Mary Magdalene is honored as one of the first witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus, and received a special command from our Lord to tell the Apostles of his resurrection (John 20:11–18). Because of her unique role in spreading the Good News of the Resurrection, Mary Magdalene is also known by the title, “Equal of the Apostles.”

Mary Magdalen and the tradition of the Easter egg

“For centuries, it has been the custom of many Christians to share dyed and painted eggs, particularly on Easter Sunday. The eggs represent new life, and Christ bursting forth from the tomb. Among Eastern Orthodox this sharing is accompanied by the proclamation “Christ is risen!”, and the person being addressed would respond “Truly He is risen!”

One tradition concerning Mary Magdalene says that following the death and resurrection of Jesus, she used her position to gain an invitation to a banquet given by Emperor Tiberius. When she met him, she held a plain egg in her hand and exclaimed “Christ is risen!” Caesar laughed, and said that Christ rising from the dead was as likely as the egg in her hand turning red while she held it. Before he finished speaking, the egg in her hand turned a bright red, and she continued proclaiming the Gospel to the entire imperial house”

Las Casas became well-known for his passionate advocacy of the rights of Indigenous peoples of the Americas and his vitriolic attacks on the abuses of the Spanish conquistadors.

This following excerpt from his most famous work: A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies

“The natives tractable, and capable of Morality or Goodness, very apt to receive the instill’d principles of Catholick Religion; nor are they averse to Civility and good Manners, being not so much discompos’d by variety of Obstructions, as the rest of Mankind; insomuch, that having suckt in (if I may so express my self) the the very first Rudiments of the Christian Faith, they are so transported with Zeal and Furvor in the exercise of Ecclesiastical Sacraments, and Divine Service, that the very Religioso’s themselves, stand in need of the greatest and most signal patience to undergo such extream Transports. And to conclude, I my self have heard the Spaniards themselves (who dare not assume the Confidence to deny the good Nature praedominant in them) declare, that there was nothing wanting in them for the acquisition of Eternal Beatitude, but the sole Knowledge and Understanding of the Deity.

The Spaniards first assaulted the innocent Sheep, so qualified by the Almighty, as is premention’d, like most cruel Tygers, Wolves and Lions hunger-starv’d, studying nothing, for the space of Forty Years, after their first landing, but the Massacre of these Wretches, whom they have so inhumanely and barbarously butcher’d and harass’d with several kinds of Torments, never before known, or heard (of which you shall have some account in the following Discourse) that of Three Millions of Persons, which lived in Hispaniola itself, there is at present but the inconsiderable remnant of scarce Three Hundred. “

Jan Hus was a Czech religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer of the Church. He was greatly influenced by the teachings of John Wycliffe. The Roman Catholic Church considered John Hus a heretic; consequently Hus was excommunicated and burned at the stake in 1415.

“The executioners undressed Hus and tied his hands behind his back with ropes, and his neck with a chain to a stake around which wood and straw had been piled up so that it covered him to the neck. Still at the last moment, the imperial marshal, Von Pappenheim, in the presence of the Count Palatine, asked him to save his life by a recantation, but Hus declined with the words “God is my witness that I have never taught that of which I have been accused by false witnesses. In the truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and preached I will die to-day with gladness.” There upon the fire was kindled with John Wycliffe’s own manuscripts used as kindling for the fire. With uplifted voice Hus sang, “Christ, thou Son of the living God, have mercy upon me.” Among his dying words he proclaimed, “In 100 years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed.” His ashes were gathered and cast into the nearby Rhine River” Almost exactly 100 years later, in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses of Contention (a list of 95 issues of heretical theology and crimes of the Roman Catholic Church) into the church door at Wittenberg. The prophecy of John Hus had come true!.”

From the Bible Museum Great Site article on John Hus

The Crucifixion of St. Peter

The Beheading of St. Paul

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom: Grant that your Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The Persecution under Nero in which Paul and Peter were honored at Rome with Martyrdom in Behalf of Religion

When the government of Nero was now firmly established, he began to plunge into unholy pursuits, and armed himself even against the religion of the God of the universe. To describe the greatness of his depravity does not lie within the plan of the present work. As there are many indeed that have recorded his history in most accurate narratives, every one may at his pleasure learn from them the coarseness of the man’s extraordinary madness, under the influence of which, after he had accomplished the destruction of so many myriads without any reason, he ran into such blood-guiltiness that he did not spare even his nearest relatives and dearest friends, but destroyed his mother and his brothers and his wife, with very many others of his own family as he would private and public enemies, with various kinds of deaths.
But with all these things this particular in the catalogue of his crimes was still wanting, that he was the first of the emperors who showed himself an enemy of the divine religion. The Roman Tertullian is likewise a witness of this. He writes as follows: “Examine your records. There you will find that Nero was the first that persecuted this doctrine, particularly then when after subduing all the east, he exercised his cruelty against all at Rome. We glory in having such a man the leader in our punishment. For whoever knows him can understand that nothing was condemned by Nero unless it was something of great excellence.”

Thus publicly announcing himself as the first among God’s chief enemies, he was led on to the slaughter of the apostles.

