Easter Sunday - Isaiah 25: 6-9 and Mark 16:1-8 Image from A Sanctified Art
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed, alleluia!
“I’m not quite sure what I’m doing for Easter yet.”
If you heard something like this—or if you felt it this week—do I want to go to church this Easter Sunday?—you’re not alone.
The very first Easter was filled with uncertain people, people wondering what to do—and walking toward an empty tomb was not immediately joyful but full of all kinds of feelings—fear, uncertainty, ambivalence, wonder. The first response to the resurrection news from Mark in that they said nothing to anyone because they were afraid.
And that sure sounds like a bizarre ending to the story but turns out, it was just the beginning.
Other writers took on this story—Matthew, Luke, John—and filled in more details… they told stories that described that after people met angels who said Jesus was raised from the dead that Jesus met Mary in garden, broke bread, ate fish, showed that one can live again even after being wounded.
All these stories try to show, not just tell, how the Risen Christ was embodied… the risen One breathed, ate, touched, forgave… still, in the resurrection, God is completely committed to bodies, to real life, to earth.
But also, in the resurrection, Jesus is…
Not bound by the harsh rules of life and death anymore.
Today, you have come to see for yourself and let’s just be clear that we know you’re not here because you’re bored and have nothing else to do… Maybe you’re here today because
· You are searching for meaning and trying to understand a world that is different than it was just a year or two ago.
· Or because you’ve been exposed to different faith communities and theologies, and you need a safe, reliable place to question, wrestle, and discern.
· Or because someone has diminished your human dignity and you long to be known, seen, and loved as the Beloved of God.
Maybe you’re here because
· Or because life has gotten progressively harder, and you need spiritual strength and power that only comes through community
· Or because you are grieving and mourning and need faithful community to accompany them.
· Or because you are tired of the relentless grind of productivity and work and want to establish restoring rhythms of life
· Or because you’ve had enough of shallow interactions and dysfunctional relationships and you long for healing
· Or because you are looking for an encounter with God[1]
Regardless of your reason for being here, these are all good reasons to be here—all of these are possible in this space, with God’s help—all of these are things God does among us, with us, for us.
As you may have read in the welcome words… Jesus is alive, and God has swallowed up death forever. With Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, we may feel astonished and confused, unsure of what to make of the empty tomb. But this is why we gather: to share stories of the hope we have, to accompany one another and be part of the new life that Jesus’ death and resurrection brings into being.
Yesterday evening, there was a gathering here called the Easter Vigil. There was fire, there were stories and singing and prayers. Then, those who were present witnessed the baptism of Soonee—and got to hear the story of how 10 years ago—her family was baptized. So, it was both the 10th anniversary of three family members’ baptism and the baptism of long-awaited, much loved daughter and sister, Soonee. Water splashed over her small head, she received prayers and anointing with oil, and we all made promises to one another in light of all the promises God makes to us. We remembered together that Soonee is a beloved child of God.
We have so many embodied practices when we gather as church—we use water and oil and words and prayers—because we want and need to know deep in our bodies how much we are loved. There are so many voices that tell us otherwise. So, we practice the liberating reality of Christ’s death and resurrection here so we can know… as sure as we live and breathe… that Jesus is present, in and around our real bodies, and freeing us from anything that comes in the way of God’s loving embrace.
In a few moments, we’ll gather with an invitation to come and eat the bread of Holy Communion. Everyone is welcome at this meal where we receive a little bit of bread. It’s bread that Jesus said is God’s body. We eat it and become God’s body. We’ll share from the cup that Jesus said makes a new covenant—a promise, a blessing—between God and us.
All of this is so that we can experience God’s presence within, in community and beyond these walls—we get a taste of these realities, these promises here so that we will be able to glimpse the Risen Christ everywhere. So that we will be free, unbound… even as we are grounded in the loving reality of God who is so committed to life with us that God altered the realities of death and life forever—transforming death into something temporary and life into an opportunity to taste the love that begins now and continues… forever.
This is why we know that Jesus’ resurrection is not a comeback but a transformation, not just a guide to the afterlife but a guide to life now, not a happy ending but a new beginning.[2]
In word and feast, prayers and songs, we celebrate God’s unending love, and leave not in terror but filled with love to share with all the world.
Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!
[1] From a message by Jennifer Watley Maxell, “Don't Misinterpret the Moment,” March 19, 2024, The Ministry Collaborative
[2] Steve Garnaas-Holmes’ https://unfoldinglight.net/2023/06/01/easter-sunday-2/
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