We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. (Romans 6:9)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

As we are still in the season of Easter, it is appropriate that we discuss fairly frequent Easter Rites – funerals.

Our culture has unfortunately tried to extricate the Easter element from funeral services. Funerals are at their very heart, celebrations of the resurrection. It is a Baptismal celebration. It is a commemoration to the confidence of that person being baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection – and receiving the promise of eternal life.

Society may think that extolling the virtues of someone’s life and reciting platitudes gives adequate comfort, but it is only God’s promise that offers true hope. The hope found in that promise is what Christians focus upon at funerals. We cling to that hope in Christ in our grief because it is the only hope that truly gives comfort.

The Apostle Paul writes earlier to the Romans, ^“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:3-5) He reminds the Romans (and us) in whom our hope truly lies – in whom our lives and deaths remain secure.

As we miss loved ones here on earth, funerals are when we hear the word of hope into the midst of our pain. The primary purpose of funerals is to bestow upon the grieving the hope that only can come from God. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is to be proclaimed in truth and purity, because it is the only hope we have of true life and salvation. Nothing compares to the assurance an unbreakable union with Christ and His unshakable conquest over death. They have been claimed by God and have received the promise of eternal life in Christ.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed and so are we! Alleluia! The grace and peace of God which surpass all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the crucified and risen Christ Jesus through all the seasons of the year and your life. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”  (Luke 24:5b-7)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The Biblical timeline of Easter is closely linked to the Jewish festival of Passover. All four Gospel writers mention the imminence of the festival in their accounts of the crucifixion.

The timing of Passover (Pesach) is set by God and given to Moses at the time before the final plague and resulting Exodus from Egypt. “You shall observe the festival of unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your companies out of the land of Egypt: you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a perpetual ordinance. In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day, you shall eat unleavened bread.” (Exodus 12:17-18) This festival is to occur on the 15^th day of the month of Nissan.

For the 1^st few hundred years of the Christian church, congregations simply used the calendar of neighboring Jewish congregations to determine the timing of Easter. As Christianity spread, there were more and more Christian communities that had no Jewish neighbors, creating an interesting guessing game regarding festival time.  Added to that challenge was the variety in calendars in use at the time. Each culture had developed its own system of keeping dates.

The gathered bishops at the 1^st Council of Nicea in 325 AD tried to standardize the festival date using a lunisolar calendar. Of course, that decree took a few more centuries to catch on and There also was not unanimity in that decision. Following the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western churches, the dispute over the calendar is reflected in the differing dates used by the Roman and Orthodox churches and respective offshoots to this day.

Our current moveable date was not finalized until 664. The Western celebration of Easter is held the first Sunday after the full moon following the Vernal (Spring) equinox. Numerous movements over the years have attempted to move the festival to a fixed date to no avail. Rumor has it that another attempt across denominational lines is underway.

Despite the controversy of the proper date of Easter, its preeminent status across the Christian Church is undisputed. The crucifixion and resurrection of Christ is at the heart of Christian theology.

God gave His Son to die for our sake and raised Him from the dead. God showed the world that He alone controls life and death. He alone reigns over all things in heaven and on earth. Absolutely nothing can or will stop God’s Will from being done. And… His Will is to give life to His people.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Christ’s resurrection is a vibrant reminder of that promise. Death was not final for Jesus. Sin and evil did not extinguish His light. Death is not final for Christians. Death is not final for you. Sin and evil do attack and they will try to destroy you, but they cannot succeed. Christ has conquered over anything and everything that tries to separate you from His love. His Spirit does dwell in you. His power protects you. His life is given for and to you. You too rise with Christ.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed and so are we! Alleluia! The grace and peace of God which surpass all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the crucified and risen Christ Jesus through all the seasons of the year and your life. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. (Romans 8:11)