He is Risen! - Rector's Rambling for April 4, 2021

     "And entering into the sepulchre, they saw, a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.”

 This is the account of the story of the Resurrection from Mark’s Gospel, which we see depicted in the mosaic above the High Altar at St. John’s.  An Angel announced the Resurrection to Mary Magdalen, Mary the mother

  of James, and Salome who had come to the tomb to properly anoint the body of Jesus, who had been hastily buried on Friday as the Passover Sabbath began.  We hear in that gospel that they weren’t sure who would roll back the large stone from the tomb so that they could do the anointing, and arrived to find something like you see pictured above.  Ancient tombs like this were met to be used over and over.  Once the flesh rotted off the bones the bones were gathered and placed in a ossuary (a box for bones) and the tableau in the tomb reused for the next family member’s burial.  But Jesus was buried in Joseph of Arimathea's newly hewn tomb, and there could be no doubt, having heard the angel’s proclamation and seeing the tomb empty, that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.

After long year past, I am so grateful that we are having a Resurrection here at St. John’s.  Not just the celebration of the Holy Day today (which we didn’t get to do together last year because of the Stay Home orders) but also a resurrection of the parish life.

I am so happy to see people returning to public worship again, and God willing we will be able to start some programing and social fellowship events together soon enough.  Having had a ’year off’, I hope that we will have a renewed energy to be active in the life of the Church, and begin again the good work of being equipped for our witness and ministry to the neighborhood, or families and friends, that Jesus Christ is Lord and worthy of our worship!

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!  And more and more our common life together is rising as well.  Let us rejoice, give thanks, and