Easter Sunday was a wonder celebration of the good news of the resurrection. We heard the scriptures, sang the songs of Easter, joined in the celebration of communion and really enjoyed being together. We declared with great enthusiasm that: "Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!" Is Easter no more than a one-Sunday event? Are there consequences that follow the proclamation of a risen Jesus?

Christ is risen…so what?

Some years ago I met and became good friends with a young man who had been in combat in Vietnam. He had been on a reconnaissance team. "Recon" teams gather information, they go in secret and they sometimes encounter situations that are life threatening. This young man had confronted situations where he must kill "enemy combatants" or be killed. Since he was alive it was obvious what he had done.

He told me when he returned to the United States after his tour of duty was over; he was haunted by memories of his actions and the war. Medically, he was declared to have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; personally, his life was falling apart.

Although he had married the love of his life, his marriage was on the brink of divorce. The two children he fathered, who had been a great joy to him were now alienated from him. He could not develop that sense of intimacy that love brings to relationships. He said his life was a disaster and he could see no possibility of a future; he often thought of ending his miserable existence.

Since his life and family were now thriving, I asked what allowed him to regain his life. His answer was simple and direct: "I met someone who knew Jesus!" This person befriended him and over time gently told him that Jesus had died for each of us but more importantly, Jesus has been raised from the dead and had become for us "living grace." Jesus was God’s response to the pain and sorrow of our world and that by being eternally alive, Jesus offered continual forgiveness, healing and hope. My friend said he began to trust this Jesus with his pain and his fear. It wasn’t long until he began to sense a relationship of trust with God and with this relationship came forgiveness and healing.

What is the "so what" of Easter? My friend expressed it well: "Jesus is God’s living grace." Those who know the "so what" of Easter know life, hope and forgiveness. They know these things through living in community with God. Easter is not a Sunday…it is the way to life!