Asking the Clergy: What is the promise of Easter?

Easter Sunday, one of the most important days on the Christian calendar, celebrates the end of Holy Week and the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This week’s clergy discuss why Easter is a hopeful and joyous feast, especially in difficult, challenging times.

The Rev. Douglas R. Arcoleo

St. Catherine of Sienna Roman Catholic Church, Franklin Square

The pathway through Lent is over and we have arrived at … an empty tomb: the sign that the Lord’s promise to rise from the dead was fulfilled. That Resurrection is the promise of Easter for all of us who have come to believe that Jesus is (in the words of Saint Martha outside the tomb of her dead brother, Lazarus) “the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world” (John 11:27).

Ever since the empty tomb was left behind 2,000 years ago, belief in Jesus has been filling the world with new life wherever it is proclaimed: comforting grieving believers, strengthening weak believers, reassuring doubting believers and converting nonbelievers. And while the pathway of life traveled by the church these 2,000 years bears witness to that, all of us on that pathway in the 21st century can personally attest to its validity ourselves.

We witness it in hospital rooms. We witness it in classrooms. We witness it in funeral homes. We witness it at cemeteries. We witness it at the altar of the Lord where every Sunday the promise is fulfilled because: He is risen! Truly risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!

The Very Rev. Michael T. Sniffen

Dean, Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City

Easter welcomes us to a refreshing moment in our faith journey. We celebrate life in the midst of death and remember that love, not fear, is the universe’s animating force. In conquering death by selfless love, Jesus Christ offers a pattern for our own lives: to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Our world is beset by challenges of every kind. Our mortality and brokenness are ever before us. At Easter, we remember that God in Christ is equipping us day by day to rise to the life immortal in our time. We do this when we choose love in each decision we face as individuals and communities. Our hearts break for Ukraine, for refugees around the world, for hungry children and for the suffering and grief present in our own families.

Amid many sorrows, we are not powerless. God’s abiding spirit enters our hearts as inspiration to act. The tomb is empty. Death is not the end. We are not alone. God is with us forever, pouring out love so powerful that it renews the face of the earth even now. As we celebrate the resurrection, we lift each other up and share the Good News.

The Rev. Barbara L. Whitlow

Pastor, First United Methodist Church of Central Islip and Hauppauge United Methodist Church

Easter is the fulfillment of God's promise of pardon for our sins and eternal life through faith for those who believe in Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8 tells us that God showed his great love for all of us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

In John 11:25-26, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die." Christ’s death by crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday prove his victory over sin and death.

Having faith in Christ assures us of forgiveness for our sins and offers us the promise of eternal life. The believer receives this assurance as soon as the choice is made to believe in Jesus. What a glorious promise, that sin and death are not final postscripts to our human existence.

As true believers we have the victory over sin and death because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. The victorious life is one that is also eternal, and it is an abundant life that never ends, which is the promise of Easter.