Happy Easter; Happy Day of Resurrection!
It is early morning. In my mind’s eye, I see many of my friends make their way to a Sunrise service to watch the sky go from dark to light and shout “He is Risen!” I spent five years leading Easter worship at dawn overlooking a California beach. This morning, I am at my desk, writing, preparing for Easter’s celebration, and waiting for the dogs to come to tell me it is time to let them go outside.
Still, there is a memory of those days, of that somewhat awkward ritual, of the group gathering in the dark at the ocean to sing and share and shout. I feel them around me this morning. I hear the other communities of faith singing, one on the rocks and another on the beach. I’m glad they are there, shouting out the victory of Christ over death as the sun rises, not over the ocean, but over the hills, and the homes where people still sleep.
Easter is a time for us Christians to arise and announce the good news that death is not the end but, with Christ, we live now and forever. Some will think ours is an “idle tale” and continue to sleep. But others see the faith that gets us moving and our joy of living in Christ. Ah, morning has broken; the birds have begun to sing, darkness has given way to light.
My prayer is today I will meet others who awaken to Christ’s Resurrection and begin anew the miraculous journey in the community of people who rise up and shout into the darkness, “He lives!”
“Entropy, erosion, age…you are not our keeper. Oh Death, you have no victory over us. With Christ, we rise. We rise to bring peace into the world. We rise to mend souls fragmented by past or present hurt. We rise to open ourselves to a powerful Spirit that leads us into victories we have not yet imagined. With you, O Christ, we rise.”
Love,
Heather
Reverend Heather DeVoe Miner, M.Div
Rev. Heather served as the pastor at NLBCC until 2022. She continues to spread the loving and inclusive message of Christ, serving a church in Boise, Idaho.
