The feast of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus is the greatest feast of the year for Christians, greater than any other religious feast, including Christmas. Why? Many people will say that we are saved because Jesus died for us. This is not entirely wrong, but it is very incomplete. Because if Jesus’ death was the end, how could he save us? The truth is that Jesus saves us through his life, his suffering and death, and his resurrection from the dead, the whole of it. Without his resurrection, his life, suffering and death are meaningless for our salvation.
Today’s feast of Jesus’ rising from the dead is the crown of God’s salvation work. It affects everyone of us in the deepest core of our existence, because it opens for us the way to eternal life in God. Without Jesus’ life and resurrection there is no hope whatsoever. In the Apostles Creed we profess our faith that Jesus will come again at the end of time to be judge over everyone, “to judge the living and the dead.” Jesus is the first-born from the dead, and through him we will rise to eternal life. There is, however, one essential condition, that is to believe in him. But believing in Jesus is not just professing that he is the Son of God and Savior of the world. It means rather, to profess him with our hearts and with our lives, by following his commandments, above all his new commandment, to love one another as I have loved you. “In this you will show that you are my disciples, if you love one another”. This is how we show our true faith in him.
