Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Job 19:25-26 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God.
I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES
It may be Wednesday but the spirit of Easter continues to fill our hearts and lives. For Christians, not only is every Sunday an Easter Sunday, every day is an Easter Day. This is true because every day we confess: "I Know that My Redeemer Lives!" We greet each day as people freed from the power of hopelessness and of death. Easter is every day because of the living presence of Jesus.
Not long after World War I, an important Soviet leader by the name of Bukharin was sent to the city of Kiev to address a large anti-God rally. He spoke for over an hour using the full weight of his expertise and arguments to pour scorn upon the Christian Faith. It seemed as though no one in that hall could possibly leave with any faith intact. When the speech was finished there was silence throughout the audience.
Then the master of ceremonies rose and invited anyone in the audience to come forward and make a point or ask a question. Silence. No one moved. Finally, an old man dressed in the robes of a Russian Orthodox priest walked slowly through the crowd and mounted the steps to the platform. As he stood alongside Bukharin, he raised his arms and in a loud, clear voice said: "Christ is risen!" Instantly, the whole crowd rose to its feet, and the reply came thundering back: "He is risen indeed!" The anti-God rally was over.
Easter day is today. Easter day is every day. Easter is not merely one Sunday of the year, a day on the Church Calendar, just as the ancient Easter greeting is no mere repeated liturgical response.
We too shout: "CHRIST IS RISEN" . . . "HE IS RISEN INDEED" because our hearts sing with the historic confession of Job: "I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES!" 