4 Part Message of the Resurrection
Footprints in the Sand FTXkuR0 FTXkuR0
Part 1: Do not be afraid: In the Gospel accounts of the time during Jesus’ life and even after Jesus’ death and resurrection, we hear Jesus giving a message of re-assurance and peace to His followers. He urges them not to have fear. In our own lives, when we experience moments of fear, we turn to those who are closest to us. Often times, this is when we turn to God in prayer. Many times praying, can help calm us when we have fear.
Part 2: I am with you: Jesus gives messages of support to His followers re-assuring them that He will not abandon them when they need Him. (He even sends them this message after He dies when He appears to His followers) In our own lives, none of us like to feel alone; especially when things aren’t going well in our lives. We need to be in human relationship with others and we need to feel loved. People who truly love us are always with us during our most wonderful and difficult moments.
Part 3: Tell the others: In the Gospels, Jesus urges those who meet Him to spread the word that He has risen; that He will always be with us. He urges them to take that risk and tell people even if they don’t believe us. In our own lives, maybe we have had moments that tell us without a doubt that God exists; that God is active in your life. Jesus wants us to share those moments with others because by sharing those stories, we give people hope and we can give them faith.
Part 4: Continue my work: Jesus didn’t only want His followers to tell people about Him. He wanted them to devote their lives to continuing His work of bringing people into right relationship with each other and with God. In our own lives, we need to reflect on our actions. Do our actions bring about good or do they invoke negativity in other people’s lives? We always need to remember the golden rule: to “do unto others as we would want have done unto us”. We need to continue God’s work by practicing compassion and justice on a day to day basis.