Posted on by pastorkevinjud

Easter Turns Sorrow into Joy

By Jacopo Tintoretto – Web Gallery of Art:   Image  Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15542295

 

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Easter 5 2025
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 18, 2025
Acts 11:1-18, Revelation 21:1-7, John 16:12-22

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            When wives are pregnant they really appreciate husbands giving them advice and letting them know that it is not really that bad. Especially during labor, the ladies are looking for helpful suggestions from their husbands.  They enjoy pregnancy jokes like how the pain of giving birth is almost as bad as a man having a cold……Well…maybe not.  It has been a little while for me, but what I learned through being present four times during labor and delivery is that silent handholding may be tolerated.

            In our Gospel reading today we have an unmarried man talking about the pain of childbirth.  That may be dismissed as mansplaining, except, well….it is Jesus, God in flesh, the creator of the world.  He was there in the Garden of Eden when the curse of pain in childbirth was put onto Eve and all women.  So, for Jesus to talk about childbirth is probably okay.

            Jesus talks about sorrow and joy and He uses a clear example.  John 16:21 (ESV) 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.”

            It is a miracle of God that women who have gone through childbirth once, are willing to do it again.  The joy of holding that newborn baby helps her forget the difficulties and pain.  The great joy of a newborn baby overcomes the sorrow of having to face the anguish. 

            In the reading today from John, Jesus is in the upper room speaking with His disciples on that fate-filled Thursday night before heading out to Gethsemane.  Jesus warns the disciples about what is coming.  John 16:20 (ESV) 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful…”  Before leaving the upper room Jesus tells the disciples that they will be sorrowful…but that is not the end of the sentence.  “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

In 18 hours or so Jesus will be dead.  The anguish He experiences during these hours is intense.  The disciples go on a dark journey of observation through the valley of the shadow of death and they are afraid and troubled and devastated. They go from the high of Jesus’ teaching and washing feet and instituting the Lord’s Supper to His arrest and trial and His being beaten and humiliated and mocked and abused and flogged and crucified.  The disciples, in the depths of their fear, watch their leader, their teacher, their Messiah, being destroyed.  Jesus’ life fades away in front of them as he dies on the cross.  The Romans make sure by piercing His side. 

What are the disciples thinking as Jesus’ body is taken down from the cross and washed and wrapped in preparation for burial?  How crushingly heartbroken are they as the stone is rolled in front of the tomb.  What is the depth of their grief?  The disciples, grown men, are overcome with weeping and lamenting.  Hiding in the shadows, overcome with grief, they watch those around celebrating because the annoying teacher from Galilee is finally dead and gone.  The chief priests and scribes and Pharisees are experiencing the thrill of victory.  The disciples are living out the sting of defeat.

            Jesus told His disciples that He would be killed and after three days rise from the dead.  They should know this is true, but it so hard to believe Jesus will rise standing there witnessing the brutal finality of His death.  The disciples are overwhelmed by grief and even if they could cling to the truth that Jesus will rise from the dead there would still be grief at His death.  Death is tragic as we see with Jesus weeping outside Lazarus’ tomb. Jesus knows what He will do next, and He still weeps. 

Death is painful and sad.  Facing your own death or the death of a loved one is certainly one of the hardest things that you will ever have to do.  Even though you know that you will die, death remains such a strange and foreign thing to happen, it is disorienting and overwhelming.  Death is not natural; it was not part of God’s original plan.  Adam and Eve were not designed to die and so death brings great grief. 

Death is devastating, but it is not the end.  Paul teaches in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 (ESV) 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

By rising from the dead Jesus defeated death.  Romans 6:3–5 (ESV) 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

In this life there are times of great sorrow.  There is conflict and financial struggles and sickness and injury and death. There are periods of sadness and struggle and anxiety.  You can start to think, “Am I really a Christian?  Why is life so hard?  Why do I feel so bad?  Why am I so afraid?”  In your struggles you can feel the scorn of unbelievers who just shake their heads and ask, “Where is your precious Jesus now?  If Jesus is real, why do you weep and lament?”  Jesus’ words to His disciples can also apply to you, today, in the midst of your struggles, “You will be sorrowful… but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

This is the great good news of Easter.  Jesus conquers death and the grave.  While you are currently locked in the struggles of this life and you weep and lament, this is not the end.  Easter turns sorrow into joy.  Because Jesus rose from the dead, you will rise from the dead. 

