Easter

He was crucified, died, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven to sit down on the right hand of the Father, to reign with almighty power. (D&C 20:23-24)

May you know the exceeding greatness of God's power to us-ward, which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand, far above all principality, power, might, and dominion, and has put all things under his feet. (from Eph. 1:18-22)

We're just back from the Easter vigil. Christ is risen. God's victory is accomplished. As I looked forward earlier in the week to this moment, I found my reflections tending toward a spirit of defiance. My "Aleluia!" has become a kind of warcry.

To all the forces of destruction and sorrow and darkness, I say:
Christ is risen! Aleluia!

To the uncertainties of my future, I say:
Christ is risen! Aleluia!

To the global recession, I say:
Christ is risen! Aleluia!

To everything that constrains the lives of people I knew in the Dominican Republic (you know the names and faces I hold in my heart, Lord), I say:
Christ is risen! Aleluia!

To the exploitation of neighbors in my apartment complex, I say:
Christ is risen! Aleluia!

To the fear-mongering of right-wing pundits in this country, I say:
Christ is risen! Aleluia!

To the anti-gay prejudice that has led—especially among Mormons, my own people—to warped souls, and wrenched families, and electroshock, and suicide, I say:
Christ is risen! Aleluia!

To the tyranny perpetrated in the name of the "war on terror" and to the disaster that is Iraq, I say:
Christ is risen! Aleluia!

To my mother's cancer, and all the unhappiness she has experienced over the course her life, I say:
Christ is risen! Aleluia!

To the crippling disabilities that are slowly killing my niece, I say:
Christ is risen! Aleluia!

Trample them under your feet, Lord.
Trample them down.
Aleluia! Amen!