Riverside Community Church Blog

Like Pastor Keith said on Easter Sunday, “Christmas gets the glamour, but Easter Sunday is what it’s all about”. Resurrection day is the most influential day in the history of mankind. But what about the days after? What happened in the days after the resurrection? What happens for us in the days after Resurrection Sunday?

After the resurrection, it would make sense for Jesus to unveil a whole new “Jesus” to us, a bigger, taller, better, stronger Jesus, perhaps with a new and improved tunic, and new and improved sandals, maybe his hair had a extra shiny gleam to it, and his skin an extra bronzed tone to it. Because of his new and improved resurrected self, perhaps he was less accessible. But in the 40 days after the resurrection, it wasn’t anything like that. Jesus had a new, resurrected body, but he still bore the wounds of his crucifixion, stripes of his obedience to the Father. Also significant, Jesus didn't exactly do anything different. Jesus walked and talked in the same places he had already been in his life and 3+ year ministry. He was just as accessible. Jesus continued to do what we had already been doing. He taught, he preached, he served, he healed many, he performed miracles, and he continued to love. So what’s the difference? Isn’t the resurrection supposed to change things? While there is a difference in Jesus himself, the greatest difference may be in the people around him. Jesus now took on a whole new meaning to the disciples and the thousands of people who saw him. His promises, his parables, and his sermons made more sense. His teaching now came full circle. Everything Jesus had said had come to pass. The resurrection meant that Jesus was who he said he was. And because of that, the power was real.


What of us? For churches across the world, after a celebratory week, it’s “back to normal”. Everybody is going back to their day jobs and their routine. As church staff we are falling back into our routine with our ministry and families. What of us? We march forward knowing more and more that the power of his resurrection is ours and it’s in us. We look at everything around us with refreshed eyes. Everything continues to make more and more sense. His teaching continues to come full circle in our lives. His promises still stand and always will. The resurrection makes “normal” not just bearable but redeemed and victorious. In Christ, our marriages, our relationships, our families, our jobs, and our personal lives are resurrected. The resurrection means the life of Jesus is in us and around us. Like Jesus did, we simply continue to do as we have already done - work, preach, teach, serve, disciple, and love. Like Jesus, we do this in the same places we had already been doing them. Like Jesus, we make ourselves accessible to the hurting and the broken. There’s nothing special about us, but there is something special about what and who is inside of us. Like Pastor Ezra said on Easter Sunday, “the resurrection didn’t just happen, it HAPPENS”.

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