Maybe it’s the lack of snow. Maybe it’s the absence of Burl Ives. Maybe it’s because it’s easier to sing about something all of us have seen — a tiny baby — than it is to sing about something only a handful of people saw a long time ago — a resurrected corpse.
More likely it’s because Easter music is decisive: everyone believes in babies and peace, but relatively few believe that a man literally broke out of the grave and that the eternal destiny of all humanity is tied to that event.
So while the number and familiarity of Easter hymnody can’t quite match that of Christmas, resurrection music can make my spirit soar simply because it is so emphatic.
So here they are . . . my top five, spirit soaring Easter songs.
5. He Lives. Not the greatest theology — you ask me how I know he lives; he lives within my heart — but there’s no better way to get a small country church singing with gusto than to play #310 in the Methodist hymnal. How about some Alan Jackson?
4. Celebrate Jesus, Celebrate. An oldie-but-goodie in contemporary Christian music. I have such fond memories of this one because it was the signature song for our March For Jesus in Monroe, North Carolina, 1995.
3. Because He Lives. You know what’s cool? We’ve got some of the Shea family who are part of Good Shepherd!
2. In Christ Alone. What is it? Praise chorus or classic hymn? YES!
1. Christ Is Risen From The Dead. Chills, tears, victory. Trampling over death by death.