New Life

Christ is risen from the dead! It is fitting that spring should be the time when we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. All around us we see the beauty of the natural world burst forth to new life after the dark and dreary days of winter. Green grass grows, flowers bloom into full color, and the air is filled with birdsong. One of our Easter hymns, “Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain” (LSB 487) makes the connection between spring and the Resurrection rather beautifully.

‘Tis the spring of souls today;
Christ has burst His prison
And from three days sleep in death
As a sun has risen;
All the winter of our sins,
Long and dark, is flying
From His light, to whom is giv’n
Laud and praise undying.
Now the queen of seasons,
bright with the day of splendor,
With the royal feast of feasts
Comes its joy to render;
Comes to gladden faithful hearts
Which with true affection
Welcome in unwearied strain
Jesus’ resurrection!

Christ’s Resurrection has inaugurated a new era, a new season of the world. No longer are we oppressed by winter’s gloom; now Spring, the queen of seasons, shines forth to free us from the dead Winter. We awake to the glorious news that Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death. Because of Christ’s Resurrection, we no longer dwell in the barren January wilderness. His death has taken away our sins, and His resurrection has given us the hope of eternal life in the sunshine of God’s glory.

In Christ we are given life in that eternal sunshine, recipients of the gifts He comes to give. In the waters of Baptism we are made new, regenerated and given new life. Speaking to Nicodemus the Pharisee by night, Jesus says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:5, NKJV). In Baptism the Resurrection of Christ is given to us, and we are brought into the spring of souls. We are renewed, washed of our sins, and made heirs to the Kingdom of God. It is important to note that the Baptism that Christ is speaking of is one of water and the Spirit. Water is an essential and necessary part of Baptism, for Jesus does not separate the two elements of water and Spirit. There is no “Spirit Baptism” that takes place apart from Baptism with water. It is the water of Baptism, combined with the Word of God, which bring us into the Kingdom of God and allows us to rejoice in the news that Christ is risen from the dead. Baptism frees us from the winter of our sins and brings us to the feast of feasts where we joyfully welcome the news of Jesus’ Resurrection. This spring let us joyfully remember the grace that we have received in Baptism and the everlasting promises that we have been given.

-Pastor Pope