Scripture & Reflection for Easter Day & the week ahead:

Scripture:

‘But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.’ (1 Corinthians 15.12-14, 19-20 12)

Reflection:

Paul is responding to his opponents in Corinth who say quite simply ‘Dead men do not come back to life’. If that is the case, says Paul, then Jesus has not been raised, and neither will anybody else be. This life is all there is, and those of us who believe otherwise are pathetically deluded. But, says Paul, the fact is that Jesus has been raised, and that knowledge changes everything, both for our life on earth and for how we face death.

Why should we believe this? Many, like those scoffers in Corinth, will dismiss it as wishful thinking, but for those who are genuinely seeking the truth there is abundant evidence pointing to the reality of the Resurrection. And the most convincing evidence of all is found in the transformation of lives changed by the knowledge of this truth.

May you experience the reality of Christ’s Resurrection in your own lives.

Happy Easter!

Revd Rosemary