• By Eugene Rutabagaya

I made the decision to write this article in the middle of Easter Sunday worship service, having been led by the worship team through a song by Israel Houghton : "Risen, He’s Risen". The verse that touched me the most was : "Same power, same power that crushed the enemy, same power lives in me". And the question that kept crossing through my mind was : “Is this power of resurrection that crushed the enemy still at work in your life ?

The Holy Week

For many Christians, the “Holy week” is the most sacred week of the calendar year. In our Gregorian calendar, this "Holy week" usually coincides with the month of April. It starts with the Palm Sunday, followed by the Holy Thursday (last supper of Jesus with his Disciples) and the Good Friday (crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus) before ending with Easter Sunday (resurrection day). While some people put an emphasis on Jesus’ death on the cross (Good Friday) as they see it as the climax, especially due to the fact that it marks our salvation and the basis for a new relationship with God ; other quarters of Christianity believe that Easter, the resurrection day, is indeed the most important day, as it symbolizes victory over sin and death, and marks the culmination of the redemptive work of Jesus-Christ. There is another school of thoughts made of people who believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus are intimately linked, for as much as the death of Jesus sets us free from sin and death, his resurrection free us for a new life in Christ. That Jesus’s death and resurrection are two sides of our salvation medal. I also belong to that third category based on Romans 6:3-5 :

« Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death ? 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. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united in a resurrection like his ».

Life sprouts from death

Let’s use the metaphor of seeds and plants. Unless a seed is buried in the ground, it does not produce a new plant. Let’s consider the bean seed : its appearance may not be attractive because of wear and tear, but as long as its embryo - invisible from the outside - is intact, well the seed will always produce a new plant and plenty of new seeds if buried in a fertile soil.

When a seed is buried in the ground, it goes through a short period of dormancy, after which the embryo develops as the fleshy part of the grain disappears (dies). During that process, the germination occurs and a new, more beautiful plant sprouts to life. A similar process took place in the death and the resurrection of Jesus in accordance with 1 Corinthians 15 : 4 :

« That he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve ».

A similar process takes place in the death and resurrection of a believing human body, as described in 1 Corinthians 15:42-45.

The risen existence

Now, beyond the Feasts and Celebrations that come with the Holy week, what then do we make of the resurrection of Christ ? Are we just expected to listen carefully to the good sermons preached in our local Churches and on television, enjoy some good gospel music, and then everything goes back to normal and life continues ? Is Easter merely a distinctive historical event that we must celebrate every year and wait for the next Easter ? Not at all ! Not when we have a God who raised Jesus from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death. Not when we have a Savior that the power of death could not keep hold on (Acts 2:24). Not when we have been made alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5). Oh yes, Christ’s resurrection brings fundamental changes to our way of living. That is the sense of the newness that Paul was outlining in Romans 6:4 :

« 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 ».

We can experience the newness of life in Christ in different ways :

1) By embracing our new identity in Christ : as new creation, we have been recreated in Christ, and we ought to lay aside our old self with its evil practices and put on the new-self according to the image of our creator (Colossians 3:9-10).
2) By doing the good works God prepared for us in advance (Ephesians 2:10). Not the religious works, but growing in Christ-likeness and living a life worth the gospel of Christ
3) By living in freedom, for the Son has set us free (John 8:26) and our debts paid by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross (Colossians 2:14)
4) By living a victorious life, knowing that Jesus has overcome the world more than two thousand years ago. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37).
5) Lastly, by allowing the power of the Spirit of God who dwells in us to give life to our mortal bodies. The Spirit of resurrection, the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is still at work within us. He has the power to raise everything that is dead or dormant in our lives and give it life for the glory of God.

Surely, the resurrection of Jesus is not just a historical event that we are given to celebrate year in, year out. It is way more than just that. Let’s experience the newness of life that comes with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus-Christ. Let’s experience the risen existence in our day-to-day lives.

In Christ.