Jesus is Alive! Jesus is Alive!

Easter Greeting

“Jesus is alive! Jesus is alive!” Those were the words that greeted my boys each Easter morning when they were little fellows bounding down the stairs. They knew the true Easter story and I wanted to be sure they thought first of the resurrection rather than the candy and treats in the Easter basket. If I had to wake them up, rather than waiting for them to awaken, my wake up words were, “Guys, wake up! Jesus is alive!”

Preparation for the coming treats.

Colored eggs on Saturday means chocolate is coming.

Now in all honesty, they probably thought first of the chocolate confections as they hopped out of bed (why else would they be excitedly bounding down stairs?), but their first words echoed mine “Jesus is alive!” Then they looked eagerly for the Easter basket, over-filled with sugary delights and silly toys that were forgotten within a few days. But they haven’t forgotten the lessons of the Cross. Now in their twenties, they know Jesus’ great love and sacrifice for them. They know the world’s treats and trinkets are passing away, but Jesus’ love, Jesus’ resurrection life is an eternal gift which cannot be used up, worn out or time-corrupted.

Jesus is alive, and that fact has changed everything. His sacrifice, his resurrection defeat of death purchased eternal life with Christ for all who believe. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (I Corinthians 15:55) Death no longer has the same frightening, unknown outcome for those who grasp the powerful concept that in Jesus we pass from life to Life. Hallelujah! As the angel said to those looking for his body at the empty tomb, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he is risen!” (Luke 24:5-6) Indeed!

Family worship, then pictures, is a tradition begun years ago.

On Easter morning, my sweet grown sons will still find sugary Easter treats and other trinkets in the well-worn Easter baskets of their childhoods. We will go to church together to celebrate Resurrection Sunday and new life in Christ. Then, in the comfortable rhythm of extended family tradition, we will gather for lunch at my parents-in-law’s home. There my mother-in-law will have prepared our traditional Easter meal and table decorations will include trinkets and crafts from her three sons’ childhoods. We will probably take the usual family pictures. We are in a family season with no children of egg-hunting age, but the grand children are growing up. We are entering the season of weddings for the older ones. Easter egg hunts are probably just a few years away. Our patterns of celebration change with the ages of our family members. But the love, the familiar basics remain constant. We gather for love of family and love of Jesus.

Yes! His resurrection changed history!

In the same way, the world changes over time. Nations and politics, cultures and celebration styles wax and wane. Easter is a more popular cultural celebration in some decades than others, but Truth remains. For more than two millennia, Christians everywhere have gathered to proclaim the Good News:

Jesus is alive! Halleluiah!