Happy Easter! Did you know that the word Easter is a strange English word? It’s related to words like “east” and ideas like dawn, and maybe the name of a mostly-forgotten spring goddess named “Eostre.”  Before the English were Christians, they had a month in the spring named Eastermonth. When the good news of Jesus Christ came to them, they called the long celebration of Easter, the Easter Season, by the short name of that month. By contrast, many European languages call this day something like “Pascua” going back to the Hebrew word “pesah,” meaning “Passover.” Other languages like Vietnamese, Chinese, or Korean, call today “Return to Life” or “Resurrection Sunday.” In Polish they call it “Wielkanoc,” or Greatnight. What a name! Greatnight, the night that

For when Jesus rose from the dead, we learned how true it was, more than any dreaming pagan or faithful Jew could have guessed, that the dawn does conquer darkness, that the Lord sets his people free, that the resurrection is more than a dream and more than a prophecy. It is an event in history. Greatnight brought these eternal truths so close that human beings could see them, touch them, believe them, and share the good news with others. “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good, and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. … They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance” (Acts 10:37-41).

Think of how many words of God mean something new after we know that Jesus rose from the dead. Here are a few of my favorites. Song of Songs 8:6-7: “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; For Love is strong as Death, longing is fierce as Sheol. Its arrows are arrows of fire, flames of the divine. Deep waters cannot quench love, nor rivers sweep it away.” Psalm 88:9-13: “Caged in, I cannot escape; my eyes grow dim from trouble. All day I call on you, LORD; I stretch out my hands to you. Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the shades arise and praise you? … Is your mercy proclaimed in the grave, your faithfulness among those who have perished? Are your marvels declared in the darkness, your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?” Genesis 50:20-21: “Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve this present end, the survival of many people. So now, do not fear. I will provide for you and for your children.” John 10:14-18: I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. … This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”

Think of how many experiences of life have new meaning after we know Jesus rose from the dead. Here are a few of my favorites. Trust God: he also loves life. Keep faith: the Lord keeps his promises, by miracles if necessary. Give everything: there is more to come. Die well: hope remains. Love, and live.