Communion-Resurrection Day

Communion: the act of sharing, holding and participating in common.

I’m not a surprise type of person. I’m a planner and I like to know what’s coming. Early in my marriage my husband would try to surprise me and it wouldn’t go so well but he persisted because he loves spontaneity. He also just likes to watch me squirm when all control has been taken away from me… so there’s that. Through the years, after several surprises, I’ve decided to lean into it, stop being a killjoy and enjoy his efforts. He has, after all, been doing a great job of it and if I simply relax into the blessing he tries to offer me, I enjoy being served and having someone plan something for me for a change. These kinds of surprises are the good kind, birthdays, anniversaries, and date nights. This year I have my work cut out for me with a significant birthday of Ceaser’s coming up, and with all the wonderful surprises he’s rustled up in the past, I need the Holy Spirit to help me deliver.

Celebrations are important and whatever the relationship, marking those significant days not only makes memories but also shows recognition and love. When it comes to Easter we have two significant days marked; Good Friday, which commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus and His death for us at Calvary, and Resurrection Sunday, which marks the supernatural resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

“At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. Then at three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” ~ Mark 15:33-34 and 37-38 (NLT)

Good Friday was anything but good for those who were present, watching their friend and Lord die such a horrific death. Though Jesus had warned them about this impending redemptive work for which He was born, they had no way of comprehending that it would mean what it did. They had no way of understanding that communion had to be preceded by separation.

If the followers of Jesus had not been so gripped by grief they would have seen reason to celebrate. Jesus announced to them and us that it was finished. He had done it! He had accomplished everything He had set out to do for us. But they didn’t celebrate, in their minds, they had been abandoned by the one who had words of eternal life. The curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple had been torn completely in two from top to bottom. But they didn’t rejoice, they were afraid and deeply disappointed.

Today we celebrate and call the day our King hung on the cross Good Friday, singing songs of victory and thanksgiving. We do this only because we have hindsight. We do this only because we know Resurrection Sunday is only three days away. We do this because we know He is alive, He lives in us and we have communion with Him.

Resurrection Day wasn’t a surprise for the disciples of Jesus. He had told them it was coming. I’m honestly not quite sure why it didn’t register fully to them but for some reason, the big showdown happened and the people who should have been waiting in anticipation and the most excited, were not. Like me, the disciples were killjoys. They were not happy with the blessing, they were unsure, they had doubts and they felt left out of the loop.

Thankfully Jesus didn’t hold this against them. He met them where they were, in the pits of despair they sat in individually, and showing them His hands and His side, He breathed on them and brought them into the fullness of Resurrection Day.

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. ~ Romans 8:11

Resurrection Day is to be celebrated because Jesus paid a high price for us to share, hold and participate in common with His Spirit. Jesus accomplished His service to mankind and now we get to participate with the Holy Spirit, walking this life with victory. The victory in Resurrection Day gives us the benefit of a blessed life today and every day, but we have to engage and join ourselves with God in a new way. Just like the disciples did.

Celebrate fully by sharing in the finished work of Jesus. You no longer have to walk through life alone as you did when you were dead in your sin. You now have the love and security of a Father and His family. Allow the Spirit of God to not only remind but also reassure you of this, filling your heart with a sense of belonging and joy.

Relax into the blessing of resurrection. Hold it with both your hands and let it become a part of you. Present the dead areas of your life before the Holy Spirit and allow Him to give life to them again. Remember that He came to give you abundant life and that He is for you, not against you.

Enjoy being served. The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve. A full appreciation of that fact will fire you up to serve others just like Jesus did. Think about it, without the posture of service by our Lord and Saviour, Resurrection Day would have stayed a pipe dream. Today we delight in its reality because Jesus gave His life in service of you and me. Knowing this should charge us up to return the favour.

As we gear up to celebrate Resurrection Day this coming weekend. As we participate in communion, in remembrance of Him who was raised to life so that we could be too, I encourage you to truly celebrate. Allow yourself to fully appreciate all that the day entails. It is not just happy Resurrection Day Jesus, it is happy Resurrection Day to us all.