Pastor Jim Kniseley presented this
Easter Message on April 24, 2011, The Festival of the Resurrection. The gospel reading is Matthew 28:1-10.
Children’s
Message
Boys and Girls, this is Easter, the
day when Jesus comes out of the tomb. He
was dead and is now alive! What is the
church word that we buried and have not said at all these past 40 days? Yes, the word is “alleluia.” This is a happy word and means “we praise
God.”
Today you will hear us say something
several times that Christians have said for the past 2,000 years. It is a greeting from one Christian to
another. The first says, “He is
risen.” The other responds, “He is risen
indeed. Alleluia!” Let’s practice doing this…
One of the best parts of Easter is
getting the chance to tell someone about Jesus and how special he is. I have a booklet with the title Would You
Like to Know Jesus? It’s not very
long and so I can share it with you today…I hope that before the day is over,
you will read this to someone else just like I have read this to you.
Dear Fellow
Believers in the Resurrected Christ,
I am indebted to Norm
Sahley for sharing a most interesting article on “The Miracle of the Holy Fire
in Jerusalem.” Have you ever heard of
this miracle? It has occurred every year
since the 4th century at the place in Jerusalem that we believe is
the site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection.
That you haven’t heard of this miracle probably has to do with church
politics through the ages. This miracle
happens as a part of the Orthodox Church
Easter and not the Western Church Easter.
This means that neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant Leaders have
been invited to participate.
In order to understand
what is taking place, we must read today’s gospel account of what happened at
the tomb on the first Easter morning.
Matthew tells us that 2 women came to the tomb early in the morning to
anoint the dead body of Jesus. These
women are Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.
What they found was amazing. The
large stone was rolled away from the entrance, and an angel was in the tomb,
sent by God with a message for them.
Here is an important detail: the angel’s
“appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.” The importance is that this light appears in
scripture whenever God has an important message to proclaim. Remember the great light that blinded Saul on
the road to Damascus, and the great light that led the people of Israel through
the wilderness, and the light of the burning bush that God spoke from to Moses?
Here’s the message
that the angel delivered from God to those 2 women: “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was
crucified. He is not here; for he has
been raised, as he said. Come, see the
place where he lay. Then go quickly and
tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going
ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.”
Matthew further tells
us that these two women raced out of the tomb to do as they were told and ran
into the risen Jesus! What did they do then?
They knelt down and worshipped him.
What happens at the
Miracle of the Holy Fire in Jerusalem that ties to Jesus’ Resurrection? In the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulcher,
which the Orthodox call the Church of the Resurrection, people gather on Holy
Saturday in this ancient church.
Everything is in darkness and the Patriarch of Jerusalem enters into the
Resurrection Chapel with 2 candles. He
kneels before the stone on which Christ was laid after his death and
prays. And every year since the 4th
century without fail, something happens.
Light proceeds from the core of the stone – a blue, indefinable light
that does some amazing things. Sometimes
it kindles oil lamps, sometimes people who are standing in the church have
their candles suddenly light. The 2
candles of the Patriarch are always instantaneously lighted. He then shares the light with others whose
candles have not lighted instantaneously.
I read in the Washington Post this morning that indeed this took place
yesterday in Jerusalem and the flame that lit the candles of the Patriarch not
only lit the candles of worshippers in Jerusalem but was carried to a waiting
airplane to be flown to Greece to light the candles of Orthodox believers.
The late Diodorus I,
the Orthodox Archbishop and Patriarch of Jerusalem, said this about the Miracle
of the Holy Fire: “I believe it is not coincidence that the Holy Fire comes on exactly
this spot. It is from here that he rose
again in glory, and it from there that he spread his light to the world. In Matthew 28:3, it says that when Christ
rose from the dead, an angel came, dressed all in a frightful light. I believe that the striking light that
enveloped the angel at the Lord’s resurrection is the same light that appears
miraculously.”
What does the
appearance and message of the angel on the first Easter and the Miracle of the
Fire in Jerusalem have to do with us today here at Resurrection Lutheran
Church? The angel told the women to
share with others what they had seen and heard, to proclaim the good news that
Jesus is alive. In seeking to obey this
they ran right into Jesus. I think that
is a message in itself. When you and I
proclaim the good news of resurrection, we too will run right into Jesus.
The good news is
wonderfully pictured as the light of Jesus that spreads from the hearts and
minds and tongues of believers to others.
This day each of us is given the command by God to spread the light of
Christ, to share the good news, and to live in the light of the knowledge that
we are resurrection people.
He is risen! He
is risen indeed. Alleluia!