Sunday April 5th, 2026 Worship

As I mentioned earlier in the week, due to on-going war in the region, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has been closed, not only to the public, but also to clergy. As the historical and religious site said to house the last four Stations of the Cross, including the sites of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, this has been devastating to the Christians in Israel and Palestine. While it is couched in the language of protection, many feel that it is an affront to their religious freedom because it is a part of their Holy Week practice to process to and have worship in this holy space. It may look different today, but I can’t help but see the similarities to when that same spot was guarded while Jesus was in the tomb…After all, this is not the first time that the disciples were kept away from the tomb out of fear by those in authority.
But, one thing that today’s Resurrection story teaches us is that humans are not responsible for guarding Jesus, literally or metaphorically! Not only are we not responsible for that, but we also cannot control what God is going to do, as much as we may try or want to. While the religious authorities put a guard in front of Jesus’ tomb, trying to make sure that the “resurrection,” which they assumed was fake anyway, didn’t happen, today we still try to control the Good News that the Resurrected Christ shares. In both cases, we as humans are trying to limit and dictate how the Good News of the Resurrection is spread. Despite the fact that Peter confesses, “…I truly understand that God shows no partiality,” (Acts 10: 34b) we try to make the message of Jesus partisan, arguing that our version is right and their version is wrong. But, God intervenes to shake up that understanding, to remind us that we receive the gift of the Good News, but we are not the ones that own it, for it cannot be contained!
The Good News of the Gospel, this non-partisan Gospel that God’s love and forgiveness know no bounds because of Christ’s death and resurrection hits us in the middle of our debates like the earthquake that shook the ground and rolled the stone away from the tomb (Matthew 28:2). Like any great earthquake, this one is no less terrifying, especially when the women see an angel sitting on the stone, but, like all big events in Scripture, they hear again, “Do not be afraid” (Matthew 28: 5b). We too are reminded that we do not need to be afraid, but instead we are called to be like the women and share this Good News with others. Twice today, the women are told to run ahead and tell the others (Matthew 28: 7, 10). They aren’t told to hoard the news only for themselves, or to tell only select disciples, but they are to tell all of them. The Good News cannot be contained, stuck in a tomb, or kept to ourselves!
The world is not going to be the same after this news is released; if the religious authorities didn’t believe that, then there wouldn’t have been a need to place a guard outside the tomb in the first place. Back then, they were afraid of what would happen to their society if this news got out to more people, as social systems and structures began to crumble in order to be rebuilt. Those fears are something that our world order experiences today too, as the people most advantaged by harmful systems are afraid of what will happen if they lose control. This is often why we see them use God as their defense, claiming to be acting on God’s behalf or as God’s Chosen. Even beyond the halls of power, the widespread sharing of this news is scary because we want to feel like we are the only ones important enough to be the recipients of it; but our belovedness in the eyes of God is not made any less special or important because God loves other people too!
As we hear the words that Peter preaches today and how Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and Mary, we see how the very kindom of God is built upon the foundation of the least expected, the ones who are rejected or cast aside by society. The church is built on Peter, the one who denied Jesus and was constantly questioning what Jesus was teaching him. The women are the first to receive the news of the Resurrection and then are sent to share it! I still don’t see how people think women aren’t allowed to be preaching when they are the very first bearers of this Good News! Today’s readings remind us that God can and does work through all people for the sharing of the Good News!
This great shake up affects all of creation because everything is impacted by Christ’s death and resurrection. It shakes the very ground on which people stand, but also their social and religious grounds too. And that can be terrifying! Our natural response to something changing our very understanding of the world is fear and trembling. But, it is in that fear that Jesus walks alongside of us, calls us by name, and invites us to step into this new vision for the world. A vision which we are welcomed to live into, but also to share with others. It is not Good News for us alone, but for the whole world!
I love the Resurrection story, not only because it is a story of new life in the midst of death, but because it is a beautiful reminder that we are not God! Just as we begin our Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday hearing that we are dusty creatures made in God’s image, today we witness again how we are given this wonderful gift of love and forgiveness. For when we mess up, for when we are afraid, for when we are in need of care; God so loved the world that God sent the Son into the world for us to have life! This isn’t just some cheesy saying that gets slapped on billboards and tattooed on the arms of athletes, or something to be used to coerce people into Christianity. The Good News meets us when we are feeling hopeless and afraid, when we feel consumed by grief and like we cannot imagine how the world can be any different than it is in these dark moments, just like it meets the grieving and fearful women at the tomb this morning. It is a promise, made real for us in the story of the Resurrection, when we hear that he is not here, he is Risen! (He is Risen indeed, Alleluia!) and the great shake-up of our world can truly begin went we go out to share this Good News, including the hope and the love it embodies!