He Is Not Here: Resurrection Calls Us Forward

Alleluia. Christ is risen. The text opens the day with prayerful affirmation and a call to cleansing and renewed devotion, then unfolds an Easter narrative that reorients expectation. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary arrive at the tomb carrying spices and grief; the angel’s announcement — “he is not here” — reframes the place of death as the threshold of new life. Resurrection refuses confinement: what once signified finality becomes the site of divine disruption, inviting a reordering of where God is sought and found. The Lenten practices that preceded this morning—trusting in uncertainty, embracing identity, confessing thirst, asking for sight, and hearing life called from the dead—culminate in an invitation to see differently.

Baptism receives special attention as the sacramental embodiment of this shift. The act of baptism marks a public joining to Christ’s death and a rising into his life, signaling that personal histories and past endings do not have ultimate authority. The newly baptized child is claimed by grace and entrusted to parents, godparents, and the wider community to be raised toward the resurrected life. The liturgy links water, Spirit, and community: through water the faithful share in deliverance and rebirth, and through vows the congregation commits to nurture and witness.

Resurrection also mobilizes movement. The women leave the tomb quickly with fear and joy to carry the news; Jesus meets them on the way, not in the sealed place of death but in the unfolding movement of life. The text presses for practical response: do not seek God where the story ended; look instead where life is breaking open, where grace moves forward, and where God has already gone before. Eucharist, stewardship, and communal prayers reinforce a sending toward mercy, justice, and witness. The closing blessing commissions the gathered into the world with the assurance that baptismal water and Christ’s rising make a people holy, free, and sent. The charge remains clear: tell someone that Christ is risen, follow where life unfolds, and embody the newness made possible by the empty tomb.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Resurrection upends expected finality The angel’s words shift the interpretive frame: the tomb no longer defines the story’s end but opens a new horizon of divine possibility. Grief and memory remain real, yet resurrection insists that those realities do not exhaust God’s action. Such disruption calls for reexamining places repeatedly visited for closure and for daring to imagine renewal where endings were assumed. [31:52]
• 2. God moves beyond closed places Resurrection refuses spatial and narrative confinement; God’s work exceeds the places humans seal off as finished. Life often appears in unexpected margins—silences, ruins, and “dead” routines—where the Spirit reforms what seemed settled. Attentiveness to such movement cultivates patience with ambiguity and courage to step into unfolding life. [35:43]
• 3. Baptism marks new life Baptism publicly unites the baptized to Christ’s death and rising, asserting that the past does not possess final authority over identity. The rite also entrusts a network of care—parents, godparents, and community—to cultivate a baptized life shaped by grace. This sacramental naming invites commitments that outlast momentary feelings and anchor formation in communal faithfulness. [37:20]
• 4. Jesus meets people on the way Encounter with the risen Christ occurs in motion, not in sealed conclusions; meeting happens amid the journey’s ordinary turns. Spiritual formation advances step by step as trust responses replace attempts to fully explain. Following becomes a posture of readiness to recognize God’s presence in transitions. [39:46]
• 5. Share the good news outwardly Resurrection propels movement into proclamation: the women run to tell what they discovered, modelling an evangelical impulse rooted in testimony rather than abstraction. Personal encounters with grace serve as the most persuasive witness; naming those experiences opens doors for others to meet life anew. The call is practical—speak, invite, and accompany others into the hope found beyond closed places. [38:56]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [11:31] - Opening Prayer & Collect
• [28:16] - Easter Greeting
• [30:31] - Women at the Tomb
• [31:52] - The Angel's Declaration
• [34:23] - Lenten Practices Recap
• [37:20] - Baptism and New Life
• [38:56] - Go and Share the News
• [39:46] - Jesus Meets on the Way
• [41:35] - Where Christ Is Found
• [51:47] - Thanksgiving Over Water
• [74:34] - Great Thanksgiving (Eucharist)
• [109:07] - Post-Communion & Sending
• [112:25] - Blessing and Dismissal

Bible reading: Matthew 28:1-10 (ESV)
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Behold, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Observation questions

1. What were the two Marys expecting to find when they went to the tomb, and what did they bring with them?
2. What did the angel tell the women about where Jesus was and what had happened to him?
3. How did the women react to the angel's message, and what were they instructed to do next?
4. Where did Jesus meet the women, and what was their response upon seeing him?

Interpretation questions

1. The angel’s declaration, “He is not here,” reframes the place of death as the threshold of new life [31:52]. Why is it significant that this message was delivered at the tomb, a place associated with finality and grief?
2. The women left the tomb “quickly with fear and great joy” [38:56]. What does this combination of fear and joy tell us about encountering God’s disruptive, resurrection power?
3. Jesus met the women on the road, not at the tomb [39:46]. What does this suggest about where we can expect to encounter the risen Christ in our own lives?
4. Baptism is described as being “joined to Christ’s death and raised into his life” [37:20]. How does this sacrament publicly declare that the past does not have the final authority over a person’s identity?

Application questions

1. The angel’s message was, “He is not here.” [31:52] What is a “tomb” you repeatedly visit—a place of past grief, failure, or finality—where you might need to stop looking for life because God is no longer there?
2. Resurrection is described as an invitation to see differently and to expect renewal where endings were assumed [35:09]. What is one situation in your life, or in the world around you, that seems finished, but that you could begin to look at with resurrection hope this week?
3. The women were sent from the tomb to go and tell the good news [38:56]. Who is one person you can share with this week, not with a complex theological argument, but by simply telling them about a time you experienced God’s grace or new life?
4. Jesus meets people on the way, in the movement of life [40:02]. How can you adopt a posture of “readiness” this week, trusting that God is present in your next faithful step rather than waiting for everything to be resolved or make perfect sense?
5. Baptism entrusts the community with the responsibility to nurture the newly baptized in the life of faith [38:24]. What is one practical way you can help “keep the light burning” for someone in your own community—a child, a new believer, or a friend—this week?
6. The sermon pressed for a practical response: “do not seek God where the story ended; look instead where life is breaking open” [41:35]. Where do you see “life breaking open” in your neighborhood, workplace, or family right now? How can you move toward that place?