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

How can we do anything else? Christ Jesus has been raised from the dead. The tomb is empty. We need not fear death; It is just one stop on the way home to God. The “pioneer and perfecter of our faith” has gone before us to show us the way, to make the rough places smooth, to encourage us on the way with the sure and certain hope of the resurrection, to welcome us home with the light of God's love.

Let us rejoice and be glad!

When we hear Christ Jesus call us by name, as he did Mary Magdalene outside the empty tomb that first Easter morning, we somehow recognize the new life that is opening before us, fresh and clean, bright and pure. What has gone before is washed away; the darkness of sin and suffering no longer holds us in its thrall. We are freed from all that we have allowed to separate us from the Holy One, and we are ready to dance and sing with all the saints who have gone before.

Let us rejoice and be glad!

The alleluias are resounding in all the Easter hymns; the timpani and trumpet have joined the organ’s refrains; the fragrance of the lilies and the bright, colorful spring flowers echo the joy of the celebration. With joyful and grateful hearts, we can do no less, as we rejoice in the Easter acclamation:

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!