He Is Risen!!!

Several years ago, Mel Gibson's movie Passion of the Christ touched off a firestorm of controversy. Some commentators, even the thoughtful Charles Krauthammer, charged that it was anti-Semitic. But millions of Christians flocked to movie theaters to watch this stunning dramatic portrayal of the events of Holy Week. A quote attributed to the late Pope John Paul II circulated widely at the time: "It is as it was."

We are led to contemplate again this year the events of that long ago week in the Holy Land. Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Tens of thousands throng the streets shouting "Hosanna" and "Hail to the Son of David!" They place their cloaks and palm branches at His feet. By midweek, however, the mood changes. On a day known to history as Spy Wednesday, Judas Iscariot secretly betrays Jesus to the leaders of the Sanhedrin, the legislative assembly. The next day, Jesus has His Last Supper with His disciples. He knows that He will be betrayed. He knows all our hearts. When Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prays that we His followers will be one. That must be our prayer, too.

Taken captive, Jesus is passed back and forth between Pontius Pilate and King Herod. Herod is the man the Romans use to keep the Jewish people in subjection. Pilate and Herod had been antagonists before this time, but they find a common interest in condemning Jesus. Their unholy alliance is sealed in innocent blood. Jesus is led away to be crucified. He endures beating, spitting, and the cruel taunts of the crowd. He does this not just to atone for the sins of the guilty people before Him. They have flocked to see the spectacle of the King of the Jews being slain like a sacrificial lamb. He does this for us, for our sins. While we were yet sinners, Jesus came and died for us.

Indescribable love and unbearable suffering converged in the person of Jesus Christ on that Cross. And when Jesus completed the time of His suffering and anguish - His mission to set us free from our slavery to sin and its hellish consequences - He cried out from the Cross: "It is finished!" Three days later, God showed His resounding approval by raising His Son back to life, and His resurrection gave us an invincible hope.

The Glory of the Resurrection lives on. The tomb where they laid His body is empty. The stone has been rolled away. The Son of Man has ascended and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. This we know. This we believe. It is to this great truth that we bear witness.

I pray that you and your family will be especially blessed this resurrection Sunday. And I say: He is Risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!