Dread. That feeling which gnaws at the pit of our stomach telling us that something unpleasant is about to happen-that there is something to fear around the corner.

I have that feeling often as the beginning of the month nears. It’s not only because bills or reports are due. It’s because it’s time for another newsletter and I’m going to have to think of something to write about.

The season of Lent has that same effect on me. Dread. Not because of the fasting or extra services. I think it’s because I dread what the season is going to reveal to me-that I fall short in my resolve as a Christian, come up lacking in my relationship with Christ.

At these times I am best reminded that Lent is not a stand-alone season in the Church’s year of Salvation, but a guidepost-a depth mark. It is a time of preparation and focusing. It is a time to make me aware, not of my own shortcomings, but of the completeness of Him whose resurrection life I now share in part and will one day (God-willing) share in its fullness. Without Easter, Lent would be just more drudgery and pain-something which this life already holds in ready supply.

Without the Feast of Easter, which is soon upon us, there would be much to dread in life. But because Christ Jesus has broken the shackles of sin and death we are free from all anxiety-both in this life and the life to come. What better news could we hear in these anxious days.

Soon the great song of Easter will break upon our lips-Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. With that song in our hearts there is no room for dread. The future, whatever it holds, belongs to the Risen One who holds us all forever in His steadfast Love.

A Blessed Easter to all.

This hymn is a popular classic which owes its continued success entirely to its alterations. The original Latin carol, "Surrexit Christus Hodie," comes from 14th century manuscripts largely from Bohemia. The first English translation appeared in the "Lyrica David," London, 1708, a significant collection which began to break away from the strict psalmody both in its texts and its tunes. The texts were largely translations from Latin and German sources and it included both texts and tunes of a number of the more famous German chorales (such as "A Mighty Fortress," "Wake, Awake for Night is Flying," and "How Bright Appears the Morning Star").

The carol took its present form in John Arnold’s "Compleat Psalmist" of 1749. Here the tune was altered to the form given in the Hymnal 1940. The first stanza was retained but entirely unrelated second and third stanzas were substituted for these originals:

Haste ye females from your fright,
Take to Galilee your flight
To his sad disciples say,
Jesus Christ is risen today.

In our paschal joy and feast
Let the Lord of Life be blest;
Let the Holy Trinity be praised,
And thankful hearts to heav’n be raised.

The doxology with which the hymn is now concluded is a single stanza "Hymn to the Trinity" by Charles Wesley.

The tune has been variously known as Easter Hymn, Easter Morn and Salisbury. It was written with an eye to "jubilations" on the Alleluias with "a desire for a little freer air than the grand movement of the Psalm tunes." It marks the return of the Alleluia after its "burial" on the last Sunday of Epiphany.

Adapted from The Hymnal 1940 Companion

An Easter faith which is true is always a faith which includes the wounds of Calvary. When Christ was raised from the dead, it did not mean that the Cross was left behind. Far from it. The risen Christ is always the Christ who was once crucified. Cross and Resurrection go together.

Christian imagery and Christian art have portrayed this through the centuries. We recall pictures of the Crucifixion which show the kingly triumph, the majestic peace already breaking through the scene of death. We recall pictures of the risen Jesus which show the marks of sacrifice never effaced, and carried into risen glory. And the art and the imagery convey deep truth. We can never know the risen Jesus and never serve Him unless we face the reality of the Cross.

We must still repent of the sins which wound Him, as our sins always do. We must still find Him in those who suffer as we go and serve Him in them. Never can the notes of Calvary fade from the Church’s song of victory.

The Easter Egg has its origin in pagan fertility symbols. The egg was a symbol of Spring, of new life. Christians saw in it a religious meaning: it became a symbol of the rock tomb out of which Christ emerged victorious over death. The egg had long been forbidden during Lent, so it had special meaning when it was restored to the diet of the faithful. Eggs were colored in joyous colors to celebrate the season and given to family and friends as a part of Paschal festivities.