The stone is rolled away! Death is defeated! Life is restored!
Blow the trumpets! Make a great shout: Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In Jesus of Nazareth, God has acted for you, for me, for every person in all ages and for all time! The reality and destiny of every human being has been eternally changed in the great cosmic event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Night has given way to the eternal day. Death has been conquered. The grave has been emptied. Life reigns!
It is good to sit with this surprising and strange announcement made by angels to several first century Jewish individuals in Jerusalem. Let it be heard. Let it sink in. It has to do with you. It is for you. Your mortality has been dealt a defeating blow. You have been given immortality. You will live forevermore.
Yes, death has a sting. Yes, it is a thief in the night robbing us of those we hold dear and yes it is crushing and heartbreaking. But, God in Christ entered into the very depths of this darkness and flooded it with light. God broke the chains of death and freed humanity from its grip. Take heart! Sorrow lasts for a night but joy cometh in the morning! That morning has arrived and for all time!
Easter is God’s saving work in Jesus Christ for all people everywhere.
It is for you. Take this gift. Embrace it. Let it raise you up on eagles’ wings and soar you to the heavens. See this vista. See the end of all sorrow and the wiping away of every tear. God has acted this day and God has acted because God loves you! Take this love that is eternal. Live now in the light of this Easter Day; embrace this redeeming and restoring and inclusive love of God in Jesus Christ and make the world radiant with its glory and power.
