Submitted by Pastor Brad Dush, Fairfax Methodist Church

Over the past few months, I have been writing about the parables of Jesus. But as Easter approaches, I wanted to take a break from the parables to share a simple but important thought about Easter. I will return to the parables of Jesus in my next offering.

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” ~ Romans 6:1-4, ESV

Easter is one of the biggest celebrations in the Christian Church, rooted in tradition. It is the day we gather and proclaim with joy that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. The resurrection changes everything. It changes death, it changes sin, and it changes us. Easter is a great and glorious day, and it should be celebrated with joy, because the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our hope.

But Easter is not just a day on the calendar. Easter is the reality in which the Christian lives every single day.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Scripture that through Christ we were buried with Him and raised to walk in newness of life. That means the resurrection is not just something that happened to Jesus long ago. The resurrection changes us now. The Christian life is a resurrection life. It is a new life, a different life, a transformed life. We are a resurrection people. We do not simply remember the resurrection once a year. We live in the power of the resurrection every day of our lives.

Christians across the centuries have understood this. Augustine, one of the early Church fathers, is often credited with saying, “We are Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.” John Wesley wrote, “By the resurrection of Christ we are begotten again unto a living hope.” And Charles Wesley captured this same truth in the great Easter anthem of the Church when he wrote, “Soar we now where Christ has led, following our exalted Head.” All of them point to the same truth. The resurrection is not just a day to celebrate. It is a life to live.

This is why Christians gather on Sunday. From the earliest days of the Church, believers gathered on the first day of the week because it was the day Jesus rose from the dead. Every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection. Every Sunday is Easter, because every week we gather to worship a risen Savior.

So, while we rightly celebrate Easter in a special way each year, we should also remember that every morning we wake up as people of the resurrection. Every Sunday, we gather as resurrection people. Every day we live in the hope, the power, and the new life that comes through the risen Jesus Christ.

Easter is not just a celebration we attend once a year. Easter is the life we live!