"He has been raised
from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see
him." This is my message for you.THE LORD IS RISEN! CHRIST IS
RISEN, INDEED! ALLELUIA!
With these powerful words we begin our Eastertide. They are the
embodiment of our most profound hopes, and our most challenging fears. We hope, indeed,
for the "promise of a new day." A new day, as we wake in the morning and
as we lie down at night. A new day, as we face the difficulties and uncertainties of our
troubled lives and troubled world. And ultimately, a new day as we come to the end of our
lives.
In Jesus Christ, God gives us the great promise of that new day, sealed
with the resurrection!
But much of the world, and often times we ourselves, live in fear
— the fear of Christ’s resurrection. Like those guards in our text, "for
fear of him" we shake and become as if we were dead. That’s because the Promise
of a New Day involves us! We are heirs to the promise, to be
sure. But we are participants in the promise as well. The prayer for the Second
Sunday of Easter emphatically states, "Almighty God, with joy we celebrate the
festival of our Lord's resurrection. Graciously help us to show the power of the
resurrection in all that we say and do." We who believe the powerful Easter
message become a part of the resurrection experience!
Whatever we say about Jesus – that he taught love, insisted on
justice, fed the hungry, cured the sick, confronted evil, and forgave his enemies –
Easter reminds us that if we cannot first of all say he rose from the dead, none of the
rest will carry us to the end. And when we exclaim that he rose, we become a vital part of
the story itself, living the resurrection in all that we say and do.
The good and great news for this day is that God's word has been kept;
God's promise for a new day is trustworthy, and we are heirs to this promise. Now, we are
called to live lives which will reflect our hope in the promise of a new day. The first
word of faith is the first word for Eastertide: "Christ is risen, alleluia!"
With that good news we trust and discover that every day thereafter holds hope and is
filled with promise. For, Christ is risen! He is indeed, Alleluia!
God of the Resurrection, graciously grant us the joy of
Christ’s rising, so that we may be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live as your
resurrected people each day of our lives. Amen!
