“Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What’s happened to the world?”

This line, spoken by the Hobbit Sam in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Return of the King, so captures Easter Weekend. On Good Friday we remember that on a Friday some 2,000 years ago Jesus died on a cross. We call the day Jesus died “good” because it paid for the sin of all who believe and reconciled them to God, but it would be a sad event if not for the news we celebrate on Sunday. Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!

“What’s happened to the world?” Jesus’ resurrection means that truly “everything sad is going to come untrue!” Oh, sad things will still happen. Injustice, suffering and death will happen, but they won’t stay sad. Suffering and death are not God’s final word. They are not the end of the story. The cross proves it because that sad thing is now proof of God’s ability and His intent to work all things for the good of those who love Him. Let that sink in, and then in word and deed, share this good news.

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!