He is Risen!

By Bishop Brian Maas

 He is Risen!

This has been the cry and the creed of the church since the morning of the Resurrection. It’s not, “he’s gone,” or “he’s missing” or “something has happened to him.” Those are all valid responses to the empty tomb. Valid, accurate—but incomplete. They don’t tell the whole story. He is not just absent from the tomb—he is risen!
The experience of Easter isn’t just the surprise of an empty tomb. It’s an encounter with an unrecognizable Jesus, a risen Christ. Mary Magdalene, Cleopas and companion on the road to Emmaus, the disciples behind closed doors; none of these people recognized Jesus. The resurrection is wholly transformative. The resurrected body is changed, unfamiliar, new.
Until.
Until relationship is re-established.


Jesus calls Mary by name. He shares table fellowship at Emmaus (we preachers are hesitant to admit that it’s the meal and not the lengthy Bible study that finally brings enlightenment—but resurrection revelation is relational, not rational). He shows the disciples his wounds (not his scars, mind you—his wounds; not the healed reminder but the resurrected reality of his injured identity).
This is the Good News of Easter, the foundation of our hope, the source of real joy. Resurrection—which God causes abundantly every day—changes things, changes people, changes lives. This is the promise and the truth of our baptism into Christ.
We know that Good Fridays are plentiful—loss, sorrow, disappointment, suffering, death. And we know the experience of sealed tombs—hopes dashed, relationships terminated, lives ended. Yet God brings life on the other side of those experiences.
Sometimes our initial response to new life is a complete lack of recognition. All of us have experienced this, and too many of our neighbors will discover it in the weeks and years to come. Many of the buildings and homes and communities that have been damaged or destroyed will be rebuilt. What’s new will be different.
We may well say of that which was before—house, business, livelihood—“it’s gone,” “it’s missing,” “something has happened to it.” But once we fully engage the new, when we recognize that the wounds have not been scarred over or ignored or forgotten, when we experience the new in the company of those who love us, we can acknowledge, “this is risen.” We can carry on fully aware of the loss and the pain, while celebrating the new, the possible and the transformed. We can say, “this is risen!” “That which we know, and we felt we lost, is still here but transformed, new, risen.”
Wounds and all, lost but found, dead but alive, that which we have known and loved continues; renewed, transformed, resurrected. This is the truth. This is the Good News. This is Easter. And by the grace of God, it’s ours—every day.
He is Risen!

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