How It Started, How It's Going - He Is Risen!

Matthew 28:1-10 

“He Is Risen”

Palm and Passion Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday remind us to not mistake the feeling or situation of any one moment for the meaning and impact of a life in its entirety. In this short sermon series, we explore the idea of “How It Started, How It’s Going.”

 
Easter Sunday, we begin the season of Easter with rejoicing. The end is not the end, but the beginning. All are welcome regardless of religious background, belief, Christian experience, or church affiliation.

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Trinity.

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It is April 5th, 2026, Easter Sunday. Our primary reading is Matt twenty-eight, one through ten. He is risen. I gave up soda for Lent. Every time I wanted a soda, there was an opportunity to return to God in prayer. Crave a soda, say a prayer. I had a very prayerful Lent. A spiritual but not religious friend texted me. She was raised a Christian, but peaced out as a young adult. So she knows the stories, but not the flow of the Christian years. She knows the stories, but not the rich layers of metaphor, history, and meaning that I believe a church should offer out of the box. So the stories that we learn as children continue to have renewed relevance to an adult mind. My friend has had to do all the heavy lifting of moving a childhood understanding into an adult spirituality by herself, without the benefit of a church community. She would say, without being put into a box by an institution and talked down to by hypocrites. Fair enough. So my spiritual but not religious friend texted to say happy Easter. She mentioned how blessed we all are to be alive and talked about the resurrection as a metaphor for the truth that we are called to a hope beyond grief, a journey home to our own hearts, despite all the heartbreak and brokenness. She said it's there in living despite and beyond incredible pain and tragedy. It's there at the empty tombs in our own lives where we encounter resurrection. How the story starts is not how it ends. And that's it, right? It was such a beautiful sentiment and so beautifully put. Agree. And so, so great of her to reach out and support and honor my spiritual understanding. So great of her to reframe her spirituality in a way that we could share the story of resurrection. How wonderful. Rockstar. I'm so glad she texted. I'm so glad I know her. If you've been here before on a major holiday, you've probably heard this. I love Easter and Christmas services. Love them. For so many reasons, I love them. But the biggest is that on these days, the mix of people in the pews is so cool. There are the regulars. You know who you are. There are those whose spiritual home is here in this church or in this faith, but you don't feel the need to come to church that often. So these church services for you at major holidays are a touch base for your spirituality. And then there are those of you who don't believe or believe in a very different flavor of the faith. You are here because you love someone. You are here to support and honor their spiritual understanding and commitments. How wonderful! Rock star. Rock star. Yesterday was holy Saturday, the last day of Lent. I bought a two-liter. Yesterday it's home chilling in my fridge, even now. Yesterday was Holy Saturday, the last Saturday of Lent. Holy Saturday is that part of the messy Jesus story where Jesus is dead and in the tomb, and everyone who loved him is grieving what could have been. Now it's the next morning. We start today's story with the Mary's at the tomb. We start in a place in which all hope has died. Literally. Jesus was the hope. Jesus was the hope of someone who would challenge the Roman occupation, who would demonstrate a faith that could turn back oppression, who would bring a new kingdom. But then Jesus was arrested and was crucified and did die. Past tense, all of it. How could this world be redeemed now? How would Jesus save them now? His life was in the past. We start today's story with the Marys at the tomb. After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. The gospel stories of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us Jesus died about three in the afternoon. At that late hour there was no time to properly prepare his body for burial before sunset. His body was temporarily laid in the tomb. The women who followed Jesus of Nazareth in life, Mary Magdalene and the other women, came to the tomb to properly prepare Jesus' body for burial. And then there was an earthquake. The stone was rolled back, and an angel said, an angel said, Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. How this story starts is not how it ends. If we take the resurrection seriously, we can believe in its literal truth, affirming that God stays with us in the darkest places, redeems everything, even the tomb, and meets us on the other side of death. If we take the resurrection seriously, we can also believe its metaphorical truth. That times of darkness are not forever. There is always reason for hope. No matter if we take the resurrection seriously as a literal truth or a metaphorical one, how the story starts is not how it ends. The Marys went to the tomb expecting death and found life. So many of us feel like the Marys at the tomb right now. So many of us are despairing right now for circumstances in our own lives, for the state of the world, for losses so, so deep. So many of us are despairing right now of the division in our country. If you are in despair, I encourage you to take the resurrection seriously. Believe the stone can be rolled away. Believe miraculous change is possible. And I encourage you to take the resurrection seriously because of who is in this room. Look around. No, really, I mean, look around. We are in a room full of people who commit, who touch base, and who show up for the people they love. The antidote to division is community. Fear is quieted when we gather together. The medicine we need to heal the world is in this room. You all are people who build community. Seriously. Look around. This Easter, I invite you to participate in the resurrection of Hope Beyond Darkness by spending the next six weeks involved in your community. Maybe it's this faith community. Maybe it's Calusa at large or wherever you live. Maybe it's in your own neighborhood. Every week. Show up for something. For some one. In six weeks' time, I assure you, a seed of hope and light will be planted in your heart, and it will be felt in the hearts of those around you. I call this the sensed presence of light and salvation of Christ at work in the world. This is small r resurrection. My spiritual but not religious friend calls this how it feels to be a good neighbor. You call it whatever you want, but I assure you you will feel it. How the story starts is not how it ends. Again and again and again, we find God moves in the world in ways we could never anticipate. Again and again we find God is saving us, giving us a resurrection in moments where our hope dies. How it starts is not how it ends. He is risen. Amen.

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