He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
That ancient acclamation rings through the ages.
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
Jesus, the crucified one, who died and was buried, is alive.
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
Jesus, the son of Mary, the eternally begotten Son of the Father, the One who sends the Spirit to call us to repentance and baptize us into new life, is risen.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen!
And so, we see Him as He truly is: the King of Glory.
Jesus, who claimed to be the embodiment of the God revealed at Sinai, has proven to be just what He claimed. Our doubts have been assuaged, our faith strengthened. We now know that our Lenten journey has not been in vain. Sin has been dealt with on the cross.
Our confession has been heard; forgiveness has been given. Our sins are absolved, no more to be held against us.
The words of the Apostle John ring truer now more than ever: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Like the opening phrases of Genesis, when God speaks and light comes into being, so light breaks forth once again in the rising of Jesus from the dead. New creation has begun. The old creation is being restored, renewed, redeemed.
For a brief moment we are blinded by this light. We want to shade our eyes, yet at the same time we want to see this dawn in all its brilliance. We have waited for it, hungered for it, ached for it. We want to soak in all its radiant glory.
Yet as our eyes begin to adjust to the light, we make a realization: Easter may have been the destination for our Lenten journey, but once here we find that it is not the final destination. It is more of a waypoint.
We see this almost immediately at the tomb. Mary Magdalene is not allowed to revel in the moment; she is sent to tell the disciples that Jesus is risen (John 20:17).
Jesus appears to His disciples and commissions them to go out in His name to continue the work He was sent to do by the Father (John 20:21).
Jesus appears to Peter, restores him, and commissions him to “feed my sheep” (John 21:15–17).
Easter, more than a destination, is a new beginning. It calls us to walk the way of the cross, following Jesus and becoming His heralds: Heralds of the new covenant, heralds of the new creation, heralds of the life to come.
Jesus taught that this way would not be easy, that sin would still be a real issue that needs to be dealt with, but that through the power of the Holy Spirit our lives can be changed from glory to glory as we become more like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
This is why the work of Lent is so important, and why it should be a daily practice and not just a seasonal one. However, this Lenten journey is now shaped and contoured by the cross and the empty tomb.
We do not do this work alone. In fact, we cannot do this work alone. We do it through the power of the Spirit and in community with our fellow travelers. Like Jesus in the desert, we will be continually tempted to take the easy path that leads to destruction. Easter shows us that the hard path that leads to flourishing is worth the work.
We are even given a glimpse in the Revelation of Jesus Christ of what is to come if we, through the power of the Spirit, hold fast to our confession:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:1-5
And so we cry with the saints of all ages:
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
Joshua C. Strickler 