Easter Sunday

It was a frigid morning. Right at the freezing point. But unlike yesterday afternoon and evening, the clouds broke and the rains stopped. It was quite a picturesque morning.

There were perhaps close to 100 people at Sandy Beach Park, looking out over Frederick Sound and to the Horn Cliffs. It was mostly cloudy, but enough breaks in the clouds to let shafts of sunlight through onto the mountains and the water.

The sunrise service (okay, technically not sunrise since that is about 6 a.m. and the service started about 7 a.m.) was a reading of the resurrection account of John 20 with singing between passages.

I got to provide the reflection at the end of the service. Here is the text of what I spoke.

• I'm sure we've all had our times of disappointments and discouragements
• Losing a job, or not getting the one you really wanted
• Receiving notice that, regrettably, your application was denied
• A word from the doctor: I'm afraid there is no cure
• Losing a home, car, a boat to an accident, or even worse, to someone else's negligence
• Watching your child suffer; bad enough if they made the wrong choices that got them into it, but worse when it appears there is no good reason, or because of someone else's malice
• Or how about when you're hoping and praying God will work things out and things don't turn out that way? When things seem to go from bad to worse?
• Have you ever felt like hope died?
• I wonder what kinds of emotions and thoughts the women watching the crucifixion and burial had
• Disbelief that it even happened…
• Grief that their loved one was no more…
• Anger at those that caused it: Judas, the Jewish leaders, Pilate, the Roman soldiers…
• Anger at God for not stopping it?
• Sense of betrayal by God…?
• Sense of betrayal by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus for not stopping it…?
• Discouragement…
• Depression…
• Emptiness…
• Loss of hope…
• After all, this was the Messiah, the Christ, the One that they had pinned their hopes upon
• Hopes for a brighter future -
• A future free from foreign occupation and oppression
• A future where nothing bad would happen again
• A future where righteousness and justice would reign
• In their minds -
• All of that died when Jesus died
• All of that was buried when Jesus was buried
• All of that was sealed away when the Roman seal was placed upon the tomb
• Yet something brought them back to the tomb on Sunday morning, in the wee, twilight hours
• What was it?
• A sense of duty, of needing to finish the burial rituals left incomplete?
• A feeling that they, the long-time, public followers of Jesus ought to perform the final burial honors, instead of those secret disciples who hurriedly buried the body on Friday?
• Simply the Jewish tradition of mourning at the burial site for three days? Perhaps
• But perhaps it was because they wanted to be with Jesus again, even if just his body…
• A hope that being near his body would bring back good memories -
• Of being loved and accepted,
• Of having worries and anxieties banished,
• Of receiving a sense of confidence and courage
• That somehow being reminded of Jesus and his presence
• Would bring back hope, and meaning, and purpose
• As the women approached the tomb they are stopped in their tracks by an earthquake
• "This can't be good," is probably the thought that goes through their minds
• Their fears are confirmed when the tomb is open and the body is gone
• "Who stole the body? Who would dare take away from them the one last reminder of Jesus?"
• The little bit of hope they had left is quickly extinguished
• Then they encounter an angel
• "Don't be afraid," he says, "Jesus is alive, just as he said he would"
• "Look inside and see where he was laid, then go tell the disciples about what you have seen"
• One by one, the women examine the tomb
• It is empty, except for the burial cloths and the face cloth
• No grave thief would unwrap the body before taking it…
• Could it be true?
• Is Jesus truly alive?
• A breath of fresh air seems to bring life to the dying flames of hope
• With cautious expectation, the women leave the tomb and hurry to tell the other disciples
• But before they are even completely out of the grove, they come upon Jesus
• "Greetings," he says and they recognize him immediately
• They rush up to his feet and clutch it, afraid to let go, afraid to lose him again, afraid that their hopes might be dashed again, afraid of being afraid again
• Jesus knows what is going on in their minds, in their hearts
• "Don't be afraid," he says
• "Go on and tell the disciples and I will see them - I will see you"
• Jesus had never lied to them
• Even his death, they now realize, he had spoken about it many times before it happened
• Confidence is recovered
• Faith is restored
• Hope is renewed
• Prior to the resurrection, the women had hoped for a particular future of their own understanding
• A faulty hope
• Even though the object of hope was based on Jesus
• After the resurrection, the women begin to understand that Jesus is the hope, that Jesus is enough
• The cross served to crucify false hopes and expectations, to tear away facades and masks
• The resurrection gave birth to genuine hope
• Genuine hope is -
• A hope that is as much about the present as it is about the future
• A hope where the future outcome is absolutely certain
• A hope where we are free to live in the present because we have no worries about the future
• A hope where we are able to overcome suffering, struggles, and trials of the moment because there is no question about the final result
• A hope where even if things don't get better in this life, even if we don't understand the why's of this life, we don't give up because being with Jesus is enough to give us ultimate meaning, purpose, and direction for all that happens
• A hope that frees us to really live
• "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Pet 1:3