It's still Easter!

I'm writing on Easter Sunday evening--the glorious music, beauty of the Chapel and Sanctuary, the Easter proclamation still fresh in my mind and heart. As John McMullen began his sermon at the 11:00 service, he told the more-than-capacity crowd,already thrilled by the music, "This is the way it is every Sunday."

We all laughed, because we know that a lot of those folks will not be back again for a while--maybe not until next Easter. And that's all right--we wish they come more often, but we are glad to welcome them when they appear.

But Easter goes on--the liturgical season of Easter continues for six more Sundays, as we celebrate resurrection. But we know that Easter is always with us, if we're paying attention, if we're welcoming new life.

On that first Easter morning, Mary Magdalene and the disciples told the others, "We have seen the Lord!" Now, more than twenty centuries later, we, too, have seen the risen Christ. How do we know this? Consider these questions:

Have you experienced forgiveness? Have you been able to forgive someone who hurt you?

Have you failed at something you wanted to do or be, and been able to forgive yourself?

Have you found strength and hope at a time when you were sure you had lost both?

Have you found purpose and challenge and joy in an ordinary day, an ordinary task?

Have you found bread and wine to share with others when you thought you had nothing to offer?

Do you believe that good will ultimately triumph over evil?

If you can answer yes to at least one of those questions, then the Christ of the empty grave has been with you, transforming your life. If you can answer even, I want to forgive myself and others, I want to love life, I want to share and reach out in service to the world, then the risen Christ is with us. You have seen the Lord, whether you recognized him or not.

Christ is risne! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.