Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

April 12, 2020

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This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad. Alleluia!
Psalm 118

They woke up one morning beside each other as they had for fifteen years. The scent of last night’s acrid argument lingered in the corners of the room. After a few moments, he turned to her and said, “We need to learn how to love each other again. Can we try?”  

Over the course of long-term relationships, the parties change. Phil and Judy wanted to remain committed to their marriage, but they found themselves strangled by years of unpruned misunderstandings. All heart commitments meet similar challenges. All dreams fray a little on their way to fulfillment. 

We have followed Jesus through Holy Week on such a road. Passover Sunday filled his spirit with the fresh scent of palms and possibilities. But as the week waned, the Father led Jesus in a daunting direction. He asked his Son to pay the ultimate price for love. 

Our lives too will teach us this: every ride on a palm-strewn road meets a fork toward Gethsemane. There is no true love without sacrifice. But the road does not end at the foot of the cross. Loving sacrifice lifts us to see this morning’s Easter sunrise. The life that had lain hidden in darkness now rises triumphant in our hearts. Today, we are offered the grace to live this mystery on our own journeys. Amazingly, Easter invites us to fall in love again with God and to begin our lives anew.

In this time global shadows, may the Easter Truth strengthen us to deepen in faith, hope and love. Yes, darkness can feel like a place of undefined danger, but it can also be the cocoon where the bulb gathers power to break forth in unimagined Life.

Music:  Alleluia! Alleluia! (Lyrics below)

Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the holy anthem rise,
and the choirs of heaven chant it
in the temple of the skies.
Let the mountains skip with gladness
and the joyful valleys ring,
with hosannas in the highest
to our Savior and our King.

Alleluia, alleluia!
Like the sun from out the wave,
he has risen up in triumph
from the darkness of the grave,
he, the splendor of the nations,
he, the lamp of endless day;
he, the very Lord of glory,
who is risen up today.

Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed Jesus make us rise,
from the life of this corruption
to the life that never dies.
May we share with thee thy glory
when the days of time are past,
and the dead shall be awakened
by the trumpet’s mighty blast.