Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ has risen! Alleluia!
Can you imagine how Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James must have felt when they discovered the boulder rolled away from Jesus’ tomb and then discovered that Jesus was not inside? St Luke tells us that they were puzzled. These were some of the same women who stood at the foot of the cross and watched Jesus die just a few days before. It seems to me that feeling “puzzled” is a huge understatement. If I had been there, I might have been outraged or shocked or angry. The women’s puzzlement turned into terror when two men in dazzling white garments appeared to them telling them “He is not here, but he has been raised.”
When the women told the apostles what they witnessed, the men were skeptical and dismissive. I can hear Peter saying, “What a load of nonsense”! BUT Peter did run to the tomb to see for himself. Although he didn’t encounter the two men, when he saw the empty tomb, he went home “amazed at what happened.”
Consider for a moment how you might have felt if you discovered Jesus’ empty tomb. Of course, you and I have more than 2000 years of hindsight going for us. Putting our 21st Century selves into that situation isn’t really fair. Or is it? The Resurrection is the most important thing that we as Christians believe. It is the foundation of our faith. And it is the greatest mystery of our faith. None of Jesus’ disciples or followers actually witnessed the Resurrection. No one did. Yet they believed and we believe that it happened. The Resurrection is about the power of God’s love not only for his son, Jesus, but for us. The Resurrection is why we are here today and why we keep coming back.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Jesus has risen! Alleluia!
Lord God, this is the day that you have made!
Raising Jesus from the dead,
and raising us with him,
you have fashioned for yourself a new people,
washed in the waters of baptism,
sealed with the gift of the Spirit,
and invited to the banquet of the Lamb!
Continue in us the work of resurrection;
lift us above our faults,
to joy and unselfish love
as we serve you in one another.
We ask this through your Son,
our Passover and our Peace,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
AMEN.
