His arms were outstretched, as if to embrace the world and bring it to a new place. That is exactly what happened. Christ emptied himself, entered our world fully, then carried us where we could not go on our own. Once, death had the final word, but because Christ lives, we now live in the sure and certain hope that death is defeated and God's reign is eternal. Paul urges us therefore to embrace one another with such assurance, imitating Christ, for in our mutual encouragement, the joy of the resurrection is made complete.

Like many of you, the sting of death came close to me recently in the loss of a loved one. It strikes close to us all in the tragic events of September 11 or in the frightening violence in the Middle East or in the grief of friends and neighbors. Uncertainties abound, and we may feel powerless in the face of them. I have heard it said by skeptics in and out the church that the gospel message and our ministries have little impact in a secularized world driven by power and measured by bottom line results. Don't believe it. Consider the healing power of the compassionate word, the life-giving hope in testimonies of faith, the consolation and motivation conveyed by visions of a new heaven and a new earth. Through every congregation and every faithful ministry, Christ's resurrection is making a tremendous difference in the lives of countless people. God blesses us with awesome power, and Christ's resurrection is a bottom line like no other.

At the death of my mother, a pastor friend who is no stranger to grief embraced me with these words: "I trust that her new life is simply beyond description." I'll go with that, and so can you, thankful to God who gives us the victory through Christ Jesus our Lord.