THE LORD IS RISEN INDEED!

Dear Friends in Christ:

On the afternoon of Easter Day a few years ago, I called my friend Andrew, who had been Rector of the parish where I served when I was ordained and had later become my Bishop. That morning I had discovered that a friend in Buffalo was the grandson of the woman who had been one of our wardens in that parish when I was ordained and I wanted to share that news with Andrew.

When Andrew answered the phone, I said, in Greek, “Christ is risen, Andrew.” He responded immediately, also in Greek, “The Lord is risen indeed, Daniel.”

It was good to know that my old friend knew my voice, but as I have remembered that Easter Day, I have come to see a deeper meaning. We know each other as the beloved of God in the bright light of the Resurrection. It is the Paschal mystery – Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. – that shows us who we are and whose we are. In the Paschal mystery, Jesus has claimed us for the Father, and it is as children of the Father that Andrew and I know one another.

In our adoption as children of the Father, we are called to a new way of living. This is spelled out for us in the Baptismal Covenant in the Book of Common Prayer:

Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?

I will, with God’s help.

Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

I will, with God’s help.

Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?

I will, with God’s help.

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?

I will, with God’s help.

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

I will, with God’s help.

These are challenging questions for all of us, but the answers we make each time we renew this Covenant, remind us that it is only by God’s help that we can keep them. It is by grace, and grace alone, that we share in the abundant life that Christ won for us on Good Friday and Easter morn. It is by grace, and grace alone, that we are able to live lives “worthy of the calling to which” we have been called. (Ephesians 4:1) It is by grace, and grace alone, that we are able “to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Colossians 1:12) It is grace, and grace alone, from start to finish.

As we celebrate the fifty days of Eastertide, I hope that all of us will come to see more and more, “with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:18-19)

Your brother and priest,

Daniel+