Easter

April 12, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:1-10
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’

The gospels render the events of the resurrection differently. I have heard police inspectors say they are more suspicious of witnesses’ accounts that all match entirely than the ones that differ somewhat. We all remember events through the filters of our lives. What does seem to be consistent is fear, joy, and scant memories of Jesus saying something about coming back from death.

The other consistent messages were “Do not be afraid” and “go and tell.” Go and tell the disciples I am alive. Both instructions ring in our ears today. The commands still apply to be fearless disciples and to go and tell the whole world that Christ has Risen!

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for your incarnation, coming to dwell among us modeling wisdom and truth, and we thank you for the wonderous gift of your life, which brought us salvation and open the door to creating a world ruled by love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.