One in Christ’s Resurrection
He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
As we celebrate Easter Sunday, I am drawn to Luke’s account of that first morning when the women arrived at the tomb. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” the messengers asked. “He is not here; he has risen!”
This question—”Why do you look for the living among the dead?”—echoes through our lives today. How often do we seek meaning and hope in places where they cannot be found? How frequently do we stand, like the women, puzzled before empty tombs of human making?
In this sacred season, I am mindful that some in our synod cherish stability and time-honored wisdom, while others embrace change and new possibilities. Some emphasize personal accountability, others communal responsibility. Some feel profound concern about moral decline, others about social inequities. And by the grace of God, we gather as one body, united in our worship of the Risen Lord who is no longer found among the dead but alive and active in our world.
The beauty of the resurrection is that it transcends all our human categories and divisions. The messengers’ question reminds us not to seek the living Christ in the tombs of any social, cultural, or even, religious making—whether those tombs are rigid ideologies, cynicism, or despair—Jesus is not there. This Easter Sunday, I believe Jesus is alive in and through us; inviting us to remember that our first identity is not of this world but has been claimed by the risen Savior in our baptism, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and marked with the cross of Christ forever. This baptismal identity goes deeper than any opinion on societal or ecclesial matters, and it binds us together with bonds stronger than any disagreement could sever.
Our calling as baptized children of God is to share the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection for the sake of life itself. Especially given that the Easter proclamation, “Christ is risen!” belongs to no particular viewpoint or worldview. It is the shared inheritance of all who have been baptized into Christ. Such is the case that when we gather at the Lord’s table, we come not as people divided by differing perspectives, but as siblings in Christ, united under Christ’s grace. When we confess our faith, we speak with the one voice of the church throughout the ages. When we depart in mission, we go as ambassadors of reconciliation in a broken world. In each case, we are turning away from the tombs of division and toward the living Christ who unites us.
This Easter, may we remember that our baptism calls us to a unity that runs deeper than agreement on temporal matters.
May Christ, who is risen and no longer found among the dead, reveal himself to us in every face and voice that challenges our certainties.
May the Holy Spirit, who empowers bewildered witnesses to become bold proclaimers, transform our baptismal identity into our inspiration and motivation.
May we bear witness to the risen Christ with the humility that comes from knowing our primary devotion is to the One who conquered death and the grave.
And may we find ourselves standing together in awe before the empty tomb, united in the proclamation that transcends all earthly divisions… with God’s help and in Jesus’ name.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
En Cristo,
Rev. Leila M. Ortiz
Bishop, Metro D.C. Synod