This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.” Do you still feel as if Easter “just happened”? Do you know what this day means for you? Are you still burdened by the burnt ashes of your life? Today Christ shows you the power of life with him. This day is the beginning of faith. This is the day you move on. Today, rejoice.

In what or in whom do you trust? Money says we trust in God, but surely some of us trust in money almost as much (or perhaps more). Maybe you base your ultimate confidence in your spouse, your family, your parish community—or your country, right or wrong. My parents used to trust with an almost religious fervor in the reports of Walter Cronkite. In the same way I tend to trust a little too much in Wikipedia.

The angel spoke to the women: “There is nothing to fear here. I know you’re looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.c

In the movie Charlie Wilson’s War, CIA officer Gust Avrakotos (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) cautions Congressman Wilson (played by Tom Hanks) not to read too much into the success they had in helping Afghanistan against a Soviet threat. He then tells Wilson the story of the Zen master and the little boy:

Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

You are witnesses. When it comes to faith, witnessing doesn’t involve only seeing something happen. It also means being chosen to see it.

“On this day, the first of days” is the opening line of a hymn to be sung on Sunday, the first day of the week.

Jesus is for life, not just for Easter. —Jarrid Wilson