Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  The Lord is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

This is our Christian proclamation – our Easter shout of joy – the heart of our faith. It comes in the early spring of our year when this part of the world begins to emerge from the long winter sleep. Slowly but surely, all seems to be coming alive again. Life itself is being renewed before our very eyes. It seems as if it has been a long journey, but here we are on Easter Day – on this side of the resurrection.

If we think back over the past couple of weeks or so, we indeed have been on a journey.  We have followed Jesus from the outskirts of Jerusalem into the heart of the city and then to a desolate hill just beyond the city walls. In the house at Bethany, Jesus’ friend Mary anointed his feet with a costly perfume, its fragrance filling the air in poignant anticipation of his death and burial. In the upper room, Jesus shared a meal with his closest disciples, revealed that one of them would betray him and then washed their feet as an example of self-giving love and servant ministry. After that, he was arrested, beaten and given over to be crucified on a cross. The people watching that tragic scene went away lamenting what had happened and mourning their part in it.

Among the crowd who watched Jesus die were several women. Before the Sabbath began, they hurriedly prepared the burial spices. As soon as the Sabbath was over, they would go to the tomb and anoint Jesus’ body. Given all that Jesus had said, we might wonder why they took the time to do this or made the plans that they did. For these women who had followed Jesus, their minds must have been numbed by the shocking events of that Friday afternoon.

We can only imagine the surprise and disbelief when they arrived at the burial site and found an empty tomb! Perplexed, they must have wondered how this could have happened. They had watched as the body was lowered from the cross and placed in the tomb. There just hadn’t been enough time to finish the burial preparations. Now, coming to anoint Jesus’ body, they were greeted by an angelic presence – Luke describes “two men in dazzling clothes” – who offered no comforting words to ease their minds. There was no “do not fear” consolation this time. There was only a question: why were they looking for the living among the dead?

“He is not here, but has risen.” The shock of those words must have been a jolt to them all, because it was only then that they remembered what Jesus had said when he had been among them in Galilee. They ran to tell the others the almost unbelievable news.

Luke’s Gospel, for all its intricate and fine detail, never answers the question of how Jesus was raised from the dead. It only bears witness to the fact that he had been – that all the women found was an empty tomb. The other three gospels bear witness to the same amazing story – varying only a little in the specific details they chose to omit or include. As it stands and was reported, the resurrection holds a central place in our Christian faith and life. But it does not stand by itself – divorced from the crucifixion. The empty tomb by itself is not the sum total of what we profess. It is intricately connected to the appearances of the risen Christ among his followers in Jerusalem and Galilee – described in the other gospels and other early Christian literature. It is all together that Jesus’ life and death, resurrection and continued presence among his disciples form the core of our belief.

We do not know the form in which the risen Jesus appeared to his disciples – the gospel accounts vary in this respect as well. Since in them Jesus seemed to appear and disappear at will in the presence of his disciples, we can only assume it was not to a “normal” human life. However, as is also attested in the scriptures, his followers believed they could hear him and touch him and eat with him. The unwavering testimony to the reality of their experience stands as the foundation of our faith through the ages. Not being first hand-witnesses – as they were – we can only believe based on faith and confidence that God did what God said God would do.

I think, however, our faith is bolstered by our own experience of the risen Lord in our midst – in times of trouble or loss, in times of doubt or anxiety, in times of joy or celebration. That experience varies from person to person throughout one’s life as a Christian. At times, the Lord’s presence is palpable and near – at times remote and distant. But somehow – at the center of our very being – we know that God is with us and that we have not been left alone in this world. The resurrection was God’s response to the power of death – death would not have the final word. Life would prevail. The risen Christ in our midst is God’s reassurance that life eternal will ultimately prevail for all.

All that Jesus said and did pointed to this central fact. The kingdom would be established and would prevail over earthly powers. Love would prevail over hatred, self-giving actions would prevail over self-centered ones, blessings would prevail over curses and life would prevail over death. The final chapter was not written at the cross or even in the empty tomb. In God’s unfolding mystery of life, the final chapter has yet to be written. The gospel accounts challenge us to believe in a continuing reality – that the risen Christ is alive and in our midst. We are challenged to look for Christ among the living – not among the dead.

The shock of the empty tomb took some time to absorb. But then they remembered. The presence of the risen Lord in their midst opened their eyes and hearts to all that had been said before. The reality of the resurrection transformed a frightened, dispirited band of ordinary fishermen and everyday people into a confident, bold missionary group who spread the newly understood truth of God’s love and power throughout the known world. The events of the first Easter took place in the early spring of the year, when the hillsides around Jerusalem were beginning to come alive. This Easter, might we celebrate that same sense of new life emerging from the awesome power of God’s love for each of us! Might we celebrate tiny new leaves on the trees, tender young shoots poking out of the ground, an old amaryllis beginning to bloom again – even a bald head with a new crop of grey hair! Life indeed is renewing itself. God’s promises – as always – are being fulfilled. Our lives are changed forever as a result. This Easter, with all creation, let us proclaim with all confidence and joy:

Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!