Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! This Easter proclamation may be a lifelong, familiar refrain for most of us—which becomes an automatic response during the Easter season. I wonder what it sounds like to those who have not heard this news or to those for whom this does not seem like news at all. A friend and former teacher always asked, “Why is the Easter proclamation that Christ is risen a good thing and what makes it news?” This good news that life—and not death—will have the last word is an invitation to continue to ponder anew the ways that God is at work in the world, our communities and our lives.
We invite you to join other leaders from across the church to rethink ways to share this good news in Sunday worship. This can be done in multiple ways, including at our summer event, Rethinking Sunday Morning; in the proclamation of the word of God through ongoing support of our online resource, Working Preacher; and by joining preachers from across the country at the upcoming Festival of Homiletics in Atlanta.
Because Christ is risen we are free to take seriously the difficulties we encounter and do not have to pretend that everything is OK. One of the difficulties in living the good news of the Easter proclamation is dealing with the many forms of suffering we encounter personally—turmoil in our families and extended families, injustice in our communities and global crises of violence and environmental degradation. Come join us either in person or online for this year’s Fretheim Lecture in Biblical Theology, where distinguished Luther alum and Princeton professor Dennis Olson will think with us on the topic, “My God, Why?: Varieties of Biblical Responses to Human Suffering.”
May the Easter proclamation, “Christ is risen!” spark anew in you the promises of God and open ways to share that good news with others.