Resurrection of the Lord, Easter Day - Year C

Welcome Statement

On this Easter Sunday we recognize the good news that Christ is indeed Risen. That the tomb is empty. This is the event that defines our faith, a faith of not works but life. Christ fulfills the culmination of all the prophecies in the Old testament through this event. From the prophet to be raised up in Deuteronomy 18:15-19 to Isaiah 53 regarding the suffering servant. He is indeed the one who suffered for/from our iniquities and transgressions. And instead of giving up on us. He reveals the full reason of why he is the Messiah. He is back to life. He is still God with us. The spirit breathed life back into his body so that he would continue his work and fulfill his role as King over heaven and earth.

We are going to see how this event culminates for the APostles, they didn’t have the benefit of hindsight, neither did entirely understand Jesus’s teachings at this point. We will get to Pentecost in a few weeks from now, but till then, the apostles has not fully understood the teachings of Jesus. Before we get into this reading, I want to set the stage by reflecting on Holy Saturday. Theologically we decree that on Holy Saturday, that is when Jesus Christ decended to Hell, or to the land of the dead, and freed all the captives of death in Abraham’s Bosom, those who had faith, like Abraham as proclaimed in Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4:3. This description of Abrahams Bosom can be found in Luke 16 when discussing the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.

While this Holy Saturday was occuring in the realm of the spiritual, we see the apostles, hiding and scattering to their homes (John 16:31) in fear of persecution, in fear of the loss of the Messiah. Even though they had multiple times had their own ideas of what the Messiah was supposed to be subverted, and accepted this multiple times in their hearts, they still found fear at the valley of death. This paints how significant Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday is, we have the benefit of hindsight. As Mike proclaimed on Good Friday, we already get a peek at the end of the story, that Christ is victorious, even if our own senses tell us that isn’t true, we know it in our hearts. This event is significant, as we read the following passage, I want you to imagine yourself at the tomb, perhaps being in the place of Mary, coming across as the first witness to this magnificent event. While movies give us great visuals of what occurred, they can’t possibly do justice of what the real thing may have appeared to the founding members of the church.

Easter NT Reading - John 20:1-18

John 20:1–18 NRSV

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

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Old Testament Point #1

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Old Testament Point #2

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Old Testament Point #3

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New Testament Reading - Book 1:1 ABC

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New Testament Point #1

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New Testament Point #2

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New Testament Point #3

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Closing Statement

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Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, Thank you for this blessing and new reality where you are Risen, not dead, not merely a man,

Amen.

Doxology / Benediction / Closing

As you go now, know that the Joy of the Resurrection is in your hearts. Just as life has sprung up this Spring and shows new life as we see on the Cross this morning, Christ has spring us up into new life. Christ indeed has risen, he indeed has given us new life as a new people. This blessing is not meant to be held tight, but to be shared freely to others. Let us find this Easter season a renewal of our hearts, and our churches, so that all may know, That Christ is Risen, and that he is Lord above all. May you have a blessed Week and Sunday. Amen

Go now in the joy of the Resurrection. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

May the risen Christ go before you to guide you, beside you to befriend you, beneath you to uphold you, behind you to protect you, and within you to give you peace.

Amen. Go in peace and live the risen life.