A blessed Easter?

Tonight was the Easter Vigil. It's a great time to make the transition from Lent to Easter- from the death and suffering of Christ to his triumphant resurrection. It's a time for us to rejoice in his victory over death and to celebrate our redemption through his life. 

After the service tonight I decided to indulge and go to a restaraunt nearby that serves some of the most delicious Chinese food ever made. As I sat there in that mostly deserted place (I believe they get most of their business from take-out and deliveries), I watched the world around me. I could hear  a couple arguing at the nearby bus stop. I watched as a gang began loitering just down the street a little. I overheard as a man and woman came into the restaraunt, the woman either high on some drugs or else unwell mentally and the guy seemed a little manipulative of her. 

What did I see? That all of this is what Christ came to save. It's like how after a death we see joy in the world and want to scream, "Do you know who died today? Do you know how much pain and sorrow I have?" This is the flip side: we see the resurrection and know that Christ has emerged victorious from his crucifixion and now sits at the right hand of God, but the world that doesn't know him is still immersed in the mire of suffering and death. Not to say that we don't sit in suffering and death, too, but we have a perspective of eternal hope that can help us. 

Thank God for showing us this. In this time of joy we must remember to pray for a world still suffering, just like how we could not let the deep introspection of Lent turn us away from the needs and joys of creation. 

Have a blessed Easter!

Christ is Risen!

The Lord is Risen indeed! Alleluia!