But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22
Much has been made over the date the world has chosen to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. While it is true that much of the modern trappings surrounding today’s celebration are more closely linked to paganism than to Christianity, many devoted Christians manage to make the date a true Christian celebration of the Risen Lord.
Among those who managed to keep his observance of the holiday focused on Jesus was the famed British minister, W. E. Sangster. This great preacher began to lose his voice and mobility in the mid-1950s. His disease caused progressive muscular atrophy. He recognized the end was near, so he threw himself into writing and praying. In the midst of his suffering, he pleaded, “Let me stay in the struggle, Lord. I don’t mind if I can no longer be a general, but give me just a regiment to lead.”
Sangster’s voice eventually failed completely, and his legs became useless. On Easter morning just a few weeks before his death, he took a pen and shakily wrote his daughter a letter. In it he said, “It is terrible to wake up on Easter morning and have no voice with which to shout, ‘He is risen!’ –but it would be still more terrible to have a voice and not want to shout.”
May every Easter bring many new voices that shout for the first time, “He is risen!”
With Love,
Mike
