Christ Is Risen: Go Tell, Be Witnesses

We're carrying something so heavy. Maybe it's grief, or regret, or doubt, or confusion. Maybe it's fear. Maybe even a quiet question. Is it too late now? Too late to heal what is broken? Too late to repair what's been lost? Too late to believe again or for the first time, too late for God to do anything new. But Easter meets us right here in this time and in this place, just like it met Mary long ago in the dark and says it's not too late for God. It's not too late for God, and so it cannot be too late for any of us. [00:37:39] (60 seconds)  #NotTooLateForGod

And then Jesus does something. It might sound a little simplistic, but it changed Mary's life. He looks at her. She he looks into her heart and says, Mary. Scripture tells us that immediately, Mary says, Rabunai, it's you. My teacher, my lord, my friend. And everything changes because resurrection becomes real when it becomes personal to us. Not just Christ is risen, and he is, but Christ knows me. Not just life wins, but life. Eternal life is calling my name, calling your name. [00:41:44] (75 seconds)  #ChristKnowsMe

Peter who once denied Jesus three times, Peter who knew what it meant to fail, to fall short, to think it might be too late for him, and yet Peter stands proclaiming boldly, I truly understand that God shows no partiality. Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Do you hear the shift in Peter's life? The one who once said, I don't know him, is now saying everyone can know him. The one who once ran from the cross is now running toward the world with good news [00:44:45] (50 seconds)  #EveryoneCanKnowHim

because Peter has discovered what Mary first realized. It's not too late for God to do something powerful. It is not too late not too late for forgiveness, not too late for restoration and healing, not too late for new purpose in our lives, and not too late for grace to rewrite your story. Your story is not over. Mary thought Mary thought that hers was. But when she was in the garden that day and the lord called her name, she knew her heart jumped. She was filled with joy because she knew if god lives, she can too. [00:45:35] (55 seconds)  #GraceRewritesYourStory

If we're honest, that's often how we live too. We assume the worst worst too often. We expect death to have the final word, and we've been conditioned by a world that tells us that endings are endings. They're final. Death fixes a problem in the case of the world, but god is always doing something we don't yet see. Mary stays. She lingers. She weeps. And then through her tears, she encounters a man who she thinks is the gardener, but it's Jesus. [00:39:44] (64 seconds)  #HopeInTheDark

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb, and that's where Easter begins. Not in bright sunlight, not with trumpets or lilies or beautiful flowers, not with hallelujah banners, but in the dark, in hopelessness. Mary comes that early morning in grief, so heavy that it bends her over as she trudges through the streets to get to the tomb. Nobody else is really up this early, maybe some stray dogs in the street, but Mary is intent on finishing the burial ritual for her friend and her lord, Jesus. [00:35:49] (59 seconds)  #EasterBeginsInDarkness

Take that good news with you out into a world that is filled with division and pain, sickness and death, sin and brokenness, and proclaim it as loud as you can. You know, at Pentecost, Peter thought a lot of people thought that Peter and the followers of Jesus were drunk. I kinda think people should think that the church is drunk every day, excited. Get up in the morning trusting that god has a plan for you. You may not know what it is, but god's gonna show out in your life and be excited about it. [00:46:47] (52 seconds)  #ProclaimGoodNews

So she goes. She goes with spices expecting a confrontation with death. She goes because love won't let her stay away. Love is what led her to the cross. Love is what made her stay as she saw Jesus breathe his last, and love is what brings her to the tomb early in the morning. Even when hope is gone, something kept Mary going. And maybe that's where some of us are this morning as we come to celebrate Easter. We showed up. Maybe that's about all we could ask. [00:36:48] (51 seconds)  #LoveKeepsShowingUp