"He Makes All Things New"

An empty tomb, linen cloths remaining, could it BE that Jesus had risen? There was a bit of fury at the discovery the tomb was empty - Shock and surprise and they began to surmise, He IS RISEN! He is Risen from the dead. So it was, that the humanity of Christ had died, the Divinity of Christ had risen, and there is the knowledge that Christ will come again. Miracle of Miracles!!!! Prophesies being fulfilled are still in the process. HE WILL COME AGAIN!

In the dark bleak afternoon, Jesus drew His last breath, He was taken down from the Cross, embraced by His grieving Mother, and taken to the place of burial, placed in the tomb provided by Joseph of Arimethia, a Disciple in secret, and laid to rest.

Not understanding the mystery unfolding, the Lord's Apostles and Disciples went about mechanically, mourning Jesus' tragic Passion and Death. John took as his own, Mary, Jesus' sorrowful mother, at the bequest of Jesus as He neared death on the CROSS and Mary accepted John as her son at that same bequest. Mary, the Virgin Mother remembered what Jesus had told her as she ran to Him when He fell for the third time, carrying the Cross, "Mother, I make all things new." She had to wonder, "what did He mean?"

What He meant materialized in His Glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Jesus, who was crucified, died, and was buried, rose again on the third day. A REALITY!!! A miraculous reality! We know after the Resurrection He ascended into Heaven to join His Heavenly Father. Imagine having been born into our humanity, living his childhood and adulthood with us, being betrayed, arrested, beaten, and having been crowned with a wreath of thorns, being disrobed, nailed to a cross by humans, and dying…why should He not return to His Father in all of His Divinity. He who was sinless, the Spotless Lamb, deserved to be with His Father for all Eternity. With His Resurrection, He opened the Gates of Heaven to us, mere mortals, and yet, children of God are we. Glory to God! Undeserving though we are, He elevated us to be a saintly people. He makes all things new.

Imagine, for a moment, our partaking of a species lower than ourselves in order to elevate that species to be …. like us. We love our pets, but would we love them enough to become one like them? The unfathomable love God has for us is that He sent His Son to do just that…….for us. O Lord we are not worthy to fasten even the strap of your sandal, yet you humbled yourself to the point of death upon the Cross for the love of us.

Would that we could emulate the Faith Jesus had in His Father, the Faith that saw Him through His Agony, that Faith to die for what He believed in, martyring Himself according to His Father's Will, all for, whether we believe it or not, love of us. He loves even those of us who claim to be atheists. Pure Love loving even the unlovable. O, Lord, our God, who are we, that you should be mindful of us? We are his children. He created us in His Image and Likeness. He made us to live with Him forever in Heaven. He made us to know Him, to love Him, to serve Him and to be happy with Him here and forever in the next world. Glory be to God!!! He makes all things new.

"…I have come to make all things new." What did He mean? Through his death and Resurrection, we are given new life. The moment we have accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, are Baptized with the water of the Holy Spirit, we are born to new life. We are forever changed. We can sin, if we permit satan to tempt us and do as he bids, but we can also be forgiven if we confess our sins with the firm purpose of sinning no more and are sincerely sorry for having offended God. God is always willing to take us back, ever waiting patiently, compassionately, lovingly. He makes us new--again.

As we grow spiritually, focusing more and more upon Jesus, we find ourselves wanting to be closer and closer to Him. Our spiritual lives are on an upward spiral ever moving forward. There may be dry times; there may be times when we feel like we are standing still, or even going backwards. These are the times we must continue on, placing one foot before the other, never giving in to too much to "self." He makes all things new.

Encouragers we must be, one to another. We must be doing the work of the Father. We must be about our Father's business. We must carry on the work begun by Jesus, inherited by His Apostles and Disciples, on through the ages, evangelizing and proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord to those who have the ears to hear and the eyes to see that Jesus is mirrored in us. We must love as He loves, forgive as He forgives. We must serve as He served. He washed the feet of the Apostles giving us the example to do the same, serve our fellow sisters and brothers. Not one is loved more than another but gifts are given as is His good pleasure to those who are receptive and submissive to His Holy Will. All men are loved, even those who appear to be unlovable. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was a prime example of selfless love. Would that we could model such selflessness and ever put others before ourselves. These are not just platitudes, they are what Jesus expects from us if we accept Him as our Savior and our Lord. He makes all things new.

He regenerates our spiritual growth when we come to Him in submission and complete trust as a child trusts his or her parents to provide all he or she needs to survive, strive, and thrive. He is all Purity, all Innocence and all Loving. He is Sacred, Holy and Divine. Since He also had a human nature, He well understands all of what we go through. He ever welcomes us to return to Him. He makes all things new, even us.

Each time we sin, we bury our souls in its' mire. When we confess our sins and make the firm promise to stay away from the occasion of the sin and not do it again, we are forgiven and experience a new resurrection within our souls. In essence, we experience many resurrections in our lifetimes. He makes all things new.

What burden is not made lighter when we trust in the Lord and turn it all over to Him? What burden is not made lighter when we share in our community prayer groups and trust our sisters and brothers in Christ to help us in prayer? We are a supportive people because we have listened and believe in what Jesus came to teach us down through the ages, and through His Holy Spirit. Love one another. He makes all things new.

How is it Godly people are a happy people? We are a happy people because Jesus lives within our hearts. Did you ever wonder why some people smile at you? They smile because they see the Jesus in you. Ponder within, Jesus inside of your heart, and you will walk in His ways; your step will be made lighter because the Kingdom of God is within your Temple. Your Temple carries the Living God! When we know God is within our Temple, we choose our words more carefully, we behave more reverently toward others, we turn the other cheek, we respect ourselves more, we make the attempt to acquiesce to the Holy Will of God within our lives. He makes all things new.

If we come away from this message with nothing else, it is this writer's attempt to convey two points: 1) We are Temples of the Holy Spirit of God, and 2) He regenerates our souls and we are blessed with many little resurrections because of that regeneration.

HE MAKES ALL THINGS NEW!