Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The defining moment in the Christian year is celebrated this month. Easter commemorates our Lord’s rising from the dead and opening to us the way to eternal life. Still, before we can legitimately rejoice over Jesus’ resurrection, we must prepare our hearts through the penitential season of Lent. So, if you’re reading this before Easter, please set it aside and come back to it later. Wait!!! Better keep reading now, lest you misplace this newsletter.

Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, God proved that it can be done. Prior to that time, God had raised a few people, but Jesus was there as the presumed instrument. The authorities thought they had solved their problems when they put Jesus to death on the cross: one of the things he could never do again was raise people from the dead. Surprise! God raised him!

In Jesus, God has promised us eternal life, to be raised just like his Son. The only problem is, we’ve never witnessed an example. All of our friends and loved ones, all the famous theologians and biblical scholars, all believers and religious leaders have only lived one visible life, never proving to us that we could, in fact, follow our Lord’s lead. We have only our faith to guide us.

So that leaves us with two choices: either we can expect to be the first to prove to the world that God’s promises are true, or we can wait until we have definitive proof. Of course, that will only occur after our earthly lives are completed, but at least we will be confident that we have told the absolute truth.

Neither of those options gives us the opportunity to witness to our faith. The first, waiting until we have been resurrected, is a practical improbability, as we have not yet seen a person who has been raised, and we’ve been waiting two thousand years. Yet the second option, experiencing whatever resurrection God has in mind for us, presumes that our earthly life is finished, and that will be too late for us to spread the word.

That’s why we rely on faith to guide us as we spread the word about God’s amazing love. We don’t have the answers, but we do have the promises. God has been faithful throughout all generations, even when the people of God were less consistent. We don’t have to experience the resurrection to know its power and to believe its certainty. The problem is deciding when or how to share that word with others.

Unfortunately too many of us wait until the very last minute, right up to the time when we’re able to prove our case definitively. Most of us wait too long. Jesus’ resurrection is about more than what happens after death: it’s the confirmation that God’s promises are true, that with God all things are possible, and that God’s love is everlasting.

This Easter let everyone know that God’s love reigns supreme for all of God’s children. Proclaim the good news that Jesus Christ is risen and brings with him new life. May God’s richest blessings surround you and work through you.