By Revd George Mwaura

[Bible readings: 1 Corinthians 15: 20–26 and Luke 24: 1–12]

Resurrection God, on this glorious Easter morning,
our hearts overflow with joy as we celebrate the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection.
Just as dawn broke over that empty tomb, let your light break through into our lives
through the words of the scriptures and the meditation of all our hearts.

Amen

The pyramids of Egypt are famous because they contain the mummified bodies of ancient Egyptian kings. Westminster Abbey is famous because in it rests the remains of the good and not so good English notables. Prophet Mohammed’s tomb in Medina is noted for the stone coffin and the bones it contains. Question: ‘Why is The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem famous?’ Because it is empty. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen; Christ’s body is not there; He rose on the third day as promised! And that is why resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. Amen. The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians in his first letter: if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith too, is in vain. The first witness to the Easter miracle was a group of women. What an honour this must have been! I wonder why God chose women. I read a joke somewhere that since God wanted to spread the Good News far and wide, he asked himself: ‘Who talks the most and keeps secrets the least?’ And on that basis, he chose women. Before you crucify me, I repeat this joke light-heartedly, knowing that it’s the season of forgiveness and you will forgive me.

But jokes aside, the women made the discovery because they were the first people who tried to render a service to their crucified Lord. They went to the tomb to anoint the body with spices, as was the Jewish custom, and discovered that Jesus had risen. Incidentally, the fact that women were the first Easter people is another evidence for the authenticity of the resurrection narrative.

In the Jewish culture of that time, a woman’s testimony was unacceptable except in very rare circumstances or if accompanied by a man. So, if the four gospels were fabrications, they would have had men disciples at the tomb, and not a group of women.

Interestingly, sceptics of every age have trouble with resurrection. They ask, ‘Do you want us to believe that a dead man walked out of his grave?’ Sadly, that was also the attitude of Jesus’ disciples when they first heard the news. But something earth-shattering happened on that first Easter Sunday morning and any objective observer can tell that. Within a short period following the death of Jesus, this little band of depressed, cowardly men was transformed into a militant, charismatic team of evangelists who spread the Resurrection news right across the world. Ten of the original disciples were killed for their beliefs. Their lives would have been spared if they had just denied that Jesus rose from the dead. But they would not. As a matter of principle, human beings are not willing to die for things that are not true.

According to Luke’s account of what happened on that first Easter morning, two men in dazzling white clothes met the women at Jesus’ tomb. As the women bowed in fear and awe, the angels gave them certain instructions. It seems to me that they told the women, and in extension you and me, exactly what is required of us to be Easter people. And what are these requirements?

First, an Easter person is one who searches for Jesus. The angels told the women that they were looking for Jesus in the wrong place. ‘Don’t search for the living among the dead,’ they said. But at least the women were searching. Which is more than we can say for the disciples. They were huddled in fear and despair behind locked doors. There is a beautiful promise in the book of Jeremiah about those who search for God: ‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart;’ declares the Lord. That’s what the women were doing and that’s what is needed of us – to seek the Lord earnestly among the living in our society: and there we will find him.

Second, an Easter person is one who remembers God’s words: The angels said to the women, ‘Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee that: “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again”?’ Then they remembered his words and were consoled. Jesus himself said: ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.’ Today, we are extremely lucky in that we have his words always with us in this holy book. But we would be well advised to read them and commit them to heart so we can remember them in our hour of need.

Third, an Easter person is the one who believes the good news: Again, the women of Easter morning display more character than the disciples. From the moment these women heard the good news that our crucified Lord had arisen, they believed it, but not those disciples! In fact, one of the disciples went as far as to say that he would not believe unless and until he saw and touched Jesus’ wounds. Later Jesus showed Thomas his wounds and then said: ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ I don’t know how that makes you feel, but Jesus’ statement is of great comfort to me. Jesus is speaking to me. Most likely you and I will never see Jesus in this life. We will not have the chance to put our fingers in his wounds. It will never be proven to us that he was raised from the dead. So, Jesus understands it’s harder for you and me to believe than for Thomas, and he counts us blessed.

Finally, an Easter person is one who shares the good news: the women of the first Easter did exactly that. Those women were the second evangelists in history. In our passage we heard that they told the Eleven and others all the things the angels had told them. In other words, they spread the word. A few years ago, and I’m sure I’ve shared this story before, after we distributed the palm crosses, a young lad who was visiting with his family, approached me and asked: ‘Do you have any crosses left?’ I said, ‘I will check with Revd Ernesto; but why do you ask?’ He said: ‘I would like to take a few and give them to some of my friends.’ Wow! I was impressed. I gave him a few and said a prayer of thanksgiving for a young man who was not content to appropriate the good news for himself, but who felt the need to share it with others. That should be our attitude, today, tomorrow and always, because we are witness to God’s saving grace, and are successors to the disciples. Easter is the greatest surprise in history: an empty tomb that filled the world with hope. Every time we share this hope with others, we become part of this incredible story that started on that first Easter morning.

My dear friends, may the joy and hope of Easter fill your hearts today and always, and may the peace of the risen Christ be with you all. Christ is risen, Hallelujah!

Amen!