He Got Up
“He got up
Death could not hold him
My savior He got up
An empty grave
Is there to prove
My savior He got up.”
~ VaShawn Mitchell, “He Got Up”
The Church proclaims an ancient chant today that has been sung yearly: Resurrexit Sicut Dixit, Alleluia! The English translation would be He Has Risen As He Said, Alleluia! Or, in Mitchell’s prose, He Got Up!
Yes, Jesus got up. Death, the one thing in life that we all agree is unconquerable, that is to say, all will have to face it. Death, that no one can avoid. Death, the supposed ultimate end. Death has been vanquished by Jesus Christ because death can only claim our mortal bodies, it cannot claim our souls.
By His death and resurrection, Jesus has freed us from the clutches of death. He has given us the opportunity to rise with Him to new and eternal life. What a glory. What a triumph. What a hope. He Has Risen As He Said, Alleluia!
He got up. Jesus was a good man. You know what they say, “you can’t keep a good man down.” Yes, Jesus got up. His resurrection was more than mystifying to many.
Some could not accept it at all. Not only could they not accept it, they did everything in their power to disprove it. They stated that Jesus’ body had been stolen by His followers at night and hidden somewhere in order to perpetrate the hoax of resurrection.
Others heard that Jesus had risen from the dead and/or saw Him with their own eyes. Their joy was overwhelming. He proved to them that God loved them and that God’s power was more than the power of the world. The world tried to hold Jesus down in death but He was greater than the world and would not allow Himself to be held down.
This day, then, is a day of great rejoicing. We celebrate the fact that our Savior, our Lord, our best friend destroyed death and restored life by the virtue of His resurrection. We cling to the hope that we will be set free from sin and death by the lifesaving action of Jesus. We long for the day when we can live with Him in glory.
Until that day, hold firm to your faith. Tell the story of Jesus’ resurrection. And live in the hope that His resurrection brings to us all.
FAITH ACTION: Cherish the joy in your heart. He has risen as He said. Alleluia!