...But God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. Acts 10: 40-41 NRSV
Here it is the day after Easter. And what a day it was! I always struggle to get up for Sunrise Service on Easter but this year was really special because the youth led our service. What a great job they did, too! One of the things I liked was a video done by one of the youth. She went around her school interviewing other teens about "What Easter Means to Me." She got what I see as typical responses, mostly about bunnies, family and candy. A couple of teens seemed to really understand Easter. But the majority did not. It made me realize that there are a lot of people in the world who really do not "get" Easter.
In fact, according to Peter's testimony, Jesus only appeared to those few after his resurrection. This means is was then up to them to spread the Good News about Jesus' triumph over death. There are only a few people who actually witnessed the resurrected Christ. But somehow they were able (with the help of the Holy Spirit) to spread the news to others who came to believe.
Jesus did not appear to all the people. Not all the people we will encounter this day, this week or even this year went to an Easter service. Not all the people we have relationships with can really answer what Easter means to them. We have a responsibility, as the witnesses of that marvelous day, to spread the good news of what Easter means for all of us.
God, thank you for the resurrection of Christ. Help us to spread the life-changing power of Easter to all the people. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Copyright 2009 Amelia G. Sims
No comments:
Post a Comment