quickly than they had come, the crowd took their leave to return to the real world. I headed for work.

I arrived feeling peaceful and ready for the day. The ER was quiet too. Since there were no patients, I began cleaning and restocking.

I heard the familiar announcement, "patient in the hall" and then the sound of a man's voice calling for help in desperation and panic. I entered the hallway to see a man carrying a small, limp, breathless child. Traces of blood and discoloration smeared one side of her pale face. No other wounds were visible. The man handed me the little girl, dressed in a frilly dress, lace-trimmed socks, patent leather shoes, and a crushed Easter bonnet. His words spilled out. He couldn't see her when he backed the family van out of the driveway. She was dressed and ready for church. She saw her daddy leaving. She ran behind him. She only wanted to go with her daddy.

I rushed her into critical care leaving the father in the hallway. Someone would come shortly to get him to fill out the paper work and show him to the family waiting room - not the usual waiting room, but the small, softly-lit, private waiting room where families and friends await bad news and pray desperate prayers for the lives of their loved ones.

As the call of Code Blue went out over the hospital loudspeaker, a team gathered to do all that was possible to save this child. Her Easter clothes were cut away and she was intubated. We began CPR, started an IV, and gave her drugs to attempt to restart her heart and lungs. It soon became obvious her neck was broken. We continued to resuscitate her, doing everything within the power of man and medicine. We couldn't give up the life of this small child. There is a knowing, an intellectual process that says there is nothing to do, but the heart often pushes us beyond this knowledge to try anyway. So try we did.

After the hopeless resuscitation ceased, I slowly removed the tubes with tears in my eyes, a huge lump in my throat, and heaviness in my chest. We took care of the details of preparing her body for death and for her family to see her. The Emergency Room doctor went to the family room. His words to the father would start with, "Your little girl is dead. There really was nothing we could do, but we tried." He would talk, trying to explain what had happened. He would listen for a little while to give the father a chance to begin to verbalize how he was feeling.

The cry we heard coming from this man as he was given the news still touches me at the core of my very being. Some of us have experienced the misfortunes in life that enable us to understand the pain and loss this man must have felt.

It's been twenty years since that Easter Sunday. I am married now and have four children of my own. I traded in the job of being a nurse for that of being a full time mother and homemaker. Not an Easter has passed since that I do not remember that little girl in the arms of her father on that Easter Sunday. I can always recall the pain and agony of that father's cry at the news of the death of his daughter. Now, as a parent, I understand that cry in a way that I couldn't at that time.

Medical personnel must learn to deal with the pain and suffering of others in order to do their job. We witness human misery, loss of limb and life, loss of family, and at times, the horrible unspeakable things that people do to each other. My saving grace is always that when I remember that little girl dying I also remember the profound experience of being at the Easter sunrise service. I'm glad that on that morning I made the effort to go. I remember the magnificence of that sunrise there on the side of a mountain and the awe I felt taking it all in.

I experienced two opposite ends of the spectrum of human emotion that day - wonder and despair, life and death, joy and suffering, breath-taking beauty and profound sadness. I wrap the beautiful memory of the sunrise service around me to protect me from the hurt I felt at the death of that little girl. That memory of the sunrise was the armor I carried into battle that day as I went to do my duty in the ER.

As a nurse or a doctor or anyone who deals with pain and suffering, we must care for ourselves in order to be of service to others. We cannot give water to others from an empty well. We must take time to refill the well - to find our Easter sunrise.

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By Cindy Bollinger (c) 2000, from Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, LeAnn Theimann and Nancy Mitchell-Autio.