Easter |ˈiːstə| noun the most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Christ and held (in the Western Church) between 21 March and 25 April, on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the northern spring equinox. She loved celebrating Easter.
Easter was so amazing! Our family started the day by attending The Potter’s House Easter Sunday Celebration. It was a powerful reminder of the resurrection of Jesus! We worshipped Him together as a family and it was beautiful. Later that afternoon, Field and I rented out a bounce house and invited a few friends and family to celebrate with us at a nearby park. We had fun watching the kids search for and crack their cascarones. We even had potato sack races and cute little obstacle courses. The adults did the potato sack race and it was so funny to see some of them (including my husband) lose their balance and fall to the ground! It was all in the spirit of fellowship and fun.
Once that was over, our family recapped the festivities of the day and the true meaning of Easter. It dawned on me, that Easter goes beyond just one special day of the year. As Christians, we celebrate the resurrection of Christ every day when we wake up to new life each morning–in every season of our lives. We were gifted eternal life and freedom from sin when we accepted the sacrifice of Christ dying on the cross, for us.
Easter Sunday is just a huge, wonderful celebration and reminder of that every-day gift. The death and resurrection of Jesus is a reminder that we are fully forgiven, free and accepted by God because of this sacrifice.
If you are new to the faith of Christianity, I wanted to share a little of the death and resurrection story with you below. I encourage you to read through one of the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John this week to fully understand the story of Christ.
The Story: The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them… Jesus knew that his mission was now finished.. he said, “It is finished!” Then, he bowed his head and released his spirit. After he was confirmed dead, the disciples took his body, wrapped it in sheets of linen cloth and placed him inside the tomb. (Taken from John Chapter 19)
The Story: The Resurrection!
Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and John. She said, ‘They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!’ Peter and John started out for the tomb. They were both running, but John outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings…
Mary was standing outside the tomb crying and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. ‘Dear woman, why are you crying?’ the angels asked her. ‘Because they have taken away my Lord,’ she replied, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him… ‘Mary!’ Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, ‘Teacher!’ ‘Don’t cling to me,’ Jesus said, ‘for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go and find my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, ‘I have seen the Lord!’ (Taken from John Chapter 20)
The story of the resurrection of Christ is so powerful because of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. When he said, “It is finished,” he was proclaiming complete victory over sin and death. As Christians, we don’t even have to be afraid of death because we have complete hope and faith in Christ’s sacrifice for us!
Now, we are called to live according to this promise. We are challenged to spread the Good News of Christ’s resurrection and our freedom from sin all over the world–for everyone! Easter is the greatest reminder, and greatest celebration the world has ever known!
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him!” John 3:16
Simply put, you are saved, forgiven and free if you put your hope and faith in Jesus and His ultimate sacrifice for you. I hope you truly understand the magnitude of His love for you, and that there is no sin, no wrong, no choice, no decision and no mistake BIG enough to take that love and salvation away from you.
Go, and tell the world the GOOD NEWS! The Savior has RISEN! HE IS ALIVE!
Happy Easter from the Harrison’s!
XO-
Sabrina