The Church is under attack from worldly forces that would like to see faithful Christian churches and schools disappear.  Our church body faces the challenge of fewer members and fewer pastors and teachers and many struggling parishes.  There is a lot of stress and strain and anxiety.  What does the future hold? 

These struggles and emotions are captured well by Anglican hymn writer Samuel Stone in “The Church’s One Foundation”

       Though with a scornful wonder
    The world sees her oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
    By heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping;
    Their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
    Shall be the morn of song.

            Like Jesus said, “You will be sorrowful… but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

            Now, joy can be tricky.  The important thing to remember about joy is that joy does not come from within.  Joy is not from your personality.  Joy is not from you being able to conjure up positive thoughts.  Joy is from Jesus.  Joy is from knowing that Jesus rose from the dead.  Joy is from Jesus rising from the dead for you and promising that you too will rise from the dead.  Easter turns sorrow into joy. 

            This is the great good news of Easter.  Jesus conquers death and the grave.  While you are currently locked in the struggles of this life and you weep and lament, this is not the end.  Easter turns sorrow into joy.  Because Jesus rose from the dead, you will rise from the dead. 

            1 Corinthians 15:54 (ESV) 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 

            On that day you can boldly confront death and demand, 1 Corinthians 15:55 (ESV) 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 

            Because Jesus rose from the dead, the day is coming when death will be defeated forever.  You wait for that day with great anticipation because you live in the valley of the shadow of death. 

When we are standing at the side of a fresh grave ready to lower a brother or sister in Christ into the ground it is a somber, mournful moment.  But there is great hope.  What are the last words I speak at the graveside before the benediction? “Alleluia! Christ is Risen!  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!  Let us go forth in peace in the name of the Lord.”

Like a woman giving birth, the pain and grief of death and trouble is not the end of the story.  Resurrection day is coming. 

Today is graduate Sunday for our school’s 8th grade class.  As our graduates leave Immanuel Lutheran School and go out into the world they go with life-altering, eternal knowledge.  It is a rough world out there.  I pray they will all stay connected to Immanuel or another Bible-believing church in order to be fed by God’s Word and Sacraments.  As you conclude this divine service today and go back out into a world full of sorrow and trouble you also go out with life altering, eternal knowledge.  You go — knowing Jesus has risen from the dead – knowing you will rise from the dead. Despite the struggles of life, you go forth in peace and joy to love and serve in Jesus name.  Easter turns sorrow into joy. 

            Amen. 

Posted on by pastorkevinjud

If Christ is Risen, Nothing Else Matters

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The Festival of the Resurrection of our Lord
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
April 20, 2025
Isaiah 65:17-25, 1 Corinthians 15:19-26, Luke 24:1-12

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            We worked so hard for this moment.  It has been a long time coming, but we finally achieved our goal.  We were direct, we were sneaky, we laid traps, we manipulated people, we schemed and planned and finally we have what we were going after.  Jesus of Nazareth is hanging dead on a cross at Golgotha.  That aggravating teacher from Galilee will no longer be a problem with His violation of the Sabbath rules and His eating dinner with low life sinners.  Now He…is…dead…silenced forever. 

Word is that two traitors are going to bury Jesus; Joseph of Arimathea who is a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin; the Jewish governing assembly, along with Nicodemus, a Pharisee.  They got permission to bury Jesus.  We thought these two were with us, but apparently they are secret followers of Jesus…probably spies.  Who else might be secret followers?  Who can we trust?

