Happy Easter!

I was browsing through a hymnal looking at Easter hymns (those under the heading "Resurrection") and noticed that most of those in this particular hymnal ended each verse with "Hallelujah" or "Alleluia" (or some other variant spelling). We are all familiar with the word and have heard it many times. Literally, it means "Praise Yahweh." It is easy to see, then, how songs about the rising from the dead of the Son of God can elicit the shout of praise that the people of God have been singing for thousands of years, "Hallelujah!" Even the banner pictured here is an "Easter" banner, adorned with Easter lillies and "Hallelujah."
I now frequently think of this story from Steve Schlissel when I think of "hallelujah." Speaking of believers, he says:

We are the people who alone have a fellowship that the world only talks about and crows about but knows nothing of. We have a fellowship that spans past every cultural divide and every language and every nation. No matter where we go in the world, we can find believers who are like-minded and like-hearted, and we can bond with them and know that we are brothers and sisters in Christ to the amazement, and disgrace, of all other people. The people of the world try to institute it by legislation, and they fail. They can only fail, because true fellowship is one of the Holy Spirit’s greatest gifts to us. The late Dr. Bob Cook from The King’s College (NY) used to talk about a trip he once made to Japan. As he was riding a train and reading his Bible, he noticed that a Japanese man sitting across from him was also reading a Bible. The Japanese man saw that Dr. Cook had a Bible. They looked at each other and recognized that they were Christians; but Dr. Cook did not speak Japanese, and the Japanese man did not speak English. So, in an effort to communicate with Dr. Cook the Japanese man said, “Hallelujah!” Then Dr. Cook said, “Hallelujah!” They went back and forth with their hallelujahs, fellowshipping in terms of the most untranslated word on earth.

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah!