Across the Pastor’s Desk by Eileen Woyen

“Christ is Risen! Alleluia! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!”

I love hearing those words after what seems like a long Lent and winter. I love smelling the blooming flowers in the sanctuary on Easter morning. I love seeing the brown, soggy grass turn verdant green. I love singing on the top of my lungs — “Alleluia!”

I love knowing and sharing that Jesus is alive! He is no longer dead! Death has no power over him or over you or me. Death is not a dead end. We share in the life of Jesus. We share in his future. Death is merely a doorway to eternal life with the Triune God.

This year we could say, “April fools!”

Easter happened on the first day of April — or what we know as April Fool’s Day. It’s a day of silliness. It’s a day of childlike pranks.

However, the resurrection is not a prank!

But on the other hand, the resurrection story sounds impossible. Jesus was crucified, murdered on a cross. It was a brutal death. It was a capital punishment used to make an example of the one being crucified. Jesus’ lifeless body had been taken from the wood. Jesus was placed in a tomb. Spices for his burial had been bought. The stone that locked the tomb and Jesus away had been closed.

April fools!

Jesus is not dead. He is alive! Jesus lives in you and with you. We follow Jesus to the cross and to his victory. Through our baptism, we are made children of God — brothers and sisters of Jesus — and we continue in Jesus’ work.

We follow Jesus by loving God and loving one another.

Jesus’ life, death and resurrection were not an April Fool. Let us live lives proving that fact!

Eileen Woyen is a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Albert Lea.