EASTER, 2016 – GOING TO JERUSALEM

Easter Sunday, March 27

 The Resurrection of Jesus: Matthew 28: 1 -10

            Amid the wreckage of the now-empty tomb and fainted guards, the angel spoke these words to the women: “This is my message for you.” 

            And what a wondrous message it was: Jesus was not in the tomb any longer. He has been raised from the dead. The angel messenger invites them to take a look for themselves inside the tomb.

            And in a brief few, almost too brief, verses we, too, are invited into the Easter text. There is a message here for us. Come and see for yourself. Take a look. Use your hearts. Use your imagination. Use your faith.  The truth of the message is this: He is not here, for he has been raised as he said.

            It is tempting sometimes to over-think and over-analyze the Resurrection message. Some hear the message and resist its rationally absurd and incredible impossibility. Others parse the message too closely and get lost in tangible proofs and hard-core facts.

            I am unlikely to convince you if you are skeptical or dubious. So take a look for yourself. The big obstacles may get rolled away. The emptiness of the tomb may seem strange and alien. But unless and until you see for yourself you will miss the message. He is definitely not here.

Check the nooks and the crannies if you must but he still will not be here.

An empty tomb, in and of itself, does not prove the message for some.  Jesus also appeared to the disciples in a recognizable form and he too invited them into his message of New Life and New Hope, with promises of insight and understanding and a new mission.

So I will keep it simple today.

This is my message for you.  Come and see.