In the last few days, we have heard the story about Jesus who entered Jerusalem with Hosannas from the people. Later in the week, he was arrested, tried, condemned to death, and crucified. With his death, darkness descended in the hearts of his followers. Their hope, their dreams, their vision of the future died with him. They found themselves hiding and cowering in fear for their own lives. Their spirits were crushed. The only thing they could cling to was each other.
In one of the Sunday school classes, a teacher was trying to help her children understand the meaning of Holy Week. When she was explaining Good Friday, she said, “Now this Friday is called what? Good… Good…what?” A little boy replied, “Goodbye.”
Old Pontius Pilate, the High Priest and all the members of the Sanhedrin poked each other in the ribs, and said, “Goodbye, Jesus!” And all the people who loved him hung their heads, and said, “Goodbye, Jesus.” But that was Friday.
Listen as Luke describes what happened two days later on Sunday. Luke tells us that on the first day of the week, at early dawn, some women came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. And when they went in, they did not find the body. Suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The two reminded the women, “Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again?” The women then remembered his words. Returning from the tomb, they told all this to the 11, and to all the rest. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
Listen again: “But these words seemed to them (the apostles) an idle tale, and they did not believe them.”
Here we are, waking up early in the morning, and are told that the disciples themselves did not believe in the greatest event in the history of the world. Here we are, coming together hoping to be assured that death has been defeated, that sin holds no power to destroy us, and that there can be new life now.
But we are told that those closest to Jesus during the three years of his ministry, those who heard him preach on hillsides and beside water, those who shared in the miracles Jesus did, those who had broken bread with him as only friends can in the intimacy of the upper room, those who had heard him teach with patience about the kingdom of God, now we hear that when they heard the amazing story of the empty tomb, they thought it was idle tale!
And they might be right! Who ever heard of someone regaining life after being declared dead for three days? The brain cells would have died, the body would be decomposing. But it is nonsense to think that someone who went through the agony of crucifixion, and had the life, breath, and blood squeezed out of him could suddenly have enough strength to walk out of a damp, dark tomb. This whole Resurrection story defies medical explanation; it goes against rational thinking.
Believing in an event, in a story that is so radical would have to change my perception of life. If I believe the women’s story who ran from the tomb that first Easter morning, then I’m stuck with believing in something so new, so different, so radical, that my life will have to change.
Because Jesus the Christ lives, I, too, can live – that is radical. Because Jesus rose from the dead, I can love my enemy; I can pray for those who persecute me; I can give when others hurt — that, my friends, is radical. It is not the way of the world.
Thus, to be a Christian is not to be rational, not to be logical. To be a Christian believing in the Resurrection means to live a radical new life. It is believing that Jesus lives, and is here now with us. And if we believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, love can triumph over hate, goodness over evil, truth over lies, hope over despair.
My friends, the truth is that Jesus died on that cross. They buried him in a borrowed grave. Those early disciples were disappointed, discouraged, and felt defeated. Their grief was genuine, and almost debilitating. But Luke tells us that God had the final word, and that word changes everything. Resurrection. That is the final word giving us Hope for today.
Have you ever experienced anything like this in your own life? Have there been times when you felt that your life is filled with nothing but sunsets, when all you ever wanted was a little bit of sunrise? Was there a time when your burden was so heavy, or the time when one of your loved ones died, and you felt that there was nothing else to live for? Was there a time when you felt that you had nothing to live for? I wonder if I am speaking to someone today who has traveled a long and lonely road? If so, then the story of the Resurrection speaks to you.
I would like to believe that our waking up early today is worth listening that our lives are radically changed because Jesus rose from the dead.
But more than listening to the Resurrection story, we are told that the lives of the disciples were forever changed. From defeated to dynamic, from heartsick to heroic, from doubting to death-defying. They felt that it is worth dying for.
A number of years ago, a pastor stopped by to visit a woman whose husband had died. She and her husband had no children. They only had each other, and they doted on each other. The day Everett died, Emma closed the blinds and pulled all the curtains, and sealed herself in the darkness of her grief. It was one of those dark, drizzly days when the pastor visited her. It was like stepping into a tomb.
