Easter (the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead) however vaguely understood, still symbolizes hope, in particular hope beyond death and over death. New life. Even people on the outer periphery (or even completely outside) of life in the Christian community, once a year are drawn in to Easter. The hope of life beyond the grave has this powerful gravitational pull. And it should. But what exactly is the story of Easter about? What is God saying to us through these multiple encounters, by a wide variety of women and men with the tangible, physical, touchable presence of Jesus of Nazareth, who three days earlier had been a dead man brutally executed? Why did Jesus’ resurrection create the dynamic courage of the early church (and become such an awesome threat to both Jewish and Roman rulers)? Why should it still have the same impact on us? See you this weekend as we all gather to peer into a truly empty tomb and encounter a truly risen LORD.
