Easter Sunday
The Resurrection of the Lord
Acts 10:34a, 37-43
Colossians 3:1-4
John 20:1-9

If Christmas is for children, Easter is surely for adults. Its significance almost ensures that this most important festival of Christianity should be incomprehensible to children.

Supermarkets and department stores have been filled with Easter bunnies and chocolate eggs for weeks. We can be certain that children all over the world will spoil their Easter dinner with untold numbers of jelly beans, and even those who do not like hard boiled eggs will be taken in by their color and decorations. Easter will mean little more to a child because most children have no sense of life cut short.

Few parents will tell the story of Jesus who broke out of the tomb in a way that reminds us of a chicken coming from an egg. All too soon the cellophane grass will be vacuumed from the carpet, candy hastily hidden lest children become ill and Easter eggs will be transformed into egg salad for school lunches.

Meanwhile, unless we are attentive, the message of death being overcome with new and glorious life might too easily be saved with the palms from last week’s celebration of the Passion. Only the unrelenting journey of the seasons toward spring will continue to proclaim new life unless the Christian community itself remembers that from this day on each Sunday will be for us, as it was for the early Christians, a renewal of Easter.

Soon after the historical fact, Peter had to remind the community of the story of Jesus who had died and risen for them. This feast day is our reminder. Again and again, Peter reminded the early Christians that Jesus was still among them. These are the thoughts that Paul counsels us to remember after Easter Sunday is over.

Christ’s resurrection should lift our thoughts to loftier and happier things than the impending tax return deadline. Easter, our reason for enthusiasm and hope, is a reminder of what Jesus has done and continues to do for his people. As we relive Christ’s paschal mystery, we are reminded of a future greater than we would otherwise have dared to believe. Jesus’ resurrection is a pledge of continual and renewed life. We who enjoy life today are building the lives our futures will rest on. Life is to be loved and enjoyed. This is a message for all. Our hope must permeate the community so that all will celebrate the eternal Easter as a community formed in the image of the Trinity. This is the message of Easter—life for all formed in community by the redeeming acts of Jesus. We have a story to tell.