Ascension : News From The Grotto
Submitted by The Islander (Phillip Stevens) 31.03.2005 (Article Archived on 21.04.2005)

I’d like to wish everyone a very Happy Easter. I hope that the weekend was a pleasant and joyful one for all.

News From The Grotto

I’d like to wish everyone a very Happy Easter.    I hope that the weekend was a pleasant and joyful one for all.

Christ is risen.  Three simple little words, but what power they have.  All of the teachings that we have listened to throughout Lent, about how the prophecies would be fulfilled.  Through the sadness of Good Friday, and the passion of our Christ.  The people were told that He would rise again on the third day, but what were they really thinking would happen?  When the women arrived at His tomb on the third day, and saw the stone rolled away, they thought at first that His body had been stolen.  It wasn’t until Peter and Simon reached the tomb and investigated that they realized that what they had been told had truly happened.  Jesus had truly risen from the dead, not just His soul, but His very body.  And suddenly, it all made sense.

So, the question remains; Have we been listening?  Have we listened to all that we had heard in the Scripture readings throughout this Lenten season?  And more importantly, do we believe?  Do we believe that our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead and appeared to a chosen few, before he ascended into heaven?  This is one of the basic tenets of our faith. We do believe or we wouldn’t be celebrating this occasion two thousand years later.  We have faith, we believe, we know this to be true.

But, how do we know?  We have the scriptures, the word of God handed down to us throughout the ages.  We have our personal relationship with God.  But most of all, we have our faith, and we have our trust in the Lord.  How could we not?  We see the proof of His love all around us.  Everything in this world rises again and again.  He has given us a truly wondrous place, this Earth, and wherever we are on it, the sun rises each and every day.  Anyone who has ever watched the miracle of the sun rising on the horizon, the colours and the light of the day replacing the darkness of the night, knows that God is with us.  Who else could have created a gift as marvellous as this?

We know, through God’s teachings and His promises, that the dead will rise.  Those who are faithful, and follow God’s teachings, will rise and live with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven.  What greater gift, what greater proof of God’s love is there than this?  When we lose those we love, we are comforted by the knowledge that they rest in God’s arms, that they have been rewarded for their faith and love, with His presence.

In celebration of this Easter, let us take a few moments to reflect on the story of this day.  Let us remember how Jesus suffered and died for all of us, how he rose again, how he ascended into heaven.  And let us renew our promise to God to do all we can to live up to His teachings.  And let us always remember to take some time out, and watch a sunrise, and feel His love in the wonder of the light and colours of the new day.