“On this day , the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” On that first Easter day, Christ Jesus was raised from the dead to open our eyes to see the truth of resurrection, that new life comes out of every death, something nature had been showing those who had eyes to see since the very beginning. “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” Alleluia!

So often through life, as we go through the grief of loss, failure, illness, all the things that feel like death to us, we fail to realize that new life will come, that this death will be swallowed up in victory (see 1 Cor.15:54), that we have the sure and certain hope of resurrection. That was the situation of the disciples found themselves in on Holy Saturday. Yet the psalmist had long before proclaimed the power of resurrection: “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (30:5b)

Seldom, however, does new life appear overnight. There is a long winter of dormancy before spring bursts forth one fresh green leaf at a time – and yet we know it comes year after year. The Easter season comes in the same way to remind us that resurrection follows the Good Fridays in our lives, that we can trust the Beloved to see us through whatever comes our way as we wait expectantly for the new life promised by Jesus’ resurrection to come forth in our lives.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!