April 4, 2010
“Most Reverend Father, I bring you a message of great joy, the message of Alleluia.” With these traditional words of greeting to the Bishop at the Easter Vigil, the joyful word Alleluia is solemnly reintroduced into the liturgy after its annual Lenten absence. On this “Solemnity of Solemnities,” the church proclaims to the world the great joy of Christ’s triumph over sin and death and the hope this holds out for all of us to share in his new and gloriously risen life. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Throughout the Easter season, the Paschal Candle, symbol of the Risen Christ, stands in its place of honor in the sanctuary. Also prominently displayed in our church throughout the Easter season is the Cross – the same Cross the congregation venerated on Good Friday – now standing triumphantly as a symbol of Christ’s victory. At the other end of the church (in the place occupied by the nativity scene during the Christmas season) is the icon of the resurrection. This icon portrays the Risen Christ standing over the broken gates of hell, lifting up Adam and Eve from their coffins while Moses, Isaiah and Elijah look on from one side and the Old Testament kings and John the Baptist watch on the other.
All these visual elements underscore the ultimate and special significance of the resurrection, which St. Augustine called “God’s supreme and wholly marvelous work.” The tradition of portraying the Risen Christ as leading Adam and Eve up out of their tomb highlights what the British Anglican Bishop and scripture scholar N. T. Wright has called Christ’s “incorporative Messiahship” – that the resurrection is not just about Jesus but is about all of us. The resurrection means, moreover, that despite the apparently invincible power of death in our world, God is actually in charge and death does not have the final word in our world.