He has RISEN, HE has RISEN INDEED!  ALLELUIA!! But, I can’t start with Easter. I have to start with Good Friday.

Tetelestai - It. Is. Finished.

This year, more than maybe any other year in recent memory, we have to start at the beginning of Holy Week. We have been through so much in the last year, from the general pandemic and all that entails, to the loss of beloved Hope family members (including the difficult loss of Hope member Kory Davidson just recently), to whatever else you are personally dealing with. This Easter might not seem as joyful as it usually does because of all our collective trauma, grief, and loss.

Because of this, I find myself going back to that first Good Friday in my mind…Jesus has just been crucified.  His last words, Tetelestai (it is finished) have been said and…now what? What do the disciples do? Jesus said he would come back, but they just watched him die. We know now what was going to happen, but the disciples most certainly did not know at the time. 

One of my favorite things to do is listen to music and focus on the lyrics; there are two songs that have been sticking with me that I want to share my favorite lines of which have new meaning to me in this season of life especially. The first is Christ is Risen by Matt Maher.

‘Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave’

I love that second line…’trampling over death by death.’ We know that it is through His death that death was defeated for good. 

The second song is Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham and the lyrics that stick in my head and always give me pause are, “When all I see is the cross, God you see the empty tomb.”  We, as is human nature, often get so focused on the problem, tragedy, or mountain in our way; we don’t focus on the way God is going to be using this situation for HIS good. The Empty tomb. And it is with those reminders that I can joyfully say this Easter: He is risen, He is risen indeed. Alleluia.

Christ is Risen by Matt Maher

Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham