What I’m Thinking: It’s So Good to See You

On the week after Easter, What I’m Thinking becomes What I’m Singing, and I’m singing “It’s So Good to See You.”

Here’s a transcript:

It’s been my custom for a few years that in the week after Easter What I’m Thinking becomes “What I’m Singing.” That’s partially because after Easter I haven’t got a whole lot of brain left to do much thinking. This year it was actually something of a struggle to come up with the song as well. The run up to Easter was fairly exhausting. However, it did happen.

This song comes from Matthew 28 (Matthew 28:1-10). After Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary heard from the angel that Jesus had been raised, they ran back towards the city. On the way they met Jesus on the road and he greeted them with a word that Matthew rendered in Greek as Xairete. I’m not sure what he would have been translating that from in Hebrew. The thing is, it’s a fairly casual greeting, and in looking up translations one of them was: “good to see you.”

“Good to see you” — and that is the root and also I think the trunk, the branch, and the leaf of this song.

It’s So Good to See You

Xairete, Mary and Mary
It’s good to see you.
Xairete, friends who’ve been faithful.
It’s so good to see you.

Three days in a grave
What can I say
When my friends come running to me:
It’s so good to see you.

Xairete, Peter and Andrew
It’s good to see you.
Chins up, so I can see your faces.
It’s so good to see you.

I know that you ran
I know you denied
But my friends, I’m living again:
It’s so good to see you.

[Bridge]

Don’t think resurrection is easy.
It’s not.
There was peace, there was rest in the grave;
I haven’t been resting a lot.
When the tomb rolled away, how could I stay?
I’ve so many people to see again!

Xairete, let me embrace you.
It’s good to see you.
No tomb can keep me away from you.
It’s so good to see you.

Come on into the day,
And do not be afraid
For the life that is mine will be yours!
It’s so good to see you.

© 2023 by Eric Anderson

Well, that’s what I’m singing. I’m curious to hear what you’re thinking. Leave me your thoughts in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.