Greetings, People of the Diocese of Olympia
As a young person growing up in the American South, as a person only marginally involved in the Church, I thought Easter was about pastel colors, baby chicks, easter eggs, and an occasion for some to wear hats.
But you and I know better.
More than any other feast in the Church, Easter is about the power of God to overturn the negative, life-limiting things that can have dominion over us, over others, and over the world in destructive ways.
And so, at Easter,
Anything that imprisons us does not have dominion over us because the power of God has given us freedom.
Despair does not have dominion over us because the power of God has awakened hope within the depths of our despair.
Isolation and loneliness do not have dominion over us because the power of God has given us a new community.
Fear does not have dominion over us because the power of God has given us faith and trust in the face of fear.
Injustice does not have dominion over us because the power of God has given us dignity in the face of all that undermines the image of God within us.
And finally, death does not have dominion over us because the power of God in the raising of Jesus Christ from the dead has vanquished death and given us new life.
And so enjoy Easter, celebrate Easter. Drink in the places in your life and the places in our world that need the power of God to do these things. Drink in the places and be nourished and reassured. Drink in the places and be challenged.
For Alleluia, Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia.