Alleluia, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia.
Our readings today take us back to the activities of those directly engaged with the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The women, bless their hearts, are right there in the midst of it. We find them at the tomb with their spices – I guess this is the equivalent of us taking flowers to the grave, a sign of our love and respect. But this is mingled with a certain intensity because, for the women, we can imagine that on this visit, they cannot help but remember the pain of the loss that they are feeling.
Sometimes the pain we experience in life acts as a barrier, preventing us from seeing beyond the hurt, prevents us remembering the good times, or focusing on the hope and the joy once shared. It is in the moment when these women are buried in their grief that they hear these words: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen.” (Luke 24:5, NIV)
It has suddenly been brought home to them that the events on Good Friday were not the end. It was not a full stop. It was a comma, simply a pause, and an important one too, emphasising that there is more to the story, yet more to come. He is alive!
If he is alive, it means that we cannot stay amongst the tombs. We cannot live as if it is all over, and what is exciting about this, is that we are right there in the middle of that story. That life-giving story! We have spent time with Jesus in our journey of faith. Try and remember what he said as well as the things that he did, how he lived and related to those around him. Take time to remember. However, once it has been recalled to mind, we cannot go about our lives as if what we remember does not mean something, does not matter.
The women remembered and they did not just return home to carry on with their unfinished tasks. These women recognised the urgency of the message burning in their hearts and sought out the disciples and others to tell – that Jesus Christ is alive.
The message of God’s Good News that we bear, is not dependent on whether other people accept it. We are told in Luke’s Gospel that those who heard the message shared by the women thought they were talking nonsense!
They did not believe them. Some just had to see it for themselves for it to make sense to them; for them to believe. And that’s okay. Our task is not to make others believe. Our task is to share the message. To share it with joy, with love, with compassion with conviction and this means, not just with our lips but with our lives!
In the Acts of the Apostles, we are reminded that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power – and that we are witnesses to that. The role of a witness is to go and tell. God’s Church has been chosen to be his witness. And empowered too by the Holy Spirit to share what we have seen, heard and experienced. The Church must be ready to go out and tell the story of the goodness of God. In the words of the song writer, “With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God.”
As a result of being anointed by God’s Holy Spirit, Jesus went about doing good, healing the sick, bringing sight to the blind, proclaiming freedom for those who are bound. He preached release for those who are being oppressed.
As witnesses, to the resurrection – and yes, we are witnesses to his resurrection because he lives within our hearts – with this conviction deep inside us, that we serve a living God, we too, must, in the power of God’s Spirit, go out with joy and pattern the work of our Lord. The resurrection of our Lord re-energises and revitalises us. It moves us from the place of the dead, searching amongst the tombs, from the place of fear and hate where we separate ourselves and discriminate against God’s children, to a place of love, forgiveness, hope, joy and peace.
We are equipped to do this through our time in worship, by dwelling in prayer, in the scriptures, living generous lives and like the women – going and telling! As witnesses we must be courageous advocates naming the oppression that we see in our world, the destruction and needless deaths like those we are seeing daily on our screens in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, caused by war. We must challenge those who use their power to oppress and exploit others, to demean and humiliate, instead of bringing God’s reconciling and healing love to the table. We must challenge the man-made structures that create poverty and inequality, causing many to seek refuge in other countries; the theologies that contribute to women and children being abused. To be witnesses we need to exercise courage and share what God requires of us: “To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8, NIV).
This year we mark the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed said by Christians across the world. It is a sign of unity where together we say – “We believe…. that on the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures”. Well, here is our challenge, do we believe it or are we just saying it because we learnt the words a long time ago? If we believe that he rose again in accordance with the scriptures, then let’s be true witnesses to these words in the way we live. Let us go and tell this in our words and in our actions.
Alleluia, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!