Jesus lived, he died, and rose again from the dead! Alleluia!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, 

Jesus lived, he died, and rose again from the dead! Alleluia! If we believe in him, we, too, shall live, die, and rise again in and through Jesus. Alleluia! That pretty much summarizes all that we proclaim as missionary disciples of Jesus Christ. We also refer to that proclamation as kerygma, the core of our belief. It is also called the Paschal Mystery: that is, that no matter what life might bring, for better or worse, even death itself, there always will be new life and resurrection. 

The challenge for us as disciples of the Lord is that we do not always believe this Gospel proclamation, kerygma, and Paschal Mystery. Often, in our humanness, we live life like our hurts, despair, darkness, endings, sufferings, and tribulations will have the last word, and that is all there is in life and death — that in the end, the Evil One prevails. 

This attitude of destitution could not be further from the way, the truth, and the life that we find in the Risen Lord. With the resurrection of Jesus, there is victory over the Evil One. In Jesus, healing, hope, and joy prevail. Every time. All the time. No matter what challenge or tribulation comes into our life, there will be a cause for hope and joy, because we know the end of our story in Jesus: new life and resurrection. 

This Gospel proclamation, kerygma, and Paschal Mystery are core to our Easter season. It takes us 50 days to embrace, express, and embody who and whose we are in the Risen Lord. The Church, in her wisdom, has given us such powerful passages from the sacred Scriptures of the witness of the Apostles to the Risen Lord and the Gospel accounts of the Resurrected Jesus appearing to his disciples. This living word of God is a clarion call to us in our own time and lives to believe and proclaim: Jesus lived, he died, and rose again from the dead! Alleluia! If we believe in him, we, too, shall live, die, and rise again in and through Jesus. Alleluia! 

Additionally, the Church in her wisdom celebrates an abundance of sacraments in the Easter season. Sacraments are outward and visible signs of God’s lavish love and abundant life. Every celebration of baptism, confirmation and holy matrimony is a celebration of the Gospel proclamation, kerygma, and Paschal Mystery of healing, hope, and joy that we find in Jesus Christ — just as he intended when he instituted these sacraments. 

Most of all, during the Easter season, we encounter this Gospel proclamation, kerygma, and Paschal Mystery in our celebration of the Holy Eucharist, especially with our children who are receiving their First Communion. There is a hope and joy that fills their hearts as they are receiving Jesus into their very person. This Jesus of healing, hope, and joy will never be closer to them — and to us — than when we receive him into our very person and are internally in communion with him. 

Once we begin faithfully to fathom what it means to live life knowing that no matter what life might bring, for better or worse, even death itself, there always will be new life and resurrection, how can we be anything but a people of healing, hope, and joy? And then, filled with that healing, hope, and joy that we find in the Risen Lord, we go back to our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, and world as missionary disciples to proclaim, Jesus lived, he died, and rose again from the dead! Alleluia! If we believe in him, we, too, shall live, die, and rise again in and through Jesus. Alleluia! 

May God’s Easter blessings be upon you, 

Bishop Daniel Felton is the tenth bishop of Duluth.