Easter's First Importance

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

I hope you had a blessed celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.  

On Sunday we read one of my favorite scripture lessons, an important one for all of us to know and have engrained in our hearts and heads.  It is 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 - For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.  

I like this passage so much for three important reasons.  

First, I like the way it talks about passing on the faith.  “I passed on to you,” Paul says.  The Christian faith is ultimately something that is “passed on” from one person (a Christian) to another (who becomes a Christian).  People don’t catch Christianity by osmosis.  You can’t get it like some sicknesses just by being the same room with someone who has it.  Christianity must be passed on – to our children, our neighbors, our co-workers, and even our enemies.  The heart and mission of the Church – every congregation and every Christian – is to connect people to Jesus.  We want to pass Jesus to people so He can work in them and create faith in them.  

Second, I find the words, “as of first importance,” to be compelling.  Congregations often struggle to find what they are about.  They get wrapped up in worship styles, building programs, education programs, and church “business.”  The message of the scriptures, though, is that there is one thing that is passed on as of first importance, that is the message of Jesus, crucified and risen.  The main thing for us is passing on that message to others as we go about gathering people to Christ; building believers in Christ, and serving the world as Christ.

And third, I love the way this so succinctly summarizes the Gospel message:  Christ died, he was buried, he rose, and he was seen.  How do we know we have salvation in Jesus?  The Scriptures testified that this would happen, witnesses saw that it happened, and it has been handed down to us. 

As we go through the Easter season, and all of our seasons, what matters most for Gloria Dei?  What is the main thing for us?  Simply, it is Jesus crucified, buried, risen and seen.  That is our hope, and that is the message we now pass on as of first importance.  

Happy Easter!