2008 EASTER

The EASTER
WAKE-UP CALL
We proclaim the Christ of Good Friday and Easter, the Jesus who
was crucified and rose from the dead.
Through his sacrifice and the power of his resurrection we are given the
strength by faith to end our sinful lives and be born anew. Good Friday
and Easter Sunday are equal parts of the one central event of salvation history which is redemption.
The Apostle Paul wrote, "for I decided to know nothing among you
except Jesus Christ, and him crucified." (1 Cor. 2:2) and "for as
all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ." (1 Cor. 15:22)
It is entirely possible, however, that most people have no concept
of life and death in the context that there is no life without Jesus.
John the Baptist's baptising of people in the Jordan River was the
symbolic act of a prophet.
Immersion in the waters of the Jordan River means the dying
(drowning) of one's former sinful life.
The coming out from the Jordan means that one is resurrected or
reborn for a new godly way of life.
Again, as Paul taught, "Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and
Christ will shine on you," (Eph.5:14).
Many people who think they are alive are actually spiritually dead in
that life without Christ is like sleeping and death. Paul said,
"Listen, I will tell you a mystery!
We will not all die, but we will all be changed. (1 Cor. 15:51) And also,
as Jesus said,"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to
condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved
through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned, but those
who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not
believed in the name of the only Son of God." (John 3:17-19)
So, we too must wake up and rise from the dead in this life in order to
gain access to eternal life where our physical body will be transformed to
a spiritual body, and we will live forever, just like the angels in the
Heaven, as it is taught by the Lord:
„For when they shall rise from the dead, ( ... ) they are as the angels
which are in heaven. ” (Mark 12:25)
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not merely an event in
human history.
It is the cornerstone of our faith in the afterlife and the salvation of
humanity. We have to die with him for our sins and rise from the death
with him for a new life in the Lord, a new life which is joyful, perfect and
eternal.
That’s why we can say with the Lord: Whosoever was reborn in
Christ, „though he were dead, yet shall he live”, and though I lose my
flesh, I shall see God without my body.
This is the great mystery which is simple and true.
We must leave the darkness for the light and heed the wake-up call of
Easter!
Amen.
Rev. Attila L. Gyorgy
English version was adjusted by
Mary White Feher