Jesus is risen from the dead
“The true light which
enlightens everyone was coming into the world”
(John 1:9)
“So that God may be
all in all” (! Corinthians 15: 28)
My friend Paul relates: “There I was having breakfast with some friends during a weekend retreat. I was immersed in enjoying their company, chatting and eating this piece of toasted bread. Suddenly the unexpected happened. The bread stuck in my throat and my windpipe was blocked. I couldn’t breathe. I realised that I had to try and clear it and coughed as hard as I could. Nothing happened. I got up off my chair and tried to bend over forwards to dislodge the bread. But it was for nothing. My friends came round but they were really panicking, not knowing what to do. I was conscious and rational all the time. Then it dawned on me that I was not breathing, that I was not able to cough or talk. My airway was completely blocked. I was really going to die in a few minutes unless someone knew how to administer a Heimlich manoeuvre. Automatically I clutched my throat with both hands as if to signal my distress.
“Luckily one of my friends rushed over and knew exactly how to grab me from behind and delivered a series of upward abdominal thrusts that put pressure on the lungs and the airway, forcing air in to push the toast out. At the second attempt the toast was freed and life giving air flowed down my throat once again. I was going to live after all. I was thankful for this new lease of life that God had allowed me. It was like I had a new body.
“When I think back at that moment I realise that the experience was extremely frightening. I thanked God that I was not alone when it happened as otherwise it would have been even more frightening. I knew that in such a choking emergency it is important not to panic. Panicking, while understandable in such a scary situation, impairs judgment and can make it harder to help yourself.”
Jesus had now laid on the cold tombstone for three days. Now the Father showed that He had not abandoned Him and on this third day, life giving air again started to flow in His human body. Jesus the man was alive again….gloriously alive, in a new body fit for a God made Man. He had conquered death and as God’s power and divinity again coursed through His veins, mixing with His human blood, the Teacher became the Messiah and the Redeemer.
And we again found the way back to the Creator whom we had turned our backs on for our own selfishness and egoism.
Ezekiel 37:1-6
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of
the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of
bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the
floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man,
can these bones live?" I said,
"O Sovereign Lord,
you alone know." Then he said to
me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, `Dry bones, hear the word of
the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you,
and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come
upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come
to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.' "
Acts 2: 29-34
"Brothers,
I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.
But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would
place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of
the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did
his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses
of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father
the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For
David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit
at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your
feet.’" Therefore let all Israel be
assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and
Christ."
