A dear friend of mine told today of the most memorable Easter sermon he ever heard. It consisted of five words: "He is Risen. Alleluia. Amen." Then the preacher sat down.
Notice I did not say it was the best, merely the most memorable.
Why was it memorable? It got to the core of the day's message - He is Risen.
As much as I am anxious to get to our celebration of Easter Sunday, as much as I am ready to proclaim the message, "He is Risen," we have a journey to continue before we get there. A journey that we began on the first Sunday of Advent, when we first started to anticipate the coming of the Messiah. A journey that we continued as we welcomed the Christ child into the world. A journey that led us through the Christmas season and into they joy of Epiphany, when the world acknowledged through the wise men the reality of Christ's authority. A journey that went through celebrating the transfiguration of Christ, where God identified Christ as his Son, the beloved, with whom he was well pleased. A journey that brought us through the penitence of Ash Wednesday and the prayerful introspection and reflection of the Lenten season of sacrifice and self-denial. A journey that we continued as we sang Hosanna! in observance of the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday.
This is journey that will lead us into the Upper Room, where Christ tells us to break the bread and drink the cup in remembrance of him, exhibiting the essential Christian nature of humility and service through his loving hospitality of the disciples that evening.
This is a journey that will bring us to Christ's final hours, where through the excruciating and tortuous actions of his arrest, conviction, and execution the power of evil was defeated once and for all.
This is a journey that will take us to the empty tomb, where we proclaim the simple message: "He is Risen. Alleluia. Amen."
And prepare for the next part of the journey.
Grace and Peace,
Lamar
P.S. While part of the journey has already been completed, it's not too late to bring others along, or yourself if you haven't been riding with us up to this point. Remember, Easter Sunday makes no sense without Holy Thursday and Good Friday to provide context.
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