He is Risen!

THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

ACCORDING TO LUKE

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

LUKE 24:1-12

Sermon: The Rev. Dr. Maryann Amor

To believe that the resurrection was only a one-time, historical event limits its power in our lives. Its message becomes focused on whether or not we believe it really happened—whether we believe that, somehow, going against everything we know from science and about the finality of death, a man came back to life after brutally dying on a cross.

For many of us, the idea of a physical resurrection can be a stumbling block. We might even think we are bad Christians for doubting what is supposed to be the central tenet of our faith.

In response to this, Franciscan Richard Rohr writes: “Jesus’ resurrection is not so much a miracle that we can argue about, believe, or disbelieve, but an invitation to look deeper at what is always happening in the life process itself.”

Rohr is inviting us to see the resurrection not just as a one-time event but as continually woven into the rhythms of life. That dying and rising, endings and new beginnings are part of what we experience as human beings. This means that the resurrection isn’t just something that happened to Jesus once, but it is something that happens for all of us, all the time. Resurrection is, then, about what God is doing in us, around us, and through us—especially in our darkest moments.

Each one of us experiences our own moments of death: the end of a relationship, a diagnosis, a betrayal, a devastating loss. Sometimes our suffering is so deep that it feels like we, like Jesus, are being nailed to our own crosses—metaphorically left bleeding and alone.

And this is where resurrection comes in. The resurrection shows us that the terrible things don’t get the last word. God joins us in our suffering and leads us on a path of resurrection—a path of life. As Rohr puts it, “When we hit the bottom, beyond where we are in control”—even there, God is with us. Even in the worst possible moments, transformation is possible.

To say the resurrection is just a one-time miracle reduces its power. It turns it into something we must either believe or not. Instead, the truth of resurrection is so much bigger than this. Resurrection is part of our everyday lives. We are resurrection people—not because we blindly, without any thought or critical engagement, agree to something that happened two thousand years ago, but because in our absolute darkest moments, we know that we can proclaim: Christ is risen. We know that death never, ever has the last word. That life itself is infused with God’s power to overcome every terrible thing that happens to us. Today we are reminded that transformation is not only possible—but it is promised.

The real miracle of Easter isn’t just that Jesus walked out of the tomb—but that we can too. So today, I invite you to look at your life and ask yourself:

What needs to die in you—in your habits, your assumptions, your fear?

What might be holding you back from the fullness of life God wants for you?

What new thing might Christ be ready to raise in you? You are invited—today—not just to believe in resurrection, but to live it.

At the end of worship, we will seal our time capsule to be opened on Easter Sunday 2075. This is our tangible sign that we are resurrection people. There will be many forms of death—both in our personal lives and in our church family—but this capsule stands as testimony that resurrection is real. That, no matter what comes, we believe this church family will endure. That in fifty years, there will still be someone here who will open our time capsule. With this hope, with this faith in the resurrection, we leave behind gifts, prayers, and signs of our love for that future church family.

Resurrection isn’t just about believing in a historical event that might have happened—an event that counters all we know about science and death. Instead, resurrection reminds us that God is with us in the hardest parts of life, bringing resurrection to us. Death and darkness are never the end of our story. So let us proclaim the truth of our lives: Christ is risen. Christ is rising. Christ will rise again.

Amen.