“HE IS RISEN… HE IS RISEN INDEED!” These words echoed through the halls of churches all around the world on Easter Sunday. Easter, along with Christmas, is one of the definitive Sundays on the Christian calendar. A great deal of time and energy is spent preparing for and presenting the truth of Christ’s sacrificial death and the hope of His glorious resurrection through Holy Week and leading into Resurrection Sunday. When it is all said and done, we can finally breathe again and turn our attention to other matters; we can get back to life and ministry as usual. However, the reality of the empty tomb and an encounter with the risen Christ changes everything!
I’m reminded of the example of the blessed women who first discovered the empty tomb. Their initial effort was a recon mission; they were coming to see. But, their experience at the empty tomb and the subsequent encounter with the risen Christ reoriented and redirected their course. It resulted in a cascade of commissions to “go and tell…”. In Matthew 28, both the angel and Christ commission the women to take the good news to the disciples. Then, when Christ finally meets with the disciples, He charges them with the same task; this task has been passed onto us in the present.
The longer I serve in ministry, the easier I find it to celebrate important days on the Christian calendar and then get back to business as usual. The most obvious truths are sometimes the ones that are easiest to overlook. As members of the Palmer Seminary family, we are a people dedicated to sharing the whole gospel, for the whole world, through whole persons. We are made whole through our encounter with the risen and living Christ and empowered to serve through the indwelling power of His spirit. And, it is the hope that we have received and believed, that we then share with the world. Though Easter has passed, may the truth of the resurrection continue to resonate in our hearts and minds. May we go and tell the world, “HE IS RISEN… HE IS RISEN INDEED!”
About the Author
Rev. Dr. Jeremy Myers is the Lead Pastor of First Baptist Church of Seymour, Indiana, where he has served since 2017. He has over 20 years of ministry experience in the local church and not-for-profit management. He has a passion for helping emerging and existing generations learn to make space for each other and engaging them in caring for the under-served and marginalized. In 2016, he earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Palmer Theological Seminary, with his thesis focusing on helping youth and senior adults develop deeper relationships.
