Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,   

 

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!! God’s blessings to you and your families as we continue to
celebrate the resurrection of our Lord! I say, “celebrate” because our Lord’s resurrection is something to celebrate! Our
redemption is complete. God has rescued us out of slavery to sin and death. He has forever changed how we die and how
we live. Since our Easter Hymns are a big way we celebrate, I thought I would pull from them to guide us in seeing what
we celebrate with the resurrection of our Lord.

 

First, we celebrate that our redemption is complete. From Jesus Christ is Risen Today, verse 1, “Jesus Christ is
ris’n today, Alleluia! Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia! Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia! Suffer to redeem our
loss. Alleluia!” What did we lose that gets redeemed? We lost life with God in paradise. Think of Adam and the Garden
of Eden and how after the fall they were cast out of the garden and would one day die. But, as the great Lutheran
theologian and first president of our Lutheran Church Missouri Synod wrote in He’s Risen, He’s Risen, verse 4, “O, where
is your sting, death? We fear you no more; Christ rose, and now open is fair Eden’s door. For all our transgressions His
blood does atone; Redeemed and forgiven, we now are His own.” I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, where Paul
says that death came through a man and now also through a man comes the resurrection from the dead.

 

Remembering God’s mighty act of deliverance from the Old Testament when He brought the Israelites out of
Egypt, we celebrate God’s mighty act of deliverance through Christ our Passover Lamb by which we are rescued from
slavery to sin and death. As Saint John of Damascus wrote in the 8 th century hymn, The Day of Resurrection, verse 1,
“The day of resurrection! Earth, tell it out abroad, the Passover of gladness, the Passover of God. From death to life
eternal, from sin’s dominion free, our Christ has brought us over with hymns of victory.” Also, from At the Lamb’s High
Feast We Sing, verse 3, “Where the paschal blood is poured, Death’s dread angel sheathes the sword; Israel’s hosts
triumphant go through the wave that drowns the foe. Alleluia.” Finally, from Christ the Lord is Risen Today; Alleluia,
verse 2, “For the sheep the Lamb has bled, Alleluia! Sinless in the sinner’s stead, Alleluia!” I really like this line because
it calls to mind Jesus as both shepherd (like Moses who led the people out of slavery) and the Lamb by whose blood we
are saved from death and condemnation.

 

Our Lord’s resurrection changes forever how we die. No longer is it death that wins the struggle bringing an end
to life, but Easter is a celebration of life bringing an end to death. Consequently, death is viewed by the hymn writers as a
portal/door/gate to life. For example, Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain, verse 5, “Alleluia! Now we cry to our King
immortal, Who, triumphant, burst the bars of the tomb’s dark portal.” Or, from Jesus Lives! The Victory’s Won, verse 5,
“Jesus lives! And now is death but the gate of life immortal; This shall calm my trembling breath when I pass its gloomy
portal. Faith shall cry, as fails each sense; Jesus is my confidence!” Christ’s victory over death changes how we face
death. Fear and trembling give way instead to confidence. Jesus and His resurrection are our confidence!

 

Finally, we celebrate because Christ’s resurrection changes how we live. We live each day with hope, peace, and
joy! Once again looking at Jesus Lives! The Victory’s Won, verse 4 this time, “Jesus Lives! I know full well nothing me
from Him shall sever. Neither death nor pow’rs or hell part me now from Christ forever. God will be my sure defense;
This shall be my confidence.” This verse is based on Romans 8:38-39 that nothing can separate me from the love of God
in Christ Jesus my Lord. Lastly, one of the most beloved Easter Hymns, I Know that My Redeemer Lives, verse 5, “He
lives to silence all my fears; He lives to wipe away my tears; He lives to calm my troubled heart; He lives all blessings to
impart.” I picture Jesus in the boat with his disciples in the storm. They are afraid, but Jesus silences their fears and
calms the storm with His Word, “Quiet! Be still.” Throughout all the storms of our lives, it is Christ and His resurrection
that is our “Quiet! Be still.” We have peace and hope and eternal joy, for this is certain: We are God’s redeemed
children who have been rescued from sin and death to eternal life in paradise with Jesus. This means everything to us in
death and in life. The Lord bless and keep you in His grace and peace for Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!!
Let’s celebrate!