Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
I love the story of the Resurrection for many reasons. After journeying through the Lenten season, spending the week steeped in Holy Week and darkness, the Resurrection is the waking up, the rejoicing and the celebrating that is so desperately needed. And the Resurrection is both an invitation and a call to action. We, like Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, are invited to come and see and go and tell. The Resurrection is one of those things that is just beyond all logical comprehension. It invites us to “come and see”… to believe in things that just seem too good to be true; to believe deeply that with God, all things are possible. It invites us to reconsider the words of Jesus “I am with you always”. The Resurrection calls us out of a place of fear and anxiety, and into a new life of love. What is it that we need to come and see? The Resurrection experience also calls us to action. Like the two Mary’s at the empty tomb, we are called to share the Good News. When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary discover the empty tomb and later encounter the Risen Christ, they are urged to share the experience with the disciples and others. It is the first commandment of the Resurrection. How are they models for us? What is it that we need to go and tell? And finally, the Resurrection calls us to rejoice. No longer do we need to be afraid. No longer do we need to be in darkness…we can rejoice in the breaking open of the Kingdom of God. When the two Mary’s encounter Christ on the way to tell the disciples, the word that he speaks is “Chairete”…a form of greeting that literally means “Rejoice”. This word “rejoice” is repeated three times in the exsultet (the chant from the beginning of the service): Rejoice now, heavenly hosts and choirs of angels… Rejoice and sing now, all the round earth… Rejoice and be glad now, Mother Church… All of heaven and earth, and the people of God are invited to rejoice. Resurrection living is now…it is not something of the past, but invites us to sing, be glad and go and tell the Good News…so let us rejoice together! As we enter into Resurrection living, what is it that we need to be invited to see and who are we going to tell? I hope you will rejoice in this season of Easter!
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI don't know what the future of the church is, but I know that we will continue to be a place of sanctuary and hope, working towards healing in the world. Archives
October 2017
Categories |