After talking for a few minutes, Emma burst out with, “Is the Resurrection real?” The pastor answered, “Yes.” She in turn asked, “Well, how do you know?” They talked about the passages of Scripture that dealt with the Resurrection. They talked about how they had to accept it on faith. But the pastor could tell it was not getting through. With a deep sigh Emma said, “I want a sign.” As they talked, the rain had been coming down harder and harder as the storm blew through. It had gotten even darker. The pastor felt depressed for he went there to help but failed. Before he left, they prayed.
As the pastor stepped outside, and started down the walk, the sun came out, and it had stopped raining. As he looked up the sky, off in the east was still dark and stormy, but the western sky was beginning to lighten up. He immediately turned around, and rang the doorbell. As the door opened, he took Emma’s hand, led her outside, and pointed. They both stood there in stunned silence as they looked at one of the most beautiful double rainbows. It was a horizon-to-horizon full double rainbow. The colors were brilliant. Emma started crying. And then she started laughing. She looked at the pastor, and through her tears and laughter said, “He’s alive!” She started opening the curtains and blinds.
The Good News for us today is that God enters our lives, and meets us where we are. God enters the ordinary, and brings us Hope for today, and Hope to the future. Sometimes God gives us glimpses of the Resurrection, glimpses of the future, and reminds us that one day, there will be no more tears, and no more mourning for those who have faith in Jesus.
When I was a chaplain intern at Brokenshire Hospital, I was called one night to a room. When I entered, I saw the doctors and nurses attending to a child. At one corner of the room was a couple crying. Assuming they were the parents, I approached them, and introduced myself to them. They told me they needed prayers for their dying child, as the doctor told them. They said they could not bring the child to the hospital right away because they did not have money. And now it was too late. I felt helpless watching the doctors working on the patient. After the doctors and nurses left, we went around the child’s bed, then I asked if I could say a prayer. It was hard to pray for healing when the child was dying. What I did was pray for strength for the parents, and for me.
The next day, the nurse told me that the child had died, and the parents wanted to see me. When I talked with the parents, they thanked me for being there with them. I did not know what to say, except to say again another prayer for the parents that they be given strength, and the assurance of life after death.
For those of us who have lost our loved ones, it may be hard to talk about death. But the Good News for us today is that God’s final word is the empty tomb of Jesus. It reaches out to each of us bringing hope of new beginnings, hope in the face of the darkness of death. It is Hope for Today and Hope for the Future. This is the glory of the story of the Resurrection, This is the glory of the Christian faith. This is why we gather here today to celebrate the good news of the Resurrection because God stepped into history, and said to the forces of evil, “I have the last word.”
For those of us whose loved ones have died, I may not be able to prove to you beyond doubt about Christ’s Resurrection, but I can tell you that if you believe, there will come a time when the heaviness in your hearts will become easier to bear because of our faith that Christ rose from the dead.
Our gathering here this morning is a witness to the power of the Resurrection. Our Christian living is a witness to the power of the Resurrection. Our giving of our lives to Christ is a witness to the power of the Resurrection. Our love expressed in sacrificial ways is a witness to the power of Resurrection. Our words of comfort and hope are witnesses to the power of Resurrection.
Bob Allred tells the story about a country preacher who was listening to a seminary professor cast doubt on the core issues of the faith. When the professor finished his lecture, the elderly pastor got up, took an apple from his lunch bag, and started eating it, as he said, “Mr. Professor, I haven’t read many of them books you quoted.” Then he took another bite of the apple. “Mr. Professor, I don’t know much about the great thinkers you mentioned,” as he took still another bite of his apple. “Mr. Professor, I admit I haven’t studied the Bible like you have,” as he finished his apple, and dropped it back in the bag. “I was just wondering, that apple that I just ate, was it sour or sweet?” The Professor responded, “How could I know? I have not tasted your apple.” To which the old preacher replied, “With all due respect, sir, I was just wondering if you had ever had a taste of my Jesus?”
And this power continues to sustain our living. It gives us hope for today, and all the tomorrows which await us. The evidence of the truth of the Resurrection is the changed lives that occurred in those who knew him then, and those who know him now.
Do you know him? Is the good news of Easter still an idle tale to you? Or are you among those who have encountered the resurrected Christ in your own life, and who can proclaim today, “He is alive! He is alive? Now and forevermore!”
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Author’s email: piajonathan@yahoo.com
