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Easter 2012 

My dear Friends in Christ, 

On the way to the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter morn, the women who were going to prepare the body of Jesus for burial were concerned about how they were going to move the huge stone that covered the tomb: “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” (Mark 16:3)  When they arrived at the tomb that problem was solved, for the stone had been rolled away and they were “utterly amazed.” (Mark 16:5)  The angel in the tomb said to them: “Do not be amazed!  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified.  He has been raised; he is not here.   Behold the place where they laid him.  But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’” (Mark 16:6-7)  The rest, as the saying goes, is history!

For all the advances the world has made in science, technology, medicine and other fields that are designed to make our lives easier, people are still restless, are still seeking, are still afraid. We still find ourselves worrying, sometimes almost crushed by the weight of those worries.  Who will roll the stone back for us?  Who will give us the answers to our questions?  Who will provide us with some comfort, some security, some measure of happiness free from the concerns and cares of this world?  Where do we look to find these answers?

Perhaps, my dear friends, we are looking in the wrong places.  The truth of the matter is that Jesus has indeed been raised from the dead!  Jesus has conquered, once and for all, the grave!  Jesus is victorious over sin and death!  We need not be afraid, we need not be amazed.  We have put our trust and our hope in the Risen Lord!

Now perhaps more than ever we must stand firm in our faith.  There is no doubt that we are being tested, that our faith is being attacked, that the secularism that is running rampant in our world and in our country would like nothing more than to undermine our faith in Jesus Christ.  But we need not be afraid.  The Lord does not and will not abandon us.  He IS risen from the dead!  This is our faith, this is our strength, this is our hope.  This gives us the courage to stand up for that which we believe, that which is true.  We must heed the words of the angel at the tomb and go and make known this message to one and all:  Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!

My dear friends, I wish each of you a truly blessed Easter.  I pray that your lives will be filled with the peace and comfort that can come only from the Lord.  May the Lord bless you and those you love!

Yours devotedly in the Lord,
Most Rev. Roger J. Foys, D.D.
Bishop of Covington