Why are you looking in the place of the dead for someone who is alive? Jesus isn’t here! He has been raised from death.—Luke 24:5,6
Dear Friends,
I greet you this Easter with deep empathy regarding the challenges you face during this pandemic. On so many levels, everything seems to have changed this Easter. Our cherished norms are not available to us. This is a terrible, undeniable fact. Sickness and death surround us on a day meant to celebrate new life. But these facts exist underneath a fact of the eschatological sort: Jesus has gone beyond the realm of the dead—he is alive!
My heart and imagination are always stirred by the living Jesus in the scene in Revelation 5. In John’s vision the whole world and God’s plan for it are up for grabs, no one seems to have the power and character to carry God’s will to completion, to its telos. John put it this way:
Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals? No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or see inside it.
That terrible thought produces grievous lament:
I cried hard because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or see inside it.
But then came remembrance and insight:
Then one of the elders said to me, Stop crying and look! The one who is called both the ‘Lion from the Tribe of Judah’ and ‘King David’s Great Descendant’ has won the victory. He will open the book and its seven seals.
When it looked like everything was lost (we might think in terms of health, economy and distanced relationships):
I looked and saw a Lamb standing in the center of the throne that was surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb looked as if it had once been killed.
He had been killed! But it was the quality of the person who died, his loving and obedient intention in dying, and his resurrection, which was proof of Christus Victor, that made him worthy to take the scrolls of Divine intention and bring them to pass.
Yes: pandemic and economic disaster are upon us. But we thrive in this mess, and lead others to do the same, when we bring it into the larger picture of the Risen Jesus.This moment in human history has enormous pain, huge confusion and thus massive anxiety about the future. I get it. I am not immune from the thoughts. I get re-grounded when I think that the resurrection of Jesus means, whatever may come on any day between now and then, this day is coming for sure!
Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.—Revelation 21:3,4
We are in turmoil today—no doubt. But we are enabled to stand firm because while everything seems changed this Easter, it is Easter that changes everything. We are now a people who practice resurrection: we walk with the living Jesus; we accept and interact with the Spirit; we immerse ourselves in the reality that the Father is in control. These two thoughts assist me in practicing resurrection:
Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.—Pope John Paul II
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again because God raised Christ Jesus from the dead.—1 Peter 1:3
Over these last five weeks I have grown in my appreciation for each of you. I have noticed your vision to care for others, your hard work and your dedication. I respect you very much. Local churches and their leaders are the front lines of kingdom ministry.
Go to this work now animated by this blessed thought:
I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last.—Job 19:5
I would love to receive photos or videos of how your church/family is celebrating Easter in these unusual times.
Blessed Eastertide,
Bishop Todd Hunter