Christ’s Resurrection: Celebration of Hope

Christ’s Resurrection: Celebration of Hope
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If Good Friday is the anniversary of Jesus’ death on the Cross, Easter is the anniversary of the Resurrection of Christ which is celebrated on the first Sunday after that sad event. Jesus’ resurrection on the third day of his death calls for joyful celebration as it is an awakening of every living thing. It is a time when the soul and spirits rise as heaven receives its King.

If Good Friday is the anniversary of Jesus’ death on the Cross, Easter is the anniversary of the Resurrection of Christ which is celebrated on the first Sunday after that sad event. Jesus’ resurrection on the third day of his death calls for joyful celebration as it is an awakening of every living thing. It is a time when the soul and spirits rise as heaven receives its King. On the fortieth day after the Resurrection, Jesus departs from the earth.

The word resurrection is derived from a Latin root resurgere which means ‘to rise again.’ This term is specially used for rising from the dead. This concept is first found in the Book of I Kings in the Old Testament in the two records of restoration of life by two prophets called Elijah and Elisha. In the Christian doctrine no material identity is affirmed between the body laid in the grave and the body raised. The Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is based on the belief that Christ rose from the dead on the third day.

“On the third day he rose again from the dead.” His disciples Peter, James and John, the two young men on the road to Emmaus, the little band of women who followed him, all who saw and talked with him during those wonderful 40 days---everything Jesus said and did during that time was to prove that he was alive. “Now when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: Peace be with you…..”

Even while Jesus was subjected to death as a man, he claimed the power and authority to resurrect ---a power only God could have. Many people are heard asking, “If Jesus Christ is God, how could he resurrect himself?” This question can well be answered if such people try to understand what is said in the Gospel of John in the New Testament: “Destroy this temple and I will build it again in three days,” said Jesus. The Jews answered: “People worked 46 years to build this temple (in Jerusalem)! Do you really believe you can build it again in three days?”

But the temple Jesus meant was his body. After Jesus was raised from death, his followers remembered that Jesus had said this. So his followers believed the Scripture (Old Testament) about Jesus, and they believed the words Jesus said. Concerning his life Jesus said: “I have the right to give my life. And I have the right to get it back again. This is what the Father commanded me to do.” The Jews, who were convinced that the prophecies of the Old Testament had been fulfilled in Jesus, then joined the church. Their hearts were filled with joy that the centuries-long period of waiting had come to an end.

At first it was difficult for them to accept what, for a Jew, was the humiliation of crucifixion; but once they realised the fact of the resurrection and ascension this difficulty melted away. They repented for the past and had absolute faith and confidence in the future. And so they were baptised and then took part in the “breaking of the bread” and in prayers which Jesus had told them to do. So the replacement of old law by faith in Jesus and hope for the future mark the day of resurrection.

Celebrated generally in Christendom since the 2nd century AD, though for varying periods, Easter is a movable feast, and its occurrence governs the dates of the preceding Lent (period of 40 days before Easter, the weekdays of this period being devoted to fasting and penitence) and the festivals following it. Since the 8th century, Easter Day has been celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon, or after the 14th day of the moon, following March 31.

In June 1928, a bill was passed by the House of Commons in England providing that Easter Day shall be the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April. Although passed, it would not come into force until the Home Secretary made an order. All nature may be considered as a symbol of the rising of man from the grave, and the signs used came from nature---the peacock, the phoenix, the pelican and the lion. The annual changing of the peacock’s brilliant feathers and the belief that its flesh is incorruptible has made it a special subject to portray resurrection.

The phoenix, which after death was supposed to rise again from its ashes, was one of the earlier symbols. The pelican became the sign of resurrection because it was supposed that it brought its young to life with its own blood. To recall Polycarp (AD 69-155), bishop of Smyrna, a disciple of apostle John, and one of the witnesses of the early Christian Church: “Now may the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ , and the eternal high priest himself, the (son of) God, Jesus Christ, build you up in faith…..”

In the words of Louis Mertins:

There is a whisper in the garden in the morning very early, And the flowers nod serenely in the silver of the moon; And the warbling of the songbirds in the olives gnarled and hoary Tell the story----tell the story that our Lord is rising soon.

There’s a stirring in the branches in the morning in the moonlight, Glad musicians fill the whole earth with a burst of wondrous song; And the sun’s rays gild with splendor and unearthly light His prison, And the sky cries: “He is risen!” while hosannas sweep along.

Sing, my heart, for He is risen, Christ is risen, Christ is risen! Let the mountains shout for gladness, let the hills break forth and sing. Let the seas make known His message, let the stars tell out the story, Let the world proclaim His glory. He is Lord and He is King!

By:YV Ramakotaiah

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