One of our Easter hymns begins with these words: “Welcome
happy morning!” The second and third
verses—which can be skipped according to the asterisks at the beginning of the
stanzas—talk about the coming of earth being clothed in “spring” with “blooms
in every meadow” and “leaves on every bough.”
With Easter’s being so early this year, these signs of spring and symbols
of Christ’s resurrection are barely present.
Our understanding of Easter is highly influenced by our
climate: reawakening of the earth after winter and Christ’s resurrection seem
to work together well. Of course, it’s
fall in the Southern Hemisphere, so they would eliminate these verses. And some places have little in the way of seasons,
just dry or rainy seasons.
Speaking of water, let us remember that baptism takes its
pattern from Jesus’ death and resurrection.
In the prayer called “Thanksgiving over the Water” I say these words,
“We thank you Father for the water of Baptism.
In it we are buried with Christ in his death by it we share in his
resurrection. Through it we a reborn by the Holy Spirit.”
Resurrection came unexpectedly for the followers of
Jesus, even those in the inner circle.
Mary Magdalene saw the stone covering the entrance to Jesus’ tomb and
concluded that Jesus’ body had been removed by someone. The reaction of Peter and the beloved
disciple shows their confusion. John
reported that upon seeing the tomb was empty with the burial cloths still there
these two disciples “believed,” but then they went home. John comments on this by saying, “for as yet
they did not understand the scriptures that he must rise from the dead.”
Mary Magdalene, on the other hand, would not allow the
mystery of the empty tomb remain unsolved.
Her persistence was blessed by being the first, in John's account, to see
the Risen Christ, even though she mistook him at first for the gardener. But
upon hearing him speak her name, she knew he was her teacher. He made her the first apostle by sending her
to “the brothers” to tell them the good news of Christ’s resurrection.
The movement from sadness and despair to recognizing that
God had indeed defeated death happened unexpectedly and quickly for Mary. Yet, despite how quickly she understood what
had transpired, much more slowly she had to figure out how to live in this new
reality.
For baptism comes rather quickly (and unexpectedly as
well, if an infant is baptized). With the water and the oil of chrism the baptized
person becomes marked “as Christ's own forever.” But as with all disciples throughout these over
2,000 years, the newly baptized will come to understand and respond to their new
reality slowly day by day for the rest of their lives. If he or she is an infant, that child will
depend on their parents, godparents, family, and the church community of which
they are apart.
Yes, the joy of a new life in Christ will be tempered by
the difficulty of living as Jesus taught us to live. So to the joy of this Easter Day. While this Easter Day will hold great for us
in these moments of worship and perhaps great for many of us will find joy in
the rest of the day’s activities, Easter Day should be viewed the beginning of
another year’s journey with all the normal difficulties and some significant
difficulties that make up our lives. Yet
our days, lived in the knowledge of God’s love for us and God’s grace with the
power to redeem our mistakes and our misfortunes, can be filled with the joy of
thanksgiving for God’s presence with us, God’s blessing us, and God’s never-failing
care for us. Welcome happy morning! Alleluia,
the Lord is risen!
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