With Jesus dead, it feels like it is all done, that we have accomplished all that we set out to do, but now is not the time to rest.  We remember that when Jesus was alive He told his followers…  Luke 9:22 (ESV) 22 …“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”  

            He was right about rejection and being killed, but He is not going to rise from the dead.  Dead is dead.  Nobody rises from the dead.  Somehow, Jesus supposedly raised Lazarus from the dead but it cannot be true.  Dead is dead. Nobody rises from the dead. 

So, we are going to make sure that everyone knows Jesus is dead, and that He will stay dead.  He claimed to be the Son of God and King of the Jews, but we will show the world that He was just another lunatic claiming to be the Messiah. 

            You have got to imagine that the Jewish leaders who worked so hard to get Jesus executed never let His body leave their sight.  I’m sure they keep watch to make sure no one steals the body to claim that Jesus rose from the dead.  Certainly they are watching as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus take the body down from the cross and prepare it for burial.  They watch as the two men wrap Jesus’ body in a linen shroud with spices and lay it in a tomb.  They watch as a great stone is rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb and the two men go away.  They watch the two women who are also there by the tomb.  They watch the women leave, after a while, as the Passover Sabbath begins with the setting of the sun.  I’m sure the tomb is kept under watch all night. 

            In the morning the chief priests and Pharisees get Roman soldiers to fortify security.  They send a delegation to Pilate to ask for a guard.  After talking to Pilate they get soldiers and … Matthew 27:66 (ESV) 66 …they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.”  Now they just have to wait a few days to prove that Jesus was a fraud. 

For the soldiers it must seem like an easy assignment.  They are guarding a dead man sealed inside quiet garden tomb; a boring assignment, but easy.  Dead men cannot get away.   

            Saturday is quiet during the day and through the night, but then comes Sunday morning… Matthew 28:1–4 (ESV) Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.” 

The tomb is empty.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! Matthew 28:5–6 (ESV) 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”

            As the women are leaving the tomb to tell His disciples, Jesus meets them and says,  Matthew 28:9–10 (ESV) 9 … “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” 

            The guards are paralyzed or passed out with fear.  The angel never told them, “Don’t be afraid.”  

            After the women leave, the soldiers come around and realize they are in a bad situation.  How can they explain what has happened?  Who will believe that a heavenly being came and rolled away the stone? Everyone will think they fell asleep on guard duty and the penalty for that is a severe beating or even execution. 

            Matthew 28:11–15 (ESV) 11 While [the women] were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.” 

            The elders and the chief priests had to pay Judas to betray Jesus, now they have to pay the soldiers to make up a story about falling asleep.  And, possibly, they have to somehow convince Pilate not to punish the soldiers if he finds out about their story of falling asleep on guard duty. 

            The elders’ and the Chief Priests’ plan is falling apart. All of their scheming and planning and hard work is for nothing.  Jesus really did what He said He would do.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! 

            The crazy thing is…the elders and Chief Priests know the truth.  They heard from the Roman soldier eyewitnesses about the earthquake and the angel and the empty tomb.  The soldiers may have even seen Jesus talking to the women.  They know that Jesus rose from the dead.  Just as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, now He himself is raised from the dead. 

            They know the truth….and they cover it up.  They are so concerned about their own stuff; their rules, their traditions, their positions, their power and control that they try to cover up the most important event in the history of the world — Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! 

            Jaroslav Pelikan, a Lutheran theologian wrote, “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen, nothing else matters.” 

            When the Magi came to Jerusalem looking for the newborn King of the Jews the chief priests and scribes knew where the Christ was to be born but none of them went with the Magi to worship the Christ child.

            The religious leaders witnessed Jesus’ miracles, but they did not rejoice — they were only concerned about Sabbath regulations.  The Jewish leaders know that Christ rose from the dead, but other things matter more. 

            This is a stark warning.  This is convicting.  Some folks know that Jesus rose from the dead, but then the things of life become more important…and Christ’s resurrection no longer matters to them. 

            We are warned about this in Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seeds.  Matthew 13:22 (ESV) 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”  If Christ is risen…nothing else matters. 

            Do not let the busyness of life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke out that knowledge in you.  Do not leave here today and then live as if Jesus’ resurrection does not matter. 

