Christ is risen!

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! For the next few weeks, we will be repeating those words often during our worship services. Because of the repetition, one may become tempted to treat it as an Easter ritual rather than a wondrous declaration of truth, but my prayer is that none of us ever loses the significance of those words.

If Christ had not been raised from the dead, there would be no reason for us to gather for worship other than hearing stories about a dead teacher and following Him in the sense that we try to keep His memory alive. But as the Holy Spirit works through the Word and the sacraments, He brings us to saving faith which knows the reality of the proclamation. He is alive! He is the Good Shepherd who continues to lead us through this life to the mansion He has prepared for us in the glory of the Father’s house.

What that means for you and me is that while for the next several weeks we will be in the season of Easter according to the Church Year calendar, Easter is not just a season but a daily reality over which we constantly sing alleluia (the word meaning “praise the Lord”), even during challenging times. Thus, when conducting a Christian burial those gathered with me or whoever the pastor happens to be do something much more significant than scatter ashes or lower a body into a “final resting place.” No! Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. And the last thing we say? “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”