First Sunday after Easter, April 28th, 2019

First Sunday after Easter, April 28th, 2019

If you will recall last week we heard St. John relate for us how St. Mary Magdalene discovered the empty tomb and Our Blessed Lord appeared to her.   This week as we continue on this Twentieth Chapter of the Gospel of St. John, we hear how Our Blessed Saviour now appears to the disciples who were gathered together behind closed doors.  As we put ourselves in their place . . . . keep in mind that they had discovered  just hours earlier that same day that Our Blessed Lord had risen from the dead.  Without a doubt, they were still shocked at the series of events of the past few days and the roller-coaster of emotions which accompanied these events.   And as they were gathered there Our Lord appeared to them in their midst.  St. John writes that Our Lord "stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had so said, He shewed unto them His hands and His side. "  (St. John 20:19-20)   Keep in mind that first Our Blessed Saviour first bid the disciples "Peace" and next He showed them His scars from the nails and the spear.  He did this of course to prove to them that He was real!   These scars meant something.  These scars were the proof of the lengths which Our Lord was willing to go to save us from sin . . . to save us from death . . .  to save us from destruction.  Our Lord was showing the disciples His scars to prove to them that it was really Him in their presence.  But, in reality, He was showing the disciples the length and the depth of His love for us.  We read in the First Epistle of St. Peter:  "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by Whose stripes ye were healed." (I St. Peter 2:24)  Our Blessed Saviour paid the price that we should have paid.  He was nailed to the Cross for our transgressions.  How grateful we should be that Our Lord took our place on that Cross.  How grateful we should be that Christ willingly and freely chose to die in our place.  And yet so often we are too caught up with the worries and the concerns of this world to even remember what pains Christ has endured on our behalf.  

"Blessed Saviour, I love You!  It was my sins which caused You to carry the Cross to Calvary.   It was my sins which caused You to be fastened to the Cross.  It was my sins which were responsible for Your death on that Cross.  It should have been me hanging on the Cross and yet You willingly and freely took my place because of Your love for me.  Blessed Saviour, You endured the pain and the agony so that I could be spared.  I thank Thee, Blessed Saviour, for loving me so much that You were willing to take my place on the Cross.  You died on the Cross to atone for my sins.  The scars and the wounds which You received were meant for me.  Oh, Blessed Wounds of Christ which serve as a reminder of the love You have for us, Blessed Saviour!   I love you, Lord Jesus!"

St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  We use the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Come join us as we listen to God speak to us through His Word.  At Communion time, we receive the Precious Body and Blood of Christ to nourish us and give us strength for our journey called life.