NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR APRIL 6, 2014
“Jesus told Martha, ‘I am The Resurrection and the Life.'” John 11:25 (NLT)
Most often the Revised Common Lectionary readings provide the scripture text(s) for my Sunday morning sermons. The lectionary is a 3 year cycle of readings assigned for each Sunday. The purpose of the lectionary is that while you will not cover the entire Bible during a 3 year cycle; you will, however, cover every major theme of the Bible during that time.
At Covenant we use one or two of the assigned readings each week; but there are actually four readings assigned to each Sunday. They include a text from the Old Testament, a Psalm, an Epistle lesson and a Gospel Reading. There is supposedly a connecting theme to the 4 assigned readings … albeit many times I’ve struggled to find it. That is not the case the week. It’s hard to miss the theme this week as all of the assigned scriptures are about “resurrection.”
In the gospel text this week, which covers the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus speaks of Himself as “The Resurrection.” What is interesting is that his reference to Himself being “The Resurrection” occurs before He is crucified and raised from the dead on Easter Sunday morning. So by referring to himself as ‘The Resurrection,” Jesus is not predicting a future event in His life; rather Jesus is speaking to the fact that He is already “The Resurrection.” He is already raising people out of death, to new life. He is already transforming people so that their lives become like nothing they could recognize before. He is already “The Resurrection!”
And if Jesus was already doing that before He was crucified and raised in the scriptural accounts, would He not still be doing that for you and me today? “It’s Time to Get Up” to “The Resurrection” Jesus has for our lives. This is still Lent and the Good News is that we don’t have to wait until Easter to experience “The Resurrection” of Hope, Love, Forgiveness and Acceptance by God.
Join us this Sunday at Covenant for worship. We will be looking at the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead to find helpful hints as to why “It’s Time to Get Up” and experience “The Resurrection” in our lives. The text is John 11:1-45.
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