When I was thirteen years old, my grandmother died. The date was March 14, 1982. Her death wasn’t the first in our extended family, but it was the first one that hit me really hard. I remember that she died on a Sunday, so every Sunday marked another week since her passing. I remember thinking, “It’s been one week since Grandma died … It’s been two weeks since Grandma died … It’s been three weeks …” and so on and so forth.
This “weekly remembrance” continued for nearly four months. Then it went from weekly to monthly. Then from monthly to yearly. I still miss Grandma, but for years I’ve commemorated her death annually, not weekly or monthly.
On the brighter side, parents tend to celebrate their child’s birthday in weekly cycles, at least in terms of remembrance. “Our daughter is three weeks old today!” Soon thereafter, the accounting turns to months, which is easy to do since babies have their one-month, two-months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months check-ups. The one-year birthday celebration is a big deal. For some families, every birthday celebration thereafter is a big deal. Other families keep it low-key.
The point is that we tend to mark significant events such as birthdays and deaths in weekly increments — at least initially — because of their impact on our lives.
If that’s true about birthdays and deaths, what about a resurrection? Jesus’ disciples thought that his resurrection was a pretty big deal. So significant, in fact, that they began gathering for worship on the first day of the week, dubbed “the Lord’s Day” in light of the Resurrection.
Two thousand years later, this weekly celebration of Jesus’ resurrection is still taking place — every Lord’s Day.
This is due not only to the miraculous nature of the event itself but because of what it means for us who have embraced Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It’s been well said that the Resurrection is God’s “Amen!” to Jesus’ declaration, “It is finished.” By raising Jesus from the dead, God the Father vindicated his Son, proving that he is who he claimed to be, that he lived a life of perfect obedience, and that God had accepted his Son’s atoning sacrifice on behalf of all who would believe in him. Therefore, and furthermore, Jesus’ resurrection guarantees our own (1 Cor. 15:12-23).
That’s why Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus not only at Easter but every single Lord’s Day. We hope you’ll be joining us or another local church for this week’s celebration!