Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Today, we celebrate the ways in which death does not have the last word.
Today, we celebrate how nothing but nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Today, we celebrate how there is nothing so lost or so mangled as to be unredeemable.
Today, we celebrate that all the tombs of life are gateways to resurrection.
Today, we celebrate that there is life after death.
Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
As we begin this new season – Easter or the Great Fifty Days – I invite you to post this affirmation somewhere visible as a daily reminder of all that we have to celebrate!
We believe in an Easter God,
who transforms darkness into light,
hatred into tolerance,
despair into hope.
We believe God
is always working for good,
changing every Good Friday nightmare
into an Easter dream of new possibility.
We believe in the risen Christ,
who befriends us on our roads of searching and worry;
who touches us through song and silence, word and gesture;
who calls us by name to enter the dance of life.
We believe in the Spirit,
the hidden presence behind every resurrection,
who beckons us to leave tomblike safety
and trust the gracious invitation to live joyfully.
We believe the Spirit
is always renewing the church
and making us a people who practice kindness,
encourage beauty and work for justice and freedom.
We believe we are an Easter people,
a sign that with God all things are possible.
May this affirmation mark a new beginning for us as we embark on the practice of being and living as Easter people once again. And may it guide the ways we consider building community, forming covenants, making commitments, and walking alongside one another as spiritual companions on the Way.