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Message for Easter 2024

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her. (Jn.20:18)

Happy and Holy Easter to you all, my brothers and sisters in Christ! ‘The LORD is RISEN indeed’, are words that will be on the lips of Christians across the world this Eastertide. There is a wonderful feeling resonating within us when we speak or hear these words in our liturgy. It gives us a clue as to how the first disciples must have felt when they realized the truth of our Lord’s resurrection. Joyful news, especially one that radically changes our understanding of life creates a ripple effect improving our emotions, our thoughts, and our actions.

What joyful news will we hear in our life of worship this Easter? Will we receive a message of God’s triumph over death (light over darkness) that will radically improve our emotions, thoughts, and actions? Though we have exited the pandemic restrictions, it appears the pandemic effects have a deep impression on our lives. Will we still linger among the tombs, or stand at the entrance of the graveyard contemplating all we have lost? Will we remain behind closed doors, huddled in small enclaves of fear and despair?

I pray that we will hear the message of Mary Magdalene to the disciples: “I have seen the Lord!” I pray this message will give us new hope and life. She was telling them that she saw incontrovertible evidence of the Lord’s resurrection. They in turn were fully convinced when they saw the Lord for themselves. At Easter we will proclaim the resurrection of Christ in our worship, in songs, sermons, and prayers. The disciples testified to what they had seen and heard as evidence of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We too must testify to the evidence of the resurrection in our own lives.

Every Easter we are invited to renew our baptismal covenant, that is a reaffirmation of our commitment to be witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This Easter I pray that we actively seek the signs of the Risen Christ among us. May we also listen for the good news of the Risen Christ living among us. I pray that we, like Mary Magdelene, tell others of what we have seen and heard of the Risen Lord.

Hallelujah, Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, hallelujah!

Robert+