Easter: The Reason For Our Hope Series

April 21, 2019 – Easter Sunday

Hope Lutheran Church

Pastor Mary Erickson

Luke 24:1-12

Easter: The Reason for Our Hope

It’s always a joy to gather on Easter. We come together to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord! Easter is a homecoming. Many people have come back to Eau Claire to be with family. Others here might be first time visitors. Whatever reason brings you here today, we welcome you and are grateful for the opportunity to worship our Lord’s resurrection together! We are all part of the family of believers, the people of God. So welcome to all. Welcome home.

They went to the tomb, expecting death. But what they found instead was life. It was almost too much to comprehend.

The circle of women came early that Sunday morning with spices in tow. When Jesus was buried on Friday, they were rushed. Sundown was not too far away, and then it was Sabbath. This was the first opportunity they’d had to return to the tomb. It was the final kindness they could do for Jesus, to prepare his body.

They were still numb from the events of the last few days. It had been like a whirlwind. Jesus was arrested and then tried. He was condemned to die and beaten. When they saw Jesus at Golgotha, they barely recognized the man they knew. He was bloodied and bruised. Sweat, dirt and blood streaked his face. He looked shattered and spent. And then they watched his agonizing death.

Mercifully, he died in only a few hours. His body was moved to a tomb near to Golgotha. And now the women were on their way, burdened with their spices and their grief.

But when they arrived, things were not as they expected. The stone had been rolled away from the tomb’s entrance. They crept timidly inside. Jesus’ body wasn’t there! Two men were there instead. They were heavenly in appearance. They wore dazzlingly bright clothing.

“Why are you here?” they asked. “Why are you looking for the living in a cemetery? Jesus isn’t here. He’s risen from the dead!”

It was too amazing to believe. They looked around in the tomb. No body, just a linen shroud. Then they remembered how Jesus had declared that everything was going to occur just as it had. He was going to be killed, but then he would rise from the dead. They remembered his words. The impossible had occurred. Jesus had defeated death!

The women went and told the disciples. They dismissed what the women told them. It was impossible. But by the end of the day, they, too, would know. Jesus would appear in Emmaus, and he would also present himself to Peter.

The day began in despair. But it ended in joy. Jesus had overcome even death! The grave had been denied.

Our theme during Lent this year was “A Season of Hope.” We’re celebrating our congregation’s 75th anniversary this year, and so for Lent we considered the power of hope. How does hope see us through uncertainty, through weakness or doubt? How do we keep hope alive through injustice?

Hope is connected to the future. Hope informs us that tomorrow is filled with promise. It assures that the sorrows and difficulties of today are not the final answer. Hope promises that the future is full and abundant. In short, hope provides a tremendous wellspring for living.

And nothing spells hope like Easter! Easter is the reason for our hope. The surprise of Easter morning proclaims the power of God to bring absolute healing and fullness to all things. Through his actions, Jesus has defeated all our enemies.

In the cross, Jesus has spanned the gap of our alienation

- With God

- With one another

- With ourselves

In his death, he carried the sin of the world within himself. He became the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. All the selfishness, all the deceit, all the brutality, all the despair. Of every time and place, he carried it all with him. And he took it all to the grave. In dying, he killed every last sin, every offense. With his arms wide open, he carried it all.

And then, on Easter morning, he defeated even death. Friday was a dead end, but Jesus turned Sunday into a new pathway. Friday and the cross did their best to snuff out Jesus’ light. But on Sunday morning, Jesus demonstrated that he’s the light no darkness can overcome. Jesus’ resurrection on Easter morning declares the reality that God is making all things new!

The women came to the tomb that Easter morning, and they found it was empty. That empty tomb symbolizes our great hope. Christian author Max Lucado summed it up beautifully: “If the tomb of Jesus is empty, the promise of Jesus is not.”