Dear friends,
How will you practice resurrection this Easter? Even in the midst of a pandemic, we as Christians are Easter people, resurrection people—in every season of our lives. One of my favorite lines from our beautiful funeral liturgy is: To your faithful people, O Lord, life is changed, not ended. When we hear those words in the burial service, I’m guessing we are thinking about the life to come. But what about thislife? In what ways does Jesus’ resurrection change and shape our lives here and now?
Our Wednesday night Lenten study has focused on resurrection shaped life—life lived in a way that witnesses to our central Christian belief: that Jesus Christ is risen. God’s own beloved Son, who gave his very life out of love for us, is alive. Jesus conquered death and came back to us, rising on that first Easter morning—and bringing us the gift of eternal life. As we were reminded in the Lenten study, eternal life is not only about what happens when our earthly life is over. Through Jesus’ presence in our lives and in our world, eternal life has already begun here and now.
This Easter season, how will we show that we are resurrection people, that we are embracing the eternal life we have so graciously been given?
Resurrection life, Easter life, is shaped by grace and love, hope and mercy. We can practice those virtues in even the most mundane moments of our lives: speaking kindly to a surly cashier; offering encouragement rather than an annoyed glance at a harried parent dealing with a toddler’s tantrum; following tiresome Covid precautions in order to protect other, more fragile members of our society; deciding to let go of resentment even when the offender has not apologized. These—and so many others—are resurrection practices, marks of being Easter people. And they are practices that our suffering world desperately needs, right now.
On Easter morning, Alleluias will flow from our lips, and our altar will be surrounded by a sea of beautiful lilies. We will sing joyous Easter hymns, share our holy meal, flower the cross. We will affirm our belief in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And then, fortified by our worship, with music still filling our souls and Jesus alive in our hearts, we will re-engage with the task before us: living resurrection shaped lives, leaving behind trails of grace, love, hope and mercy.
As we continue to learn and practice how to live resurrection shaped lives, I am so grateful to be walking this path with each of you. Happy Easter!
Blessings and love.
Faithfully,Anne
