Risen

As I’m sitting in church on Easter Sunday, listening to the text of Matthew 28 being read, the sun breaks through the clouds and appears in a brilliant patch of blue sky.

Have you ever had one of those moments when all the messiness of life suddenly crystallizes into a single thought or realization?

Watching that patch of blue sky beyond the window, it occurred to me that I can view that blue with such joy only because He has risen. If Christ had not been resurrected, we would have no hope for tomorrow and no joy in today. If He had not conquered death, we would have no source of strength for the journey.

So on Easter Sunday we celebrate the fact that Christ has risen and He is Lord, alive today.

Sadly, the sermon for me flew rather literally out the window as I focused on that bit of blue and the joy that I sensed welling up inside of me. There is a song (there’s always a song) that captures this feeling:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
life is worth the living just because He lives.

Birds chirping, a beating heart, snow on tree branches, the hug of a friend, the blue, blue sky, Christ dying on the cross – all are reminders of His love for us.

We can rejoice always because He has risen.