Our Lenten Journey will soon be over. We will gather in the upper room on Maundy Thursday with Jesus and his disciples and hear Jesus say those powerful words that we are reminded of every Sunday morning, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” We will travel to the foot of the cross on Good Friday and hear Jesus utter a lonely cry of abandonment, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” We will hear the words of finality that Jesus spoke with his last breath as he paid the ultimate price for our sin, “It is finished!” And we will travel again to the empty tomb to hear about the group of women that traveled there early on the first day of the week only to find it empty. We will hear once more the words of the angels at the empty tomb, “He is not here, but has risen.” And once that final, culminating event of the Resurrection is complete. Then what? What are we supposed to do then?
The month of April reminds us that Easter is more than just one day. Easter is an “every Sunday” celebration during which we come together to receive the blessing of the cross and resurrection of Jesus – the forgiveness of sins and the certainty of eternal life with God. Easter is also an “every day” celebration in which we live each day trusting in God through Christ, knowing that Jesus is “the resurrection and the life” for us.
So, what do we do as we go forth from the empty tomb? Let us follow the example of the first witnesses of the empty tomb. After the two angels reminded the women that Jesus had risen, St. Luke tells us that “then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.” They went forth from the tomb changed by the resurrection of Jesus. They went forth from the tomb to bring an “every day” witness of God’s power over sin, death, and Satan himself.
So where are we to go once we leave the empty tomb? Let us follow the example of Jesus’ first disciples. After Jesus walked through locked doors to appear to the eleven disciples and to show himself to Thomas, seven of the eleven disciples went back to their fishing business. They went back to their vocations or stations in life and took the witness of the resurrection with them. They lived in the joy of the resurrection of Jesus while carrying out the daily, ordinary labor and responsibilities that had been given to them.
Like the women at the empty tomb and the eleven disciples, we too are “every day” witnesses and participants in the resurrection of Jesus. We believe. We have the hope of eternal life. We have the joy of the resurrection living inside of us. Also, like the women at the empty tomb and the disciples, we have vocations or stations in life that God has given to us as gifts. Most of us are not fishermen, but all of us have one or more of these callings: mother, father, partner, wife, husband, daughter, son, sister, brother, grandparent, employee, retiree, caregiver, friend, and neighbor. Each of these callings comes with a set of duties and responsibilities. And as followers of Jesus, redeemed by God’s grace we are called to wrap the daily duties and responsibilities of our vocations in the joy, love, peace, and forgiveness of Christ. And when we do this, more than likely, others will take notice and God will bless our faithful work by giving us more opportunities to “tell all these things to all the rest.”
So, what are we to do then? My dear friends, we respond to God’s grace, love and mercy by going forth from Easter Sunday and the celebration of the empty tomb as “every day” witnesses, freed to live and love and serve as God’s forgiven children in Christ Jesus. And as we go forth empowered by God’s Spirit, living and active within us, may we live in the joy of the resurrection so that everyone, everywhere will see just how great God is! Happy Easter! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Pastor Tony
