Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia! This simple, but yet profound proclamation is both personal and communal, and claims our place in creation and God’s acts of new creation! It is a proclamation of victory, and at the same time a statement of faith.
As we proclaim: “Christ is risen, He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” we affirm our participation in Christ’s resurrection. As participants we are a new creation; as a new creation we participate in God’s acts of new creation.
Easter is about victory and collaboration. It’s about restoration and reconciliation, new life and new beginnings. Bishop N.T. Wright in his book, co-written with Marcus Borg, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, reflects on the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus:
“The deepest meanings of the resurrection have to do with new creation. . . It was the first day of God’s new week, the moment of sunrise after the long night, the time of new meetings, new meals, of reconciliation and new commissioning. It was the beginning of the new creation. . . What is done to the glory of God in the present is genuinely building for God’s future. Acts of justice and mercy, the creation of beauty and the celebration of truth, deeds of love and the creation of communities of kindness and forgiveness – these all matter, and they matter forever.” (p.126)
The resurrection brings personal transformation, absolutely. However, it is not exclusively personal. To say “Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!” is to say God is making all things new, and I am God’s partner in God’s acts of new creation. Alleluia! I look forward to seeing you in church!
Through the Risen Christ,
Pastor Doug