Hear the sermon, "Witnesses To All He Did" - Fr. Christopher Caudle

Summary

Fr. Christopher’s Easter sermon centers on Peter’s words to Cornelius in Acts 10: “We are witnesses.” He notes how unusual it was for Jews and Gentiles to share a meal, and ties that welcome to Easter—especially Peter’s vision that declared formerly “unclean” foods clean, signaling God’s intent to make all things clean and to include the nations.

From there, Fr. Christopher turns to the resurrection accounts (especially John 20) and emphasizes that the first witnesses didn’t arrive expecting celebration—they arrived with spices, confused and grieving, because they had truly seen Jesus die. At the tomb, what should be there (Jesus’ body) is missing, and what shouldn’t be there (angels and the risen Jesus) is present—highlighting how surprising the resurrection was in the moment.

He stresses that Easter is not merely a past event or a single day: the risen Jesus appears repeatedly, teaches about the kingdom, eats with his disciples, and sends the Holy Spirit, acting not like someone making a brief farewell appearance but like the Lord who has begun the new creation. Jesus is described as the “firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15), the guarantee and pattern of the future resurrection harvest.

Fr. Christopher then applies this to the present: because Jesus lives and reigns now, Easter’s promises begin to take effect today—in the church, in baptism, in Christian hope in the face of death, and in personal faith. Citing Romans 10:9, it calls hearers to confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised him, and to join the apostles in their vocation: to live and speak as witnesses that Christ is risen and still at work in the world.

 
Prayer

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