Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
He is Risen! He has Risen Indeed!
At Easter the Church proclaims the most astonishing news in human history: the tomb is empty and Jesus Christ is alive. What seemed to be the final word — the suffering, death, and darkness of Good Friday — has been overturned by the power of God. It is the beginning of a new creation. Christ is risen and the world and each of us, who through our baptism enter into the death and resurrection of Christ, are forever changed and, along with St. Paul, proclaim that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
The early Christians knew that this event transformed everything. Back in the fourteenth century an ancient letter was discovered that had been written in the second century by a man identifying himself as a “student of the Apostles.” Often referred to as the Epistle to Diognetus, the letter described the followers of Christ in a remarkable way. Christians, it said, “are indistinguishable…by nationality, language or customs. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life…with regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether it is Geek or foreign…They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven…They live in poverty, but enrich many; they are totally destitute, but possess an abundance of everything. They suffer dishonor, but that is their glory.”
Those early Christians knew that Christ’s resurrection meant they could live in this world without being captive to it. They were, after all, “citizens of heaven.” That same life of faith is entrusted to us. Today we too, as individuals and as a Church, are called to live the same beautiful paradox described in that ancient letter: to participate fully in the activity of the world and yet also know that our true citizenship is in heaven.
Easter is not just an invitation to celebrate a long-ago event, but to live differently. It calls us to be people of hope in a culture often marked by anxiety. It calls us to forgive when resentment seems easier. It calls us to serve when indifference is tempting. The world today needs that witness as much as the ancient world did. Like the Christians described in the Epistle to Diognetus, let us be people whose lives reflect the light of the Risen Christ.
My prayer for you this Easter is that the joy of the Resurrection will fill your homes, strengthen your families, and renew our entire Diocesan Church. May we live as a people who know that Christ is alive and that his victory is already at work among us.
Happy and Blessed Easter,
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Most Rev. William E. Koenig
Bishop of Wilmington
