He is risen, Yes!

When I think of Easter, I always think of Reverend Don Oliver Weerakkody, who was a priest at St. Louis Catholic Church in Austin when I was a parishioner there. He was my confessor.

On Easter Sunday, despite being arthritic and having difficulty stepping up to the altar, he would turn to the congregation at the beginning of mass, and exclaim with a little jump  “He is risen! Yes!” His arms would be outstretched, he would fist pump, and the joy on his face was heartwarming and contagious.

For me, that little gesture from an elderly man perfectly captures the joy of Easter. I think, “He is risen, Yes!”

“He is risen,” is the celebratory statement of Easter, and one that even non-Christians can understand-- even if they don’t believe it. It’s also quite a statement. Jesus of Nazareth performs miracles. He heals the sick, walks on water and stills a storm, raises people from the dead, and teaches a new understanding of God’s relationship with man. He is then betrayed, scorned by a mob, and dies an agonizing death under the orders of Pontius Pilate. Then the real kicker, after three days in the tomb, he rises from the dead— the resurrection.

If you don’t believe in the resurrection, you can read and admire his teachings, but you are perfectly free to disregard any parts of the New Testament you disagree with, that make you uncomfortable, or that you simply find inconvenient.

But if you believe that Jesus rose from the dead, then everything changes. A person that demonstrates his power over death demands a response. He has proven his divine authority and you cannot set aside his teachings. In short, the story of Easter makes a claim on you-- forgiveness, praying for your enemies, renouncing sin, loving your neighbor. They are no longer fuzzy options.  And even the most devout Christian cannot read the Gospel without wondering whether they measure up as a follower of Christ.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus was moved to pity for the downtrodden as he moved among them as one of them.  He preached against mistreatment of the poor and he preached God’s love for them. When we listen to him, we listen not just to a God who holds compassion for his creation, but a human being who knows and experiences their condition. 

So what message does Easter bring to a Christian? That Jesus Christ is Lord and that nothing is impossible for God. That statement has the power to make us as uncomfortable today as it did 2,000 years ago. But for the Easter celebrant, it is also the joy in the triumph of hope and love over despair. That Christ has the power of life over death. That light prevails against darkness. In short, the stuff of joy.