April 5, 2026
Colossians 3:1–4 & John 20:1–18
Theme: Lifted Into New Life
Paul’s letter to the Colossians was written to a young Christian community wrestling with competing teachings and cultural pressures. Paul reminds them that their identity is no longer rooted in the old life but in Christ, who is their true center. In this short passage, he lifts their eyes upward: “Seek the things that are above.” He is not calling them to escape the world but to live in it with a new orientation-shaped by the resurrection, grounded in Christ’s life, and hidden in God. Paul wants them to know that resurrection is not only a future hope; it is a present reality that reshapes how they live today.
John’s resurrection account is deeply personal. It begins in the dark—literally and spiritually. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb carrying grief, confusion, and love. What unfolds is not a dramatic spectacle but a quiet, tender revelation. The empty tomb, the running disciples, the angels, and finally Jesus calling Mary by name—this is a story of love stronger than death, of recognition, of restored relationship. John wants us to see that resurrection is not an idea; it is an encounter with the living Christ.
Beloved in Christ, Christ is risen.
Easter morning always begins in the dark. Before the sun rises, before clarity comes, before joy breaks open, there is Mary Magdalene walking toward a tomb with a heart full of sorrow. She is doing what love does: showing up even when hope seems gone.
Mary arrives expecting death, but instead she finds absence.
The stone rolled away. The body gone. The familiar world suddenly becomes unfamiliar.
And then – running, confusion, questions, tears.
This is not a polished, triumphant beginning. This is the messy, human reality of encountering God’s new thing.
But then something shifts. Mary hears her name. Not a sermon. Not an explanation. Just her name spoken by the One who knows her.
“Mary.” And in that moment, the world is recreated. The darkness lifts. The grief loosens.
The tomb becomes a doorway. And Mary becomes the first preacher of the Gospel: “I have seen the Lord.”
What does Resurrection Mean for Us Today?
Paul writing to the Colossians, takes this resurrection moment and turns it toward us:
He says, “Since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above.”
Paul is not asking us to float away from reality. He is inviting us to live differently within it.
To seek the things above is to let the resurrection shape our priorities, our relationships, our choices, our hope.
It means:
- Letting love be stronger than fear. 2. Letting forgiveness be deeper than resentment.
- Letting compassion be louder than cynicism 4. Letting hope rise even when the world feels like a tomb
Paul says our lives are “hidden with Christ in God.” Paul means that our true life is grounded in the One who has conquered death.
My dear siblings in Christ, Easter Is Not Just an Event- It’s a Way of Life for the followers of Christ. Easter is not simply the story of what happened to Jesus. It is the story of what happens to us because of Jesus.
Like Mary, we are called by name. Like Mary, we are invited to turn around-to reorient our lives toward the living Christ. Like Mary, we are sent to proclaim hope in a world that desperately needs it.
And like the Colossians, we are reminded that resurrection is not only a future promise. It is a new way of seeing. A new way of living. A new way of loving.
As a community of followers of Christ, Easter invites us to lift our eyes. Not to escape the world, but to see it through resurrection light. To look at our neighbors, our families, our church, our community, and even ourselves with the eyes of Christ.
Where there is brokenness, resurrection says healing is possible. Where there is division, resurrection says reconciliation is possible. Where there is despair, resurrection says hope is possible. Where there is death, resurrection says life is already breaking through.
So today, my dear ones, on this radiant Easter morning, hear the risen Christ calling your name.
Hear Paul urging us to lift our heart toward the things above. Hear Mary’s testimony echoing across the centuries: “I have seen the Lord.”
And may that truth shape how we live, how we love, and how we walk together as a resurrection people. Alleluia. Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia. Have You been to Jesus for the cleansing Power?