My wife Claire and I have been members of Epic Vineyard Church here in Calgary for over eight years now. One of our pastors, our good friend Joyce Rees, is fond of pointing out that, in terms of the Christian calendar, Christmas seems to get most of the love. This is undoubtedly due to the way in which Christmas has been co-opted by retailers and commercialized by our modern Western culture. Joyce is right, however, when she points out that Easter, in particular Resurrection Sunday, ought to be the pinnacle of the Christian year.

Easter is of course one of the few times of the year when people who do not normally associate themselves with church or Christians are willing to attend a worship service. That makes this season an especially important one for our Vineyard Churches who are seeking to be missional signposts to Jesus and his Kingdom. For this Resurrection Sunday, I want to invite our Vineyard Canada family to be particularly mindful of the kind of Jesus we are presenting to these newcomers with our worship music, our liturgies, our sermons and our artistic expressions. Who is Jesus? This is the Question of all Questions for the Sunday of all Sundays.

In Matthew's resurrection account, the angel who has just caused the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb of Jesus to fall "like dead men," gives this famous response to the searching women's fear at his appearance: "But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay" (Matthew 28:5, NRSV). Notice that there are two verbal descriptors that the angel gives of this Jesus. Firstly, he is the one "who was crucified." Secondly, he is the one who "has been raised." These seem roughly equivalent in English, but in Matthew's Greek the single word translated "who was crucified" is given special significance. Matthew's Greek presents this initial descriptor, 'the one who was crucified,' as a descriptor that has relevance beyond the moment when those nails were driven into his wrists and ankles. The man Christ Jesus, from that moment onwards and into eternity, is to be known as 'the one who was crucified.' We could suggest theologically that Jesus is also still today in 2025 'the one who has been risen.' And that would be true. But Matthew's specific choice of words in this passage highlights for us that our God, Jesus Christ, is still today 'the one who was crucified.' What kind of a God not only willingly submits himself to something such as crucifixion in the first place, but then also wants to be continually associated with such an event in an ongoing way?

The newcomers in our churches in this Easter season have many cares and concerns. They may be worried about how they are going to continue to feed their family with the rising cost of living, or political turmoil, or illness of the body or the mind, or the outbreak of more warfare on this already battered and bruised planet. As Christians we sometimes feel the need to have some kind of an answer for all of this, some kind of solution or fix. After all, many of us have had 1 Peter 3:15b drilled into us from a young age. "Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you" (NRSV). In reality, however, what the church has to offer the world is not its own wisdom, strength or resources, as Jeremiah so powerfully stated: "Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD" (Jeremiah 9:23-24, NRSV). What we have to offer is that 'the one who was crucified' still walks in our midst. This Resurrection Sunday, I know that the Crucified One is once again holding out his still-wounded hands to all of us. Together, as a spiritual family, let's heed that invitation, whether for the first time, or the millionth.

Our very own much loved worship leader Brian Doerksen has put this Truth of all Truths far more beautifully and eloquently than I in his song Scars on His Hands. To bring this reflection to a close, consider the opening verse of this powerful song. Note especially the final two lines:

David Ross is husband to Claire and dog-parent to their black lab Angus. Claire and David are on the leadership team at Epic Vineyard Church in Calgary where David preaches several times a year. David is a PhD student in New Testament at Wycliffe College in Toronto and also serves part time as the Student Development Dean at Alberta Bible College in Calgary. David and Claire both love going for drives and walks in the mountains around Canmore, as well as the occasional visit to Vancouver Island for times for respite. In all parts of life, whether family time, times of fun and playfulness, or vocational work, David tries to bring head and heart together in a world where they are so often driven apart.