Do not let Godly good stewardship of money become a satanic love of money that chokes out faith in Christ and is the root of all kinds of evil.   

            Do not let lust take control of you and lead you into ongoing sin.  Do not let the sun go down on your anger and give the devil a foothold.  James 4:7 (ESV) 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

You know Jesus died and rose from the dead for you.  You know your sins are forgiven.  You are the light of the world.  Let the love of God shine in your life.  Listen to Jesus.  Jesus teaches, Matthew 7:24 (ESV) 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”  Remain in the Word of God — read, mark, learn and inwardly digest God’s word.  Pray regularly.  Stay connected to God’s Word and His sacraments.  Remember your baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Repent, confess your sins, and receive absolution.  Regularly receive the Body and Blood of Jesus into your body to strengthen and preserve you in true faith.  You are one with Christ.

            It is a wonderful day to be here in God’s house enthusiastically proclaiming, “Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!” 

Pilate asked, “What is truth?”  You know the truth.  Jesus died on the cross as payment for the sins of the world.  Jesus, the Son of God, drank the cup of God’s wrath because of your sin.  He paid the price for you and forgives you all your sins.  Jesus rose from the dead on the third day just as He said He would. Jesus is indeed King of the Jews. He is King of the universe.  He is God in flesh.  He is your Lord and Savior.

            You know the truth.  The truth sets you free.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! “If Christ is risen…nothing else matters.”  Amen. 

Posted on by pastorkevinjud

The Thrill of Victory

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The Festival of the Resurrection of our Lord 2024
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
March 31, 2024
Is. 25:6-9, 1 Cor. 15:1-11, Mark 16:1-8

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia! The Lamb who was slain has begun to reign!  Alleluia!  Alleluia! Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!  He is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

            This is the Feast of Victory!  Feel the thrill of victory. 

What does victory feel like?  It feels great to get an A on a test or a promotion at work.  It is a great feeling to win a youth soccer game or watch your kid win.  Victory feels wonderful. 

I am not old enough to remember the feeling when the U.S. won a war, but I imagine the end of World War II must have been just incredible for those at home and those in the fight.  The fighting is over.  The war is won.  The enemy is defeated.  The sacrifices have been worth it.  Victory is ours. 

What does victory feel like?  For avid sports fans it is that feeling when your team wins the national championship. Whole cities lose their minds with the elation of being the victorious champions. 

Try to imagine for a moment that feeling of victory.  The joy…the excitement…the elation…the utter jubilation. Now take that feeling and multiply it by 100…1,000…1 million.  This is the Feast of Victory for our God.  The Lamb who was slain has begun to reign.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! This is the greatest victory of all time.  Jesus has the victory and He gives the victory to you. 

            For those old enough to remember ABC’s Wide World of Sports, there is the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat.  And since we are celebrating victory it means someone has been defeated.  Who today suffers the agony of defeat?  Christ is Risen!  He is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

            Early that Sunday morning 2,000 years ago, Jesus emerges from the tomb, alive and well, and sin is defeated, death is defeated, and the devil is defeated.  The Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world and the Lamb rises from the dead to show total victory.  Christ is Risen!  He is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

            Jesus defeats sin.  Sin is your enemy and your enemy has been defeated.  Now sin is tricky.  You are a natural born sinner who likes to sin, but as a baptized child of God you are called to struggle against sin.  The struggle often does not go well.  It is very frustrating to realize you are in bondage to sin and cannot free yourself. 

Why are you a sinner?  Are you a sinner because you sin, or do you sin because you are a sinner?  Which statement is better?  I am a sinner because I sin.  Or, I sin because I am a sinner.  Which is the better answer?  It is the second.  You sin because you are a sinner.  And when did you become a sinner?  At the moment of conception.  You inherited sin from your father, who got it from his father, all the way back to great-great-grandpa Adam.  You sin because you are a sinner and that does not seem fair, but it is the way it is. You try to stop sinning, but, as we talked about a couple of weeks ago you don’t know how bad you truly are until you have tried really hard to be good. 

