I am sitting here writing this article on Monday, trying to have a little time off and doing a little work at the same time. Monday, for a pastor is usually his day off, but I seldom seem to find time for doing nothing, but to be honest, I do not like doing nothing anyway. But it is the first day of the week and so I will watch a little television and eat a little ice cream, and do less than I did on Sunday.
I know that this is not the norm for most of you, and so I was wondering, “What do you do on the first day of your week?†I know many of you begin your work week with a reluctant start, rubbing your eyes as you gradually get out of bed, looking for that first cup of coffee so that you can at least make it to your car. You sing those Monday morning blues, sounding like some soulful tune being played on the streets of New Orleans.
Mondays, we all hate Mondays, in fact, maybe you should just call in sick.
But wait!
I must admit, I asked you a trick question and you may have missed the point, for I asked, “What do you do on the first day of the week?†Go back and look at your calendar, and you will see that the first day of the week is actually Sunday. We begin each new week not on a Monday; the day to sing the blues, but on Sunday, the day of rest.
We begin the week, not working but resting (afternoon nap) and there is something good always happening on Sunday, for it is also the day of worship as we attend the church of our choice. But I must remind you that there is something even better happening soon, real soon, and it happened on a Sunday.
You see, the Bible says, “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning…..They found the stone had been rolled away from the tomb.†(Matthew 24:1,2) What a way to begin the week with the knowledge that Jesus was not dead but he was alive and had been resurrected from the tomb.
The week started off with the resurrection and we have been celebrating that ever since.
The resurrection did not happen on the last day of the week when you have given up on life and are so tired you cannot go on, nor was it on Wednesday, that day of when the week is half done and you still have too much work to do.
No, it was on a Sunday, the first day, the beginning, the dawning of a new era, the sunrise to beat all sunrises. It was a day when death changed course and we knew that if Jesus can live again, so can we. The week starts with hope, not work, with joy, not sorrow.
So, pull out your daytimer and pencil in “resurrection†on every Sunday between now and Easter and beyond, and be assured that each week can start with Christ. It may feel like Monday, but remember Sunday has already come, and we are alive, and will live in this world and in the world to come.
For more information on Easter and the resurrection, please call Pastor Tilley at 432-207-0015.
