Welcome Happy Morning

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 A classic Easter Hymn begins, "Welcome happy morning, age to age shall say..." The words to the hymn were written in the 6th century, and it was translated into English with modern music in the 19th century. It is traditionally sung on Easter morning and is a celebration of Christ's victory over the forces of hell, death, destruction, and the path of darkness. With the ages of Jesus followers who have sung this hymn, we are invited anew to welcome the happy morning, allow Christ to transform our worldview from that of despair and loneliness to one of resurrected hope in holy community. 


Many people look out into the world and fear that the Devil has won the world over, to those folks, I would say stop main-lining bad news on your screen and pick up your Bible, preferably with a group of friends. We are certainly not the first ones to live in difficult times. For example, the writing about following Jesus that came from the adversity of the World Wars is still standard reading for those who would follow the teachings of Jesus in modern times. The faith and transformation of communities in less developed countries is another remarkable testimony of the transformation of followers of Jesus. 

It may be that we are just dealing with an addiction to hatred. It is exhilarating to look into the public arena, be it political, celebrity, or people we are unfamiliar with and place blame for whatever we may identify as the perceived problems in the world. Even worry itself can become a stimulant in our lives. There are plenty of sources to fuel worry and hatred out there and we turn again and again, dare I say "religiously" to these sources. Yes, there are complex problems in the world, I am not ignoring our reality. Our attitude as followers of Jesus is not to turn to hate and worry. It is a prayerful and mindful response in love, as it has been through the ages.  

Jesus' last commandment to his faithful followers was to love one another; that was on the night before he was taken to a false trial, then publicly executed. Love is an unlimited resource that has been given to God's family. There is so much good news in the world and there always has been. When we give into the hatred, we remove our trust in God and place it in those destructive forces. We who have been buried with Christ and raised with him are reborn to live in a new way, one that remembers to choose courageous love instead of fear, worry, and hatred. We can learn from other ages about the transforming love of Jesus to overcome forces that seek to tear down God's good creation. 

This Easter Season (we get to celebrate all 50 days of Easter!) practice welcoming each happy morning that is born with the rising sun! The hymn concludes with this prayer for Jesus' help: "Loose the souls long prisoned, bound with Satan's chain; all that now is fallen raise to life again; show thy face in brightness, bid the nations see; bring again our daylight: day returns with thee!" 

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