By Bishop Ann Svennungsen
Thirty years ago last month, I was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. I was scared to death, a mom with three kids, ages 8, 5, and 2. I had no idea what the future would hold.
The day of my mastectomy – 4 o’clock on a cold Friday afternoon – the surgeon stopped by to see me. He said, “My greeting to you, Ann, is the same greeting the early Christians gave to each other when they were hiding in the catacombs underground, afraid for their lives.” “Christos ane’sti,” he said in Greek. “Christ is risen.”
It was an incredible assurance. In the face of surgery – in the face of a future that was terribly uncertain – he assured me that the crucified and risen Christ held me, held my future, and held the future of all those I loved.
TODAY IT SEEMS MUCH of the world is living with fear and uncertainty. Though we aren’t forced to hide in the catacombs, the orders to stay at home feel like forced seclusion, isolated from those we love, afraid of what the future holds.
So, how do we speak God’s word in a time such as this? We say, “Christos ane’sti.”
The good news that Christ is risen is really the whole gospel in a nutshell. Because Christ is risen, we know that Christ died – for us.
In the death of Christ, God entered the very depths to do battle with our enemies – with sin, death and the power of the devil. In the resurrection, we receive the fruits of forgiveness and new life.
“We say “Christos ane’sti,” and in that proclamation we receive a glimpse of the future.”
We say “Christos ane’sti,” and in that proclamation we receive a glimpse of the future. Because death no longer has power over Jesus, we know that death will not have the last word. No matter what fear and uncertainty you face in this world, it is resurrection that will greet you at the end.
Not long ago, during another time of anxiety and fear called World War II, Helmut Thielicke preached about the resurrection’s power to change our lives today. Because we are joined to the risen Christ, we know who holds our final hour. And, if “the last hour belongs to us, we do not need to fear the next minute.”
“Christos ane’sti.” Christ is risen indeed.