April 2008

It seemed like a race to see who could get there first. It was the first Easter morning and Peter and John flew out of the starting blocks to get to the empty tomb after hearing that Jesus was not there. John records in his Gospel (20:3-4), "So Peter and the other disciple (That's John) started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first." (It is interesting that winning this Easter race was significant enough to record in the Sacred Record.)

How fast do you get there - to the empty tomb, to the Resurrection of Jesus, to God's promises fulfilled by it? I think we all can find ourselves not always getting a good jump. Sometimes we fail to hear the starter's pistol among the din of hurts and losses and problems and even general busy-ness. There are times when we have not even taken the initial step let alone gotten into any kind of stride.

Easter is a glorious reminder of what awaits us. And the exciting thing is when we arrive at the empty tomb, we are all winners. By His Resurrection we know that Jesus is the Son of God. We know that we can count on His word and promises. And we know that we have the gift of eternal life.

Let us find ourselves being quick out of the starting blocks and fast in getting to the empty tomb. Today our race is run to the House of God where Jesus' resurrection is celebrated every Sunday. Our race is run to the Word of God and to His Sacrements. How fast do you get there? Let the joy of Easter inspire your race.

Pastor John

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