Breaking the Bonds of Death; Easter Sunrise Worship: Sunday Meditation at Plow Creek

Plow Creek Mennonite Church

Sunday Meditations
Disclaimer - meditations are the personal reflections of the worship leader, not official church doctrinal statements.

Breaking the Bonds of Death

Easter Sunrise Worship
3-23-08
by Louise Stahnke

We celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ on this day. In our part of the world, Easter comes at the time when we can witness of transition of the land as its living things move from the death and dormancy of winter into the fresh greens and welcome colors of the flowers that our God has created for us to enjoy, out of His pure love of all that is beautiful. It is easy to see the transition as it happens and we welcome all the newness of life.

We know what death looks like in the physical world around us. We know what death looks like when a person’s spirit has left that body. But we are not so quick to identify the ways that death holds us in its bonds while we are yet breathing. The world of evil rules in the realms of death. It is this evil itself, Satan and all of his forces, that Jesus conquered so clearly that morning of his resurrection. We quickly renounce the evils of war and violence of all kinds. We work hard to live according to the Lord’s teachings.

We try our best to be loving in our relationships. These are good things to do. But alone they are not enough.   There is so much more to the abundant life Jesus promised than trying hard to act in certain ways.

Christ emerging victorious from the tomb is a reality and a powerful symbol of the victory He claimed over all that is evil or death bringing. And we can celebrate this victory without noticing the ways that we remain bound, because we are so accustomed to simply living within our own particular bondage.   Bondage to fears. Certainly we think, they are justified fears. Our world is a mess. So much can and does goes wrong.

Bondage to addictions of many kinds, the things we use to dull the pain that lives inside of us.   Even innocent sounding things like working hard, but too much. Bondage to the pain of childhood lies, abuse and neglect that continue to live inside of us in quietly powerful ways. Bondage to Self, with attitudes like self pity, resentments, pride, a belief that we deserve to be “good to ourselves”, even at a cost to others.

Our Lord came to earth, suffered and died, so that we can actually and truly be free of all of these bonds and more. Free to experience deep inner transformation that allows us to love freely, naturally, generously. Free to do all that we know is good to do without functioning out of a sense of “shoulds”, but out of desire to be in deeply loving relationships with our Lord and each other. Free to know who we really are created to be and to express the good gifts we have been given. Free to live without fears of any kind. Free to feel our pain and times of sadness, and to know the Lord’s good care of us in those times. Free to let Jesus truly change us.

Our Lord rose from the dead, to give each of us full, abundant Life. But we must actively seek this Life. There is nothing passive about it for us. We choose every day, either to continue to live in our own particular forms of bondage and death, or to come to our Savior and Redeemer, saying, “Please, Lord, work fully in my life today, that I can truly be free of all that is not of You.” May His Name be glorified in our choices.

The Lord is Risen!

The people: He is risen indeed!

home Who We Are People Documents Mission Spirituality Relationships What's New Links Come Visit Village Store Picture Gallery Calendar Contact Us Site Outline Search Plow Creek site	Plow Creek Mennonite Church Sunday Meditations Disclaimer - meditations are the personal reflections of the worship leader, not official church doctrinal statements. Breaking the Bonds of Death Easter Sunrise Worship 3-23-08 by Louise Stahnke We celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ on this day. In our part of the world, Easter comes at the time when we can witness of transition of the land as its living things move from the death and dormancy of winter into the fresh greens and welcome colors of the flowers that our God has created for us to enjoy, out of His pure love of all that is beautiful. It is easy to see the transition as it happens and we welcome all the newness of life. We know what death looks like in the physical world around us. We know what death looks like when a person’s spirit has left that body. But we are not so quick to identify the ways that death holds us in its bonds while we are yet breathing. The world of evil rules in the realms of death. It is this evil itself, Satan and all of his forces, that Jesus conquered so clearly that morning of his resurrection. We quickly renounce the evils of war and violence of all kinds. We work hard to live according to the Lord’s teachings. We try our best to be loving in our relationships. These are good things to do. But alone they are not enough. There is so much more to the abundant life Jesus promised than trying hard to act in certain ways. Christ emerging victorious from the tomb is a reality and a powerful symbol of the victory He claimed over all that is evil or death bringing. And we can celebrate this victory without noticing the ways that we remain bound, because we are so accustomed to simply living within our own particular bondage. Bondage to fears. Certainly we think, they are justified fears. Our world is a mess. So much can and does goes wrong. Bondage to addictions of many kinds, the things we use to dull the pain that lives inside of us. Even innocent sounding things like working hard, but too much. Bondage to the pain of childhood lies, abuse and neglect that continue to live inside of us in quietly powerful ways. Bondage to Self, with attitudes like self pity, resentments, pride, a belief that we deserve to be “good to ourselves”, even at a cost to others. Our Lord came to earth, suffered and died, so that we can actually and truly be free of all of these bonds and more. Free to experience deep inner transformation that allows us to love freely, naturally, generously. Free to do all that we know is good to do without functioning out of a sense of “shoulds”, but out of desire to be in deeply loving relationships with our Lord and each other. Free to know who we really are created to be and to express the good gifts we have been given. Free to live without fears of any kind. Free to feel our pain and times of sadness, and to know the Lord’s good care of us in those times. Free to let Jesus truly change us. Our Lord rose from the dead, to give each of us full, abundant Life. But we must actively seek this Life. There is nothing passive about it for us. We choose every day, either to continue to live in our own particular forms of bondage and death, or to come to our Savior and Redeemer, saying, “Please, Lord, work fully in my life today, that I can truly be free of all that is not of You.” May His Name be glorified in our choices. The Lord is Risen! The people: He is risen indeed!
	meditations