It is, therefore, recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter likewise was crucified under Nero. This account of Peter and Paul is substantiated by the fact that their names are preserved in the cemeteries of that place even to the present day.

It is confirmed likewise by Caius, a member of the Church, who arose under Zephyrinus, bishop of Rome. He, in a published disputation with Proclus, the leader of the Phrygian heresy, speaks as follows concerning the places where the sacred corpses of the aforesaid apostles are laid: “But I can show the trophies of the apostles. For if you will go to the Vatican or to the Ostian way, you will find the trophies of those who laid the foundations of this church.”
And that they both suffered martyrdom at the same time is stated by Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, in his epistle to the Romans, in the following words: “You have thus by such an admonition bound together the planting of Peter and of Paul at Rome and Corinth. For both of them planted and likewise taught us in our Corinth. And they taught together in like manner in Italy, and suffered martyrdom at the same time.”

I have quoted these things in order that the truth of the history might be still more confirmed.

Book II, Chapter 25 of “Church History” written by Eusebius of Caesaria (A.D. 265-340)

The Augsburg Confession, also known as the “Augustana” from its Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church. The Augsburg Confession is normative to all Lutheran Churches everywhere and in all times. It is also one of the most important documents of the Lutheran reformation. The Augsburg Confession was written in both German and Latin, and was presented by a number of German rulers and free-cities at the Diet of Augsburg on June 25, 1530. You can read the Augsburg Confession by Clicking HERE

Philipp Melanchthon, renewer of the Church, 1560

Philipp Melanchthon (February 16, 1497 – April 19, 1560) was a German professor and theologian, a key leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and a friend and associate of Martin Luther. Melanchthon wrote a confutation of the Roman Catholic objections to the Augsburg Confession that is entitled the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. You can read the Augsburg Confession by Clicking HERE

Almighty God, we praise you for the men and women you have sent to call the Church to its tasks and renew its life, such as your servant Philip Melanchthon. Raise up in our own day teachers and prophets inspired by your Spirit, whose voices will give strength to your Church and proclaim the reality of your kingdom; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Virgin the Baby Jesus and Saint John the Baptist by William Bouguereau

St. John was a relative of Jesus and he prepared the people for our Lord’s coming with his prophetic ministry and mass baptisms. You can read the story of St. john’s birth in Luke 1:57-80

Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth’s sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Onesimos was captured by slavers at an early age and was owned by eight different masters until bought and freed by a Swedish Lutheran family while in his early teens. Converting to Christianity he become a Lutheran missionary and translated the Bible into the Galla language.

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for your servant Frumentius, by whom your Church was first planted in Ethiopia, and for your servant Onesimos Nesib, whom you called to minister to the Galla people of Ethiopia. Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Phil Johnson from Pyromaniacs Blog gave a lecture entitled Politically Incorrect? (How to shepherd your congregation in an election year) at a recent pastors’ conference. Addressed to a group of very conservative Evangelical pastors, Johnson challenges them to stop trying to change American culture through political activism, and exhorts them to return their focus to proclaiming the Gospel. You can download an MP3 version of this lecture HERE. If you want to read the lecture instead, just click on each point below and you will be taken to the relevant article on Johnson’s blog.

Here were four Biblical insights that Johnson argued should guide pastoral practice in political matters.

1. Preaching, not lobbying, is how the church makes Truth known. (1 Corinthians 1:21-2:8)
2. Gospel, not law, is what changes sinful hearts. (Galatians 2:21, Galatians 3:2)
3. Service, not dominion, is the most effective way to win people in any culture. (Matthew 20:25-28)
4. Christ, not moralism, should be the primary substance of our preaching. (1 Corinthians 2:2)

It’s important to remember that this message is addressed to pastors and focuses on their unique call to publicly preach the Gospel. People as citizens are called to be active participants in the political process.

St. Anthony of Padua (ca. 1195– June 13, 1231) Doctor of the Church

It is said that Antony in his private prayers often directed his prayers to Jesus as an infant, and meditated on the extreme humility in which God in Christ displayed when He embraced the limitations of being a helpless baby. Artists often portray Antony in a Franciscan robe, carrying a lily and the child Jesus.

O God, who by your Holy Spirit gave your servant Antony a love of the Holy Scriptures, and the gift of expounding them with learning and eloquence, so that your people might be established in sound doctrine and encouraged in the way of righteousness, grant us always an abundance of such preachers, to the glory of your Name and the benefit of your Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, 373 (Commemoration)

We were made “in the likeness of God.” But in course of time that image has become obscured, like a face on a very old portrait, dimmed with dust and dirt.

When a portrait is spoiled, the only way to renew it is for the subject to come back to the studio and sit for the artist all over again. That is why Christ came–to make it possible for the divine image in man to be recreated. We were made in God’s likeness; we are remade in the likeness of his Son.

To bring about this re-creation, Christ still comes to men and lives among them. In a special way he comes to his Church, his “body”, to show us what the “image of God” is really like.

What a responsibility the Church has, to be Christ’s “body,” showing him to those who are unwilling or unable to see him in providence, or in creation! Through the Word of God lived out in the Body of Christ they can come to the Father, and themselves be made again “in the likeness of God.”