The Lord Is Risen! Happy Easter from John Michael Talbot
The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! I extend a very special Easter blessing for this year of 2015. Our journey through Lent, Holy Week, and the Triduum, culminating in the joy of Easter, has had special significance this year. We have done MUCH hard work, and suffered some set backs, only to be followed by significant steps forward. The hard work is exhausting. The setbacks are always disappointing and discouraging. But the steps forward are always MOST encouraging! Lent, Holy Week, and Easter seem to be symbolic of our entire life in Christ. The secular world today is deeply troubled. How desperately we need the message of Easter joy that only Jesus can bring in a full and wonderful way! The darkness of crucifixion is all too evident. All one needs to do is to turn on the news channels and it is almost overwhelming. The trouble with fanatical Islam, and the literal beheadings and crucifixions of Christians is another agony in the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus. There are many other concerns that we know too well. Russia, IS (Islamic State), Iran, and the ongoing concerns with nuclear Communism to the exclusion of real religious freedom in North Korea and China are all troublesome. In the United States we have seen the shift from the Judeo Christian-based culture to a secular humanist culture. It is heartbreaking for anyone who remembers earlier times and generations who worked so hard, and laid down their lives to establish and defend a great nation under God. To see it crumble on so many levels within a generation is nothing short of a crucifixion. It breaks the heart. This secular humanism has also infected the Church. If we think that it hasn't, we are fooling ourselves. This has led to a radical decline in the quality of our Christianity, and our attendance in parishes all across America. That is a crucifixion from within. BUT ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD. Catholic Christian revival is possible. That is a born again RESURRECTION! EASTER BRINGS US HOPE AND JOY IN JESUS CHRIST!!! Throughout history whenever the Church has been marginalized, demonized, and even criminalized we have seen it grow at astounding rates (40% a decade for 300 years under early Roman persecution!) as the faith of those who profess Jesus Christ becomes stronger, and their love even for their enemies becomes all the more evident. Whenever we see crucifixion for our Christian faith, we always see the resurrection of Easter that is nothing short of miraculous. Faith and Easter Joy: To enter into this Easter joy takes enormous faith. Scripture tells us that, "faith is the substance of things hoped for, of things not yet seen." The Greek word for "substance" is "hypostasis," and is one of the words for "person," in the Trinity and the Incarnation in Jesus. To have faith means to "personify" in the now the things that we hope for in the future! It means "setting our face like flint toward Jerusalem," with Jesus, and living in the hope of resurrection in Christ even in the midst of the crucifixions that we might face in a secular humanist culture and an anti-Christian world. Conclusion: So the message of Easter in 2015 brings great hope even in the face of discouragement and depression. It assures us that love is victorious over the self-absorption and self-obsession that results in hatred. It assures us that forgiveness is victorious over judgment, justice is victorious over vengeance, kindness is victorious over cruelty, and humility is victorious over arrogance and pride. I extend the joy of Easter to all our friends and supporters this Easter. Let's continue the journey as we bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world!!! In Jesus, John Michael Talbot ____________________ WATCH THE ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE "BORN-AGAIN" EASTER SPECIAL Join us this TONIGHT for a our special All Things Are Possible "Born-Again Easter" program! We are to be born-again every day through the resurrected power of Jesus Christ in our lives so we can become a new creation! Watch "All Things Are Possible" tonight, April 1, 2015 on The Church Channel at 9pm ET, 8pm CT, 7pm MT and 6pm PT. Note: Broadcasts repeat late night Saturdays and early Tuesday mornings For complete times and more visit: |
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