I've had an Epiphany!

Since most of us will never have the opportunity to visit the Sistine Chapel, now you can - virtually. Virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel You can also enjoy one artist's rendition of the most famous painting in the Sistine Chapel. This done not with paint, but with sidewalk chalk.

Painting: Giovanni Bellini, Resurrection of Christ, 1475-79. Staatliche Museen, Berlin. Here are some thoughts from Martin Luther on the meaning of Christ’s victory over sin, death and the devil from his 1523 commentary on 1 Corinthians. Here is specifically writes on 1 Corinthians 15:54-55. Luther speaks of Christ’s resurrection and His Means of Grace being poison to the poison of death. The more we are receiving Christ’s Word and Sacraments, the more death’s hold on us is weakened. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” is a common saying. St. Paul is able to speak about this article at such length because his heart is filled with it and he is so convinced of it that he regards all else as nothing by comparison. If his heart were not fille...

He is risen! He is risen indeed! That is the common Easter refrain heard throughout the world during the Easter season. Although, various places may call out this resurrection refrain a little differently. Here is in Wisconsin it is, “He is risen! Ya know!” Our Minnesota neighbors call out, “He is risen! Ya sure, you betcha!” In Canada, “He is risen! Eh!” In California, “He is risen! Like, for sure!” In Georgia, "He is risen! And Satan's pitchin' a fit!" On ESPN, they exclaim, “He is risen! He is risen! He could go all the way!” All over the South, "He is risen! He is risen! Y'all!" In Kentucky they just shout, “Jesus! Git-R-Done!” No matter where you are from or how you say it, Christ risen from the dead changes everything. Christ is risen! The empty tomb has shaken the world! Christ is risen! Hell is vanquished! Christ is risen! The demons have fallen! Christ is risen! The angels rejoice! Christ is risen! The grave is ope...

The Jack-in-the-Box has been around for hundreds of years and most children have either had one or played with one. The Jack-in-the-Box is always fun because you never knew when it was going to pop out. It was always a great surprise when you turned the crank, the music played and then Jack popped out of the box. There was even a little bit of fear that came along with the surprise. The Jack-in-the-Box reminds me of a story in the Bible -- a story about a very special surprise. Early in the morning, on the Sunday after Jesus was crucified, two women went to the grave where Jesus had been buried. They were expecting to find a stone in front of the tomb with a cold, dead corpse inside the grave. However, they were surprised by what they found. First they were surprised to find the guards were gone and the stone had been rolled away. Next they were surprised to find that instead of Jesus’ lifeless body, there were two men in dazzling white apparel Now they were not only surprised...

There have been some pretty popular “put-downs” in TV history. “Eat my shorts.” “What you talkin’ ‘bout, Willis?” “No soup for you.” “Kiss my grits.” And one that is definitely popular in the Milwaukee area, “Sit on it.” St. Matthew tells us, “An angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.” The angel sat on it! It seems like such an insignificant little detail in such a tremendous story. But with those words we see that all the strength and might of man in sealing the tomb and posting a guard and making it as secure as they knew how (Mt 27:65-66), was reduced to a chair. How right the psalmist was when against all the plotting and raging of man, he simply states: “He who sits in the heavens, shall laugh.” (Ps 2:4) On Easter we can add, “He who laid in the tomb shall laugh! For Christ is risen! No stone could hold in the Lord of life. When the angel sat on the stone, Jesus told Satan to ‘sit on it!’” For what is a stone – no ...

In 326, Emperor Constantine of Rome, who had recently converted to Christianity and pronounced it the official religion of the Roman Empire, called a meeting of bishops from all over the empire. The bishop from Jerusalem attended. The emperor’s mother, Queen Helena, who had been instrumental in the Emperor’s conversion to Christianity, was saddened by the bishop’s descriptions of the lack of care given to the sites that Christianity held sacred and subsequent state of disrepair. In 326 AD, with her son’s authority and funds, she visited the Holy Land. In addition to preserving the sites that were known, one of her missions was to identify the site of the crucifixion which had not been determined. Helena found a place that fit the description of the Gospel and historical accounts. Ten years later, Constantine dedicated the magnificent Church of the Holy Sepulchre encompassing both the site of the crucifixion as well as the tomb. The original Byzantine church was destroyed by the Pe...

In the center of the group of silent watching men, the almost naked Jew was struggling violently, but it wouldn’t make a difference. One burly Roman soldier knelt on each arm, pinning it to the rough wooden beam – the patibulum – and another was holding his legs firmly. The soldier holding the Jew’s left arm eased the pressure slightly, just enough to allow another man to bind the victim’s wrist with thick cloth. The Romans were experts at this method of execution – they’d had considerable practice – and knew that the fabric would help staunch the flow of blood from the wounds. Crucifixion was intended to be slow, painful and public, and the last thing the wanted was for the condemned man to bleed to death in a matter of hours. Normally, victims of crucifixion were flogged first. The soldiers knew the Jews lasted longer on the cross if they weren’t flogged. The binding complete, they forced the Jew’s arm back onto the patibulum, the wood rough and stained with old blood. A centu...