Acts 10.34-43, Jeremiah 31.1-6, Matthew 28.1-10
Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Tell me the old, old story,
Of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory,
Of Jesus and His love…
So begins the opening verse of the hymn Tell Me The Old, Old Story by Miss Kate Hankey born about 1846, the daughter of an English banker. The hymn itself is part of a much longer poem she wrote while recovering from a serious illness. In essence, the poem is a reflection on the gospel story and God’s redeeming purposes for humankind – the old, old story of his never ending, all encompassing, saving love.
The Easter story is a central part of this big God-story of saving love. It is a familiar story. You might say it is the same old story we heard last year, and the year before, and the year before that. We’ve been repeating it for over two thousand years!
But we need to hear this old, old story afresh today because we forget so soon, just like the early dew of morning which has passed away by noon. We need to hear the old, old story, because it is a good news-hope-filled story. The Easter story is one you can count on; it is completely trustworthy.
So, no matter what has or has not happened in your life, no matter what you've done or left undone, no matter what stage of life you're in or what circumstances you might be facing, regardless of the ups and downs you've experienced, the Easter story is true for you today. Why? Because the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the most earth-shattering event in all of time and space and the most wonderful good news story there is to hear and tell.
Through that one event at Calvary, history was split in two and a path opened for all humanity, indeed all of creation, to be set free from sin, death and decay. And while God’s one and only Son, Christ Jesus our Saviour, bled and died on the cross to take away the sins of the world, his resurrection brings eternal hope and new life to all who say yes to him.
We need to hear once again ‘He is not here; He has risen, just as he said.’ And that, changes everything.
It changes everything because my life and world have changed over the last year and so has yours. Its because I have changed over the last year and so have you. Its because the world around has changed and continues to change. If there is one word that sums up the present state of affairs its got to be crisis. We live in a state of crisis – wars, economic uncertainties, threats from AI, climate emergency, a breakdown in trust between peoples, governments and nations, leaving us feeling helpless, hopeless and despairing.
Over 2 thousand years ago the world was also in crisis. God's people had longed for and hoped in liberation from Roman occupation. It seemed Jesus was the rescuer. Except the rescuer now hung, nailed to the cross – hopes and dreams shattered.
But fear not! There is hope in the old, old story. Or should I say there is resurrection hope in the Easter story.
Let me share with you once again, the Easter story as recorded for us in Matthew’s gospel. It happened “as the first day of the week was dawning.” The sun was waking the dawn as light pushed darkness away. A new day was dawning and with it came warmth, light and a new beginning.
I wonder if you need warmth and light in your life, a second chance or the possibilities that a new day brings. If so, then the Easter story is for you because Christ is risen!
The light of Christ dispels darkness. Every sunrise brings warmth, a second chance and endless possibilities to know and encounter the love of Christ. Let the Son shine on you today.
“Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.”
They were there when Jesus was crucified.
They were there when he was laid in a tomb.
They were grief stricken, trying to make sense of what had happened.
They have come in great sadness to see the tomb perhaps to pay their respects one last time. So much pain, so much sorrow, such heavy hearts.
For all who’ve experienced heartache through loss, for all who’ve laid someone or something in the tomb, the Easter story is for you.
Alleluia! Christ is risen.
"Suddenly there was a great earthquake" and "an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone" from the tomb and said, "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."
I’m sure we’ve been in situations or some circumstance when all we’ve desperately needed was some good news.
If you happen to be in that place now, if for any reason you’re feeling hopeless or helpless, plans and dreams shattered, living as if death has the final say, then I have some earthshaking good news for you. He is risen. Alleluia! The Easter story is for you. And because Jesus is risen, we too can have resurrection hope. Because when it seems all is dead and buried in the grave, resurrection hope acts like an anchor for the soul.
The resurrection of Jesus gives us hope for the present; hope for the future and everything in between because he lives forever and promises never to leave us or forsake us. So, this day and every day,
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”, (Romans 15:13).
The angel's message to the women is to 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.”
Galilee of course is where Jesus and the disciples come from. Nothing very special about plain old Galilee. Its their home and also where Jesus spent most of his time. He ministered to all sorts of people on the roads and towns of Galilee along with his disciples. And so, its quite fitting that he should go back to Galilee, back to base so to speak, to meet with his disciples after his resurrection.
Have you sometimes wondered where Jesus is? Have you struggled to find him or perhaps thought you need to be in some special place or get yourself ‘sorted’ first because Jesus would certainly not be interested in your everyday ordinary life and where you’re at, and Easter is just another “eggstravaganza” with nothing in it for you?
If so, then the Easter story is for you because the risen Jesus loves nothing more than to meet us in our ordinary everyday lives and bless it with his extraordinary love. Be open to the possibility of meeting the risen Christ in the mundane, ordinary, everyday routines of life and allow him to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary by his presence.
Have you ever wondered why the angel rolled back the stone from the tomb? In Mark, Luke, and John the stone has already been removed when the women arrive. But in Matthew the stone is not rolled back until after the women arrive. What’s that about? What’s Matthew telling us?
What he’s not telling us is so that Jesus could get out!
The thing is the women find the tomb exactly as they had seen it on Good Friday. Nothing’s changed. Nothing’s happened. I guess sometimes that’s how life feels like for us. We feel stuck. We begin to wonder whether God is doing anything at all in our lives. We can’t see any evidence of his activity. I suppose both the Marys felt a bit like that. No change on the face of it. That is until the angel rolls the stone away so the women can see inside, so they could see Jesus had been raised and is not there. And that means resurrection was already happening behind the great stone.
For you and me that means new life is already taking place even when we don’t see it, don’t expect it, don’t think it can. Even in the ‘winter’ of our lives, God is at work. If you ever needed confirmation of that, take a look at all the beautiful flowers springing up and baby lambs frolicking in the fields. God works in the winter to bring new life in spring.
When we say yes to Jesus, his resurrection power is at work in us in new and unexpected ways.
And so this old, old, Easter story is good news for everyone because it proclaims that Jesus is alive. The tomb was empty! The good news of Easter is a risen Saviour. It means our sins have been forgiven because of what Jesus did on the cross. He is our redeemer and Saviour.
The good news of Easter is that death has been swallowed up in victory. We have a glorious hope of eternal life in Christ Jesus. And not only that, the risen Lord Jesus is present with his people today! We begin to share in the risen life of Jesus now.
Whatever we might face in our daily lives we can know and experience the transforming, resurrection power of Christ to help carry and sustain us. This is the good news of Easter, and its good news for you, for me, for the whole world today. And we need to hear this Easter good-news-story, this old, old story not just today, but every day because we are resurrection people.
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Amen.