Of all the celebrations on the Church calendar, Easter is perhaps my favorite. After spending the prior weeks of Lent in personal reflection and repentance, culminating in the observance of Christ’s suffering and death, I rejoice in the celebration of Christ’s victory over death and the promise of life eternal.
Over the years I have been blessed from time to time in my travels in Asia to have been in different countries and cultures during Holy Week. It has been interesting to participate in the practices and traditions of other Christ followers. My wife Pat and I had such an opportunity a couple of years back while visiting the North Western Gossner Evangelical Lutheran (NWGEL) Church in Ranchi, India. For us it was probably the most profound experience of Easter ever.
Our Easter that morning began around 2:45 a.m. as believers gathered near the NWGEL Church offices to join a procession to the local Christian graveyard. Led by the Bishop and local clergy and accompanied by traditional tribal drums, dance and song, we walked nearly half a mile to the cemetery. The route was lit by an occasional dim street lamp, but our hearts were lit with anticipation and joy.
At the graveyard people were gathering to remember family members who had passed on in years before. They lit candles and scattered flower petals on the tombs, and offered prayers of thankfulness for the memory of the deceased. The candles illuminated the grounds, piercing the darkness with light.
After some time a celebration service began with the singing of traditional Western hymns and ethnic songs. As we gazed around the cemetery we were moved by the reality that in this place dedicated to the burial of the dead, where death might be deemed victorious, Life was the true victor. By his resurrection from the dead Christ delivered us from the fear and sting of death. So with a sense of being surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, we together proclaimed,
“He is risen!”
Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.… For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:20, 22).
This is the Gospel, the Good News that we share around the world