The following is my newsletter article for April 2012 for Tree of Life Lutheran Church in Garland, Texas.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?”  She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”                      John 11:25-27

To All the Saints of God at Tree of Life,

God’s most gracious blessings and peace be yours by the power and surety of the resurrection of all flesh through faith in the One Risen, Ascended, and soon to Return Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

In just a few days we will gather together in God’s house to celebrate the hope and joy of Easter.  There will be great food, fellowship, and family visits.  There will be much laughter and anticipation as winter yields to spring with the promise of warm summer weather to come.  There will be no shortage of celebration and excitement. 

But what exactly do we celebrate on Easter Sunday?  What is the source of the hope and joy of that day?  The answer is found in the alternate title given to Easter Day: The Resurrection of Our Lord.  On Good Friday, the tomb is closed and sealed with the dead body of our Lord inside.  Before sunrise on Easter Sunday, the women arrive to find the tomb unsealed, open, and EMPTY. 

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.                                                                Matthew 28:5-6a

As Jesus said to Martha, so it came to pass.  He has risen, and so has become the source of resurrection to eternal life for all humanity.  He is indeed the resurrection and the life.  This is what we celebrate on Easter Day.  This is what we confess to the world: He is not here, the tomb is empty, He is risen just as He said He would; just as was prophesied and promised in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah, the Savior of all mankind. 

Just as St. Paul taught in the fifteenth chapter of 1Corinthians, so has the Church taught throughout her history: the resurrection of Jesus Christ is foundational to all that we believe and confess.  Without the Resurrection, there is no hope for any who believe in Jesus Christ.  Without the Resurrection, we Christians are the worst of fools in the history of the world.  Without the Resurrection, we have no hope or joy in this life or beyond.

Because of the fact that Jesus Christ has bodily risen from the dead, because the Resurrection of Our Lord is true, through faith in Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we also shall experience bodily resurrection as sin, death, and the devil have been defeated by the suffering, death, and RESURRECTION of Jesus.  Because of the Resurrection of Jesus, we have hope and joy in this life and for life everlasting.  This is what we celebrate on Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of Our Lord.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

                                                                                      1Peter 1:3-5

SOLI DEO GLORIA!  AMEN!