The struggle with sin is frustrating and can lead people to become self-righteous and say, “I might be a sinner, but I am not as bad as that other guy,” Or it can lead you to despair because you can never be good enough.  But neither of these is necessary.  Jesus has defeated sin.  Jesus has cancelled the power of sin.  Jesus has victory over sin.  Jesus has covered over your sin with His robe of righteousness.  While you still struggle with sin and temptation, the war is won.  When God looks at you He does not see your sin, but rather He sees Jesus’ perfection covering you.  Jesus declares you to be righteous, innocent and blessed.  Jesus proclaims your sins are forgiven, and if Jesus declares it, it is true. In Christ you are a saint of God as we hear in 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  You are forgiven all your sins because Jesus’ death and resurrection has been applied to you. Sin has been defeated.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

            Death has been defeated.  Death…is…defeated.  This is huge. Anyone who has stood beside the grave of a loved one knows death is the enemy.  Death feels so absolute, so devastatingly final.  At the grave it really seems that death has the victory, but Jesus’ resurrection changes all of that.  Jesus defeats death.  As we heard last week at Lazarus’ grave Jesus announces, John 11:25–26 (ESV) 25 … “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. …”  In your baptism you have been given the gift of eternal life.  Though you die, yet shall you live.  As Christians we grieve, but not like those who have no hope, because the grave is not forever.  On the Last Day Jesus will call you out of the grave and your spirit and body will be reunited and you will rise up in your perfected, imperishable, immortal body to go and live with Jesus forever, and as St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:54–57 (ESV) 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  This is the Feast of victory for our God!  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

            Jesus is victorious over the devil.  That wily liar has been slithering around since the Garden of Eden repeating his age-old question of temptation, “Did God really say?”  The lying devil calls God a liar and your sinful side loves to think that God is lying because your sinful self wants to pursue all kinds of things that God has forbidden.  On that Friday, the devil thought the cross was the end of Jesus. The devil thought he was victorious, but the devil was wrong.  While the devil did not know it, Jesus conquered Satan on the cross at Golgotha and victory was complete that Sunday morning at the empty tomb.

            That Sunday morning Jesus descended into hell to preach a victory sermon to the spirits in prison.  As we read in Colossians 2:15 (ESV) 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” 

        This is the feast of victory for our God.  You have the thrill of victory.  Sin, death and the devil have the agony of defeat. 

            The devil has been defeated.  He has been bound and cast into the bottomless pit.  The devil cannot seize you and drag you away.  He cannot take hold of you unless you invite him in.  Now, the devil is still in the world, and you still need to be on guard against his deceptions and temptations.  You need to stay aware of the devil’s yearning to have you stop loving God and stop loving your neighbor and instead follow your own desires and make sin your lifestyle. The devil is wily, but the old evil foe is like a dog on a chain.  It is easy to avoid a chained up dog, but he will try to get you to come close and pet him by making sin seem harmless and normal.  Do not be fooled.  While restrained, the devil can still tempt, so know his temptations.  As we learn in James 4:7 (ESV) 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  You do not belong to the devil.  You do not answer to the devil. 

The devil will try to accuse you of your sins.  Rebuke him.  Martin Luther wrote in a letter to a friend, “When the devil throws our sins up to us and declares we deserve death and hell, we ought to speak thus:  “I admit that I deserve death and hell.  What of it?  Does this mean that I shall be sentenced to eternal damnation?  By no means.  For I know One who suffered and made a satisfaction in my behalf.  His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Where he is, there I shall be also.”  When the devil tries to accuse you, remind the devil that he has been defeated.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

            This is the feast of victory for our God.  You have the thrill of victory.  Sin, death and the devil have the agony of defeat. 

            The victory has been won.  The victory is yours in Christ.  Today we rejoice as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and victory over sin, death and the devil.  Today we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, but this is not a once-a-year celebration.  We celebrate victory each Sunday as we remember Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  Each Sunday we remember that greatest Sunday, victory Sunday, as we again receive the gifts of God’s forgiveness and eternal life.

            Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

            Amen.