a new Easter greeting for the coming days

I have always loved Easter.
I love the joy that springs from knowing
that Jesus conquered death and hell,
that his great sacrifice led to our great freedom,
that his love and righteousness gains us entrance into his family.

I also love old Easter hymns, new Easter clothes and of course,
almost any kind of Easter Chocolate.

And I love that traditional orthodox Easter greeting exchanged between the pews at church
where one person says,
"Christ is Risen!"
And another person answers,
"He is risen, indeed!"
Making us sound like we all hail from Victorian England.
The exchange echoes the great hope that buoys us up on this
great day when we celebrate Jesus.

And then, I also love family Easter traditions.
Like ham, cheese and pickle sandwiches on sweet rolls for lunch.
And of course, the early morning Easter basket hunt in the house before
we go to church.
We hide the boys Easter baskets, get them up early and make them search them out
with a game of Hot and Cold.
Hot if you are within arms length of finding it. Cold if you are not even close.

Yesterday morning, Addie was up first and found his basket right away.
"That was easy, Mom."
It is a lot harder to hide a basket when the kids are over 5.
As Will was searching, I told him,
"Will, you are super hot."
He winked at me and said, "Thanks, Mom."
"Not that kind of hot, Will. Don't be weird."

Jack was the last one out of bed to find his basket.
He had a harder time finding it hidden in the shoe basket.
When he finally found it, he settled into a chair and began
eating his candy.

I was caught up in the joy of the moment.
My three beautiful boys. Easter. God's goodness. Chocolate.
So I said loudly, with great excitement, "Christ is Risen!"
There was a moment of silence.
Apparently, no one knew the appropriate Easter response.
So Jack looked at me with a grin and said, "YA, HE IS!"

We may need to work on our Easter vernacular with the boys.
Jack's happy answer is a bit unorthodox.
(This in keeping with Worship High Fives
and saying "Cheers" while clinking tiny cups during communion....
all Aughtmon boy originals.)

It may behow you want to greet your pastor next Easter....
but I think it works.
It is an affirmation of the goodness of Jesus and the amazing work He did on our behalf.

So in the spirit of joy and hope of the One who loves us most of all
and has brought us into his great family....
"Christ is Risen!"
Can I get a "Ya, He is!"?