LIVE! (Easter Sunday, April 21st)

Easter Sunday, April 21

Live:  to attain eternal life; to occupy a home; dwell; to be thoroughly absorbed by or involved with; to have a life rich in experience; to exhibit vigor, gusto, or enthusiasm in

Mark 16:1-6 (NRSV)

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.  And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 

HE LIVES!

HAPPY EASTER, dear friends! The glorious new day has dawned and we once again rejoice in Jesus’ wondrous resurrection! Today’s word, live is so perfect for this day. The various definitions of live are so applicable to the gracious blessings we receive through Jesus’ resurrection.

Live: to attain eternal life. This, of course, is our greatest blessing! Just as Jesus has been restored to life out of death, so shall we! Because of this wonderful day, we know that we will live forever- and even in an awesome new way of being.

Live: to occupy a home; dwell. Now Jesus dwells in our hearts and souls. We have him with us always, closer than ever, through the Spirit. These humble bodies of ours are the homes where Jesus resides. We have become sacred and holy vessels of God.

Live: to be thoroughly absorbed by or involved with. Because Jesus lives within us, we are free to let him lovingly guide and direct us every day. We will grow in love for him, and his saturating presence will help us become more like him. We could not imagine one day without him. Jesus is our all in all.

Live: to have a life rich in experience. Now the adventures can begin! Where will Jesus lead us? What will he have us learn; how will he have us grow? Where will we find our true selves? What new surprises are in store? With Jesus as our constant companion, we can enter this journey- through the rest of our lives and on into eternity- with courage and confidence.

Live: to exhibit vigor, gusto, or enthusiasm in. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we can live life with unbridled joy, with generous love, with eagerness for each new day. We can live without fear, without doubt, without worry about what tomorrow may bring. Jesus came to give us abundant life- let’s take him up on that and live each moment with enthusiastic delight!

Jesus is risen! He lives forever- and so shall we! He lives anew- and so shall we! How might we begin living our eternal lives anew today?

Romans 6:4 (NRSV)

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.

All definitions are excerpted from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/

Photo credit: Bruno van der Kraan on Unsplash