Easter

Apr 3, 2021

"Don't be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him."

- An angel to some women at the Tomb, Mark 16:6

"If you live in the dark a long time and the sun comes out, you do not cross into it whistling. There's an initial uprush of relief at first -- then, for me, anyway -- a profound dislocation. My old assumptions about how the world works are buried, yet my new ones aren't yet operational. There's been a death of sorts, but without a few days in hell, no resurrection is possible."

- Mary Karr

Every once in a while the fundamental laws of the Universe seem to be momentarily suspended… and not only does something Go Right against the odds, but nothing seems to be able to keep it from staying Right!

...It's the ecstasy of what-could-never-happen… but did!

...It's the wonder of really Bad News becoming suddenly surprising Good News!

...It's celebrating the absolutely Best Thing that could've happened on the absolutely Worst Day!

Here's an epic account of one such day in history:

"Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus' body. Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?' But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, 'Don't be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid His body.'"

- Mark 16:1-6

The women thought Jesus was gone for good. That's obvious because they went to the tomb with spices to put on his corpse rather than an omelet to serve him for breakfast. No one expected him to be alive. No one. But then the news from the angel: "He is not here! He is Risen!"

Hope riding on the storm of confusion. And they're disoriented… like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when she realized she had been in a dream. Whiplash! The last three days seemed like a nightmare… and now everything seemed too good to be true.The rules of life and death had been re-written before their very eyes. What had never been possible before was now possible.

Because if Jesus is alive, then everything He said to us is True, and everything He did for us is Real! We are loved just as we are! We are forgiven no matter what we've done! We will live forever in Heaven because death is an open door!

Years ago, when I was preparing my annual Easter message, Tyler walked into my study, looked at all the books lining my shelves, and asked, "Dad, what's the most important thing you know?" I smiled, and, after thinking about the totality of facts and ideas and truths and philosophies and theories and information that has come to me over the course of my life, I said, "The most important thing I know is the resurrection of Jesus Christ!" And here's why… because The Good News of the Resurrection is stronger than any Bad News in your life today!

...No matter how deep your pain is… God's comforting presence is deeper still!

...No matter how alone you feel… God's understanding presence is with you still!

...No matter how empty and broken you are… God's strengthening presence is beside you still!

Jesus interrupted the fundamental laws of the universe when He came back from the dead just for you! It's true! Nothing will keep Him from being with you right now… right where you are! You are the reason He came back!