Christ Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! | Easter Sunday

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

On Easter Sunday, churches around the world joyfully proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not that Christ has risen but that he is risen. We refer to Christ as "our risen Lord." While the disciples only knew that Christ had risen from the grave, we have 2000+ years perspective to know that Christ is risen and continues to be present in our midst.

This year, Easter Sunday and Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) share the same date. While Trans Day of Remembrance memorializes those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia, TDOV celebrates trans and gender expansive individuals while we are still here. Our community recognized the need for celebration, for honoring of trans joy; no matter what the world has tried to do to us, we are still here—visible, present.

Our Christian faith is not a faith of a man killed for his beliefs—but of a Savior who, having been killed for his beliefs, rose from the grave. And our community is one not of people who continue to be killed for who we are but of people who continue to live and experience joy and wonder despite the world's attempts to silence us.

Visibility is a hard topic for many people in our community—because of the faith communities we grew up in, our strained family systems, the rules and laws governing our schools, our work, our lands, and so many other deeply personal reasons. Just as Jesus gradually shared the story of his resurrection, we, too, choose how and when we are visible. Today, as always, may we celebrate our own visibility—whatever that may look like. May we honor the internal work, the people, ​and the spaces that have led us to this point.

When we feel like we have been betrayed by our own people and we are in our darkest moments, may we look towards the visible Son of God who has conquered the grave. May we find hope in the possibility of something new and unexpected to take birth in our own lives.

May we hold fast to the hope found in the resurrection.

May we hold fast to see the face of God in everyone that we meet.

May we hold fast to our loved ones, honoring them with all of their identities.

May we hold fast to the hope that one day we will all be free to be our true, honest, authentic selves in every space that we enter.

May we hold fast that one day, what we see as impossible, lost and hopeless in our own lives is redeemed and made new.

Today, we conclude our lenten journey by engaging with Lectio Divina one last time as we engage with the hope of the risen Christ. Lectio Divina is a type of meditative prayer practice that includes a reading, a time of meditation, a time of prayer, and a time of contemplation. You will read the passage three times, with a pause after each one and a prompt for meditation and contemplation.

The first time you read the passage, select one word or phrase that stands out to you, and meditate on it for a few moments of silence. Write down the word or phrase from your meditation.

The second time you read the passage, select a word or phrase that stands out to you (it may be the same or different from the first time), and consider how it may be speaking to you in your own life. Write down a word or phrase from your meditation.

The third time you read the passage, select a word or phrase that stands out to you, and consider how it may speak to us in community. Write down the word or phrase from your meditation as well.

At the end of your meditation, close out this moment with a word of prayer. If prayer is something that is difficult for you, you can close this time out by taking a deep breath in and releasing that breath out into the world. God knows what is on our hearts, even when it is hard to say out loud.

Today, we have two scriptures to engage with, Psalm 118:22-24 and Mark 16:1-8.

Psalm 118:22-24:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Mark 16:1-8:
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Here are some additional questions for you to ponder and journal about after you finish this particular spiritual practice, either now or throughout the week as we begin this Easter Season:

• Psalm 118:22 says that the stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. How could this be applied as a broader ethic for life and faith? How might it connect to the Mark 16 passage?

• The women in the Mark passage experience both terror and amazement. How do they interact with faith and fear in the narrative? How do you interact with faith and fear in your own life?

• Resurrection is markedly a sign of hope, where do you see hope in this story? Hope for what or toward what?

• Where do you see hope in your own life? For what or toward what?

• As 2024 Conference keynote speaker Brit Baron discussed at conference, what can it look like to pursue hope as a practice?