In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen.

Christ is risen!

We hear, dear brothers and sisters, many times today “Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered, let those who hate him flee from before his face.” And we must judge ourselves by this statement; am I the enemy of God? Do I flee from his face?

We may be scandalised by such questions: “Who, me?” I ask myself. Yet are my actions acknowledging my Faith? Do I act as if Christ is risen? Because, as Jaroslav Pelikan put it,

If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.

Christ is risen! Christ is risen not only from a tomb two thousand years ago, Christ is risen here and now—here in Eastleigh—and is in our midst. Christ is risen and our whole life is transformed, transfigured. Christ is risen and we no longer fear death. Christ is risen and we are born again. Christ is risen and, as the Apostle Paul tells us,

neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38–39)

And so, I must ask myself the question, “Do I flee from the face of God?” In other words, “Does my life from Monday to Saturday reflect the certainty of the Resurrection?” Do I compartmentalise my life into a religious one, for Sundays, and a secular one where I can fit in?

Christ is risen! And around this fact, this certainty, we can live our lives and be on his side and enter into the joy of our Master.

Christ is risen!

To our risen Lord be all glory, honour and worship, with his Unoriginate Father and All-holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit. Amen.