Go, Alleluia!

Christ is Risen!

This is the kinds of thoughts that come to us when we think of Easter Sunday.  But put yourself in the disciples’ place as they woke up that morning.  Jesus of Nazareth, their teacher and friend, had just endured an agonizing death at the hands of the Romans.  No wonder they stayed behind locked doors!  They were terrified that they might be arrested next.

But recall the first words the angel said to the women who found the empty tomb; “Do not be afraid…Go quickly”.  Recall how, when they met Jesus on the road, he also told them, “Do not be afraid.  Go to Galilee” – to the place of revelation and miracles.

Jesus wants to say the same thing to you.  So use your imagination and listen as he urges you.

“Go quickly!  You may not be hiding from authorities threatening your life, but you may feel as if you are being pursued by shame and regret over past sins.  I am risen, and I have conquered fear and guilt.  So come to me in Confession, and let me set you free.”

“Go quickly! Maybe your future looks like a bleak landscape.  But that is not what I see.  I have a plan for your life – a plan to care for you and sustain you.  So come to me.  Lift up your eyes to the heavens.  Remember that I care for you even more than I care for every star in the sky.  Come, and let me show you a future full of hope. ”

“Go quickly!  Do not remain in the graveyard, where Mary Magdalene found my tomb.  Do not dwell on all the sins that put me there.   No, come to me, the risen Savior, and receive a new outpouring of the redemption I have won for you.  Let me convince you that nothing can separate you from my love.”

“Go quickly!  Whenever you feel overwhelmed or discouraged, gaze upon my cross, and tell yourself.  “Jesus dided for me.  I am a new creation, and I belong to him.”  Say it over and over, and watch as I lift your burdens.”

Today, right now, go quickly to the Lord, and let him lift up your heart!