Acts 10:34-43, Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24, I Corinthians 15:1-11, John 20:1-18

Our psalmist knows:

“This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

That could be our response today when we experience resurrection in our own lives. Think about all those times in the past when it seemed as if everything was over, when all seemed hopeless, when despair hung heavy like a soaking wet blanket. And then, when we had almost given up, a tiny glimmer of light appeared; it grew larger and brighter until, one day, we could finally smile again. We came to realize the power of God’s work in our lives, raising us to new life out of the darkness of our loss, grief, and pain. It is indeed marvelous in our eyes every time it happens.

Meister Eckhart tells us that the whole creation is a book about God enabling us to recognize the divine Presence all around us day by day. It is easy to see the reality of resurrection in nature when, each year, burgeoning Spring follows the bleakness of Winter. The bare trees, the brown grass all seem dead until one day we see the returning green, the veriditas of Hildegard of Bingen. The redbuds, the dogwoods, the flowering fruit trees begin to blossom, and the fresh green leaves start to sprout on the branches of the trees. Tiny grapes burst forth, nurtured along with the nearby new leaf on their vine. The grass greens up, and the weeds pop up with abandon. We’d have to be blind to miss this spectacular show testifying to the new life that comes forth from what appeared to be dead. “This is the Lord’s doing;” oh, that we would open our eyes and hearts and rejoice in it day by day.

In scripture, we have Mary Magdalene’s story from the empty tomb and the testimony of all those Paul mentions in our epistle who experienced the risen Christ to open our eyes to the reality of Christ’s resurrection. Each Eucharist, we affirm our trust in the resurrection as we join in proclaiming the “mystery of faith:” “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.” Christ continually comes to bring us to new life with the Beloved each time we experience death in our lives. “This is the Lord’s doing, . . . we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

ALLELUIA!