my right eye, but unfortunately it is very poor vision. I have made an appointment with a local
optician this coming Friday to enquire if vision could be improved with glasses or contact lens.
Next Monday I consult with the eye specialist about options available to me. I have been run-
ning out of options with only a few left. I intend to make a decision next week sometime. Mean-
while I continue to live with this condition in the light and presence of Jesus Christ. I do pray
for and desire that He would heal and restore my eye; but what I long for to a much greater ex-
tent is that I be in a more intimate and deeper relationship with Jesus, regardless of my physical
condition or life situation. I yearn to revolve around our crucified and risen Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. The past eight weeks, therefore, have been an especially rich time for me.
More importantly, the past two weeks, especially Holy Week, have been a special time for me.
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus
Christ directly into my life in a way I hadn't experienced before. Despite the condition with my
eye, I had been on the go during these last two weeks. By Sunday afternoon I felt worn out. I
crashed the evening of Easter Sunday and laid low all day Monday. Yet I still felt the glow of
the crucified and risen Jesus. At Sunday worship at St Fergus Parish Church we sang hymns
about the Resurrection and listened to the gospel accounts of the Risen Christ. I preached from
I Corinthians 15:1-8. The Apostle Paul speaks to the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, empha-
sizing his death and resurrection as being of first importance. I have been reflecting on this key
passage for some years now, but only in the last few weeks has it been shaping my life and pro-
clamation. I have provided the text for you below. I want you to pay special attention to the sec-
tion highlighted in red.
I Corinthians 15:1-8
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold
fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered
to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in
accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the
third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,
then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at
one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then
he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely
born, he appeared also to me.
In this section of Scripture, the Apostle identifies the heart of the Gospel message that he
has been proclaiming to others. The Gospel he has been preaching to believers in Cor-
inth is the message of salvation. What Paul has received, he has been delivering to oth-
ers. The Gospel is a message of life that saves people from sin and death. The Gospel is
not about what men and women do. It is not about us. It focuses on what God has done
in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins. His
redemptive death was anticipated throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, what we Christians
refer to as the Old Testament. Jesus died and was buried. But that was not the end of
the Story: on the third day He was raised from death to life. All of this was foretold in the
Scriptures. Then Paul lists all the people the Risen Saviour showed himself to, including
himself as one untimely born.
We believers who name the Name of Jesus Christ anchor our faith in the two essential
tenets of the Gospel: that Jesus died on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins, accord-
ing to the Scriptures, and that He was raised from death to life on the third day, according
to the Scriptures. This is the Gospel we proclaim. The Gospel that we have received and
believe in points to the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. In Him we are justified and sancti-
fied. This Jesus and what He did is the heart of the Gospel that brings life to those who
are dead in sin. The content of our preaching must be shaped by the Cross and the Emp-
ty Tomb of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Faith in the crucified and risen Son of
God brings salvation and life in all its fulness. Everything else is secondary, and flows
from those two cosmic events that God did through His Son Jesus Christ. I thought that
I knew that, the Gospel. Perhaps I did. But I came to a renewed and deeper awareness
of it in my life during Lent and Holy Week at St Fergus Parish Church, 2013.
Blessings to you and yours in these weeks after Easter,
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