He is Risen!
April 8, 2007
He is Risen Indeed!
In many ways this Easter will be like all the other Easters that have come before - Christians around the world will gather to celebrate the risen Christ, newness of life and hope for our world. However, this is one of the first times I haven’t gone to worship on Easter morning. I thought I would share some links back to a few very special Easter memories I have from the past few years:
- Celebrating Easter weekend with my family: In 2004, while I was working at Living Waters Presbyterian Church in Wendell, Idaho, my family came out for the weekend. We had a great time together and they were able to worship with me at the church I had served for the previous 2 years.
- Attending the Paschal Service at Saint Ignatius of Antioch Orthodox Church in Twin Falls: I had become very good friends with the Parish Priest of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in Twin Falls and he invited me to come and celebrate this service with his parish. It was an incredible experience. It was my first time marching around a church, and I even got to carry one of the processional torches.
- 5am Great Vigil of Easter at Princeton University Chapel: It was my first year at Princeton Seminary and a group of us got dressed up and walked over to the University Chapel at 4.45am for the Easter service. It was a great service and it was filled with some wonderful memories with friends.
What are some of your favorite Easter memories?
My hope for each of you is that you may be filled with joy and hope this Easter as you celebrate and spend time with friends and family. I leave you with the following quote from theologian Jurgen Moltmann:
When we talk about Christ’s resurrection from the dead we are not talking about a fact. We are talking about a process. We are talking in one and the same breath about the foundation, the future and the practical exercise of God’s liberation of men and women, and his redemption of the world. So what we can know historically about Christ’s resurrection must not be abstracted from the question of what we can hope from it, and what we have to do in its name. Kant made this intrinsic connection clear. It is only in living unity of knowing, hoping and doing that Christ’s resurrection must be understood in its true historical sense. (Jurgen Moltmann, Jesus Christ for Today’s World, Fortress, 1994, pp. 79-80).
[via Ponderings on a Faith Journey]
Image Credits: “The Risen Lord” by artist He Qi
Tags: Easter, He-Qi, Moltmann, Orthodox-Church
Posted in Theology
Adam Walker Cleaveland: I am a 28 yr old 
April 8th, 2007 at 1:35 am
Hey there,
I’m a student at San Francisco Theological Seminary, an Inquirer in the PCUSA (hopefully soon to be a candidate!) and a blogger. I’m trying to forge some connections with seminarians at the other PCUSA schools around the country. It’s a small little community the church sometimes is and I think it would be great if we could make more friends at a national scale.
Please come to my blog and if you find anything of interest there, lets link to one another’s sites. In the near future I hope to start a ‘theology forum’ where students from each of the seminaries can tackle current topics on their blogs and have an open debate.
Blessings!
Aric
April 8th, 2007 at 3:04 am
He is Risen indeed!
one of my favorite Easter memories is when you, about 5 years old, sitting in the back seat, sang all the way to church on Easter morning, your ‘own’ song about “Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.” I wish I had the words verbatim…
April 8th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
He is Risen indeed.
I didn’t grow up in a church, but rather attended church only on Easter. No particular memories here. Even now, having become a Christian in High School, nothing sticks out one Easter over another.
What sticks out is that God found me first and brought me into faith in Christ Jesus, in spite of hating the 2x a year I went to church.
This day means more now, but no more than any grace filled day to me.
He is risen indeed.
Pastor Chris
EvangelismCoach.org
April 8th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Hey Adam,
Great Moltman quote. Love the He Qi picture too.
My Easter memory is playing handbells as part of the youth handbell and adult choir processional at Shades Valley Presbyterian in Birminham, Al, where I grew up. We always sang/played “Jesus Christ is Risen Today.” The handbell count/beat went 1,1,2,1,1,3,1 and the music director would emphasize this often; often whisphering it to us while we played so we’d remember what to do. To this day I can’t sing the hymn without singing the following in my head: “Jesus Christ is Risen Today, 1,1,2,1,1,3,1″ I think I know the count better than the second verse. :-)
Happy Easter to you and Sarah,
Peace,
Andy
April 8th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Howdy Adam! One of my favorite Easter memories was in 1988. I was in college and my Dad passed away the day before Easter. I felt like my world had completely caved in on me. The only thing I was certain of that morning was that I wanted-needed to be in worship. It just reminded me of how central worship is to my life.