Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Mar Thoma Church Atlanta
5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I
know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here;
for he has been raised, as he said.
“He has risen. Yes He has risen”. The people of the
early church used to greet one another with these words when they met. For
them, the day of the resurrection of Jesus was a day that brought joy and hope
in their life. Thus resurrection became the foundation stone of the faith of
the Christian church.
In
this passage, we read, Matthew’s description of the first experience of the
early church with the resurrection of Jesus. At the dawn on the first day of
the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb and they got the
first experience of the resurrection. For those who experience the
resurrection, they are celebrating the boundless transformation. What are the
things that are transformed through the resurrection of Jesus?
1. Transformation
of the symbols and spaces
The
empty tomb and the stone rolled back became new symbols with the resurrection
of Jesus. As the cross, which was the symbol of curse, became transformed into
the mark of salvation with the death and resurrection of Jesus, so also the
tomb and the stone got a new meaning with the resurrection. Tomb is the symbol
of death and hopelessness. But with the resurrection of Christ, it became the
representation of the new possibility. Similarly, the stone symbolizes the
obstacles. The rolled back stone points to God’s action beyond human obstacles.
2. Transformation of person and community
The
resurrection transformed the people and the community. The disciples were
afraid and scattered with the crucifixion of Jesus. They were in a desperate
mood and they didn’t even have any aim in their life. The women went to
the tomb and they were confronted with the fact of the empty tomb and the risen
Christ. The encounter with the risen Christ changed these women and the
disciples and they began to witness the risen Christ without fear. The risen
Christ transformed the person and the community of Jesus.
3. Transformation of the message
Now
the church has a new message. Jesus Christ has risen. The words of the angel to
the women describe the transformation of the message, “…I know that you are
looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen…”. They
had an understanding that Christ was crucified and died, but now they have a
new message to proclaim. Thus the church became the witness of that transformed
message to transform the world.
The celebration of the Easter challenges us to be agents of
transformation. Let us uphold the symbols of life in our celebration of Easter.
May the encounter with the risen Christ help us to be transformed and to
proclaim the message of the risen Christ to transform this world.
PRAYER
Risen Lord, with Your
resurrection You transformed us. Help us to witness the message of resurrection
through our celebration. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
The transformed
people with the transformed message transforms the world.