He is Risen

Austin, Texas, is getting ready for the total Eclipse happening next week. Our neighborhood in Southwest Austin is on the so-called Path of the Totality, so we’re getting ready to hunker down as over one million tourists will be flooding the area, basically paralyzing the infrastructure. To experience a total Eclipse was a religious experience for millennia, terrifying us. Now we know about the science behind it and can actually predict it. An eclipse is no longer a mystery, and still we are fascinated by it to the degree of a million-person pilgrimage. There is something about an Eclipse that still makes us stop and consider the enormity of the universe and our smallness for a few transcendent minutes that take our breath away.

“What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:14

Today is Easter Sunday. All over the globe, in every language, culture, and nation, people say the three words that defy that smallness, mortality and brevity of our existence: “He is Risen.”

Two thousand years ago, a Jewish Rabbi was killed in front of many witnesses and emerged alive three days later from a grave in a cave. I won’t list compelling evidence this actually happened, you can look it up. What makes this life changing is what it means for us beyond the story.

The Resurrection means we can be made new. Not just one day, but every day. I built a life on this and it’s better than I could have asked or imagined.

Happy Resurrection Day from my family to yours. He is Risen.