“Jesus said to her, “‘I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die.  Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believer this?’”

John 11:25-26

In only a handful of hours, we will finally gather together to shout, “He is Risen!”  The church will claim death defeated as Jesus rose from the grave.  Resurrection will win the day as it has for over 2,000 years.

In the 1960s, archeologists worked an excavation site at Masada in Israel.  One of the finds included a jar of seeds from an extinct Judean Date Palm.  Biblical scholars believe this was a palm mentioned at several points in the Old Testament              (see Psalm 92:12).

The jar of seeds had remained on an old dusty shelf as it was unclear what to do with them.  In 2005, an inquisitive botanical researcher gave the seeds a shot and planted one.  To his surprise, it grew!  A Judean Date Palm had not been seen growing since 500 A.D.!  Today, this tree, nicknamed “Methuselah” from the oldest person named in the Bible, has flowered and produces dates.  What was long lost is now back and alive!

For me, Easter is a time to remember the power of resurrection in our own lives.  As people of faith, Resurrection claims any hope remains available.  We declare that what looks dead CAN actually come back to life.  Broken relationships can be healed.  The struggle isn’t over because God never gives up.

This year, I wonder if we have the courage to investigate the old dusty shelves of our lives.  What hopes or dreams have we set aside long ago, thinking they were extinct?  Could this be the year that the power of resurrection surrounds your hopes and dreams and creates a place for growth and new life?

Tomorrow will be my first Sunday to join FUMC in a resurrection celebration.  I can’t wait to stand with you as we continue the tradition of celebrating new life through Christ!

Prayer:

God of life, as I rise in the morning, may my life sing of resurrection.  Help me claim hope as the overwhelming power in my life.  Though struggles persist, may I never forget the gift of new life through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Contributed by Alan McGrath

Senior Pastor – FUMC Killeen