The triumph of Easter
So when this takes place, and the mortal has been changed into the immortal, then the scripture will come true: ‘Death is destroyed; victory is complete!’
‘Where, Death, is your victory?· Where, Death, is your power to hurt?’
Death gets its power to hurt from sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (verses 54-57)
The rhythm of the Easter season – Lent, Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, Good Friday -comes to a monumental climax on Easter Sunday, when we celebrate that the grave has been defeated and the Lord is risen. Hallelujah! Death, the age-old enemy and source of fear, has been broken, and with it sin and the Law. We can join with the scriptures in declaring victory.
As an Easter Sunday person, one who lives in the resurrection, I need to remember to celebrate this freedom from death every day. Around me I see death and decay at work everywhere in the world. Newspapers and conversations continually remind me that so many are still dead. Yet I have hope. I know that God is greater than these things and that in his love he desires to bring healing.
Lord, thank you for your death and resurrection. Thank you that I need no longer live under the power of law and death. Thank you for the grace, freedom and life that we receive in Christ. Amen.
by Hanna Schulz, in ‘Assurances for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2004)
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