The Good News of Easter

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared”

(Luke 24:1).

“”But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them”

(Luke 24:11).

These two sentences bracket our Easter Day Gospel reading for 2025. The first sentence describes the women who rose at dawn and went to the tomb in which Jesus was buried, in order to prepare his corpse by anointing it with spices (in part to cover the odor of decaying flesh). The sentence captures their whole frame of mind: their beloved Jesus has been put to death; the whole wonderful movement he began is over. I imagine them moving mechanically, as people do in the immediate aftermath of a beloved person’s death.

The second sentence describes the apostles’ response to the women’s shocking report that Jesus was not dead, but raised to life. Our English translations tamp down the language a bit. To capture the sharp (and misogynistic) reaction of the apostles, it might help to think of the phrase “an idle tale” as being akin to the contemporary put-down, “Fake news!”

I highlight these here (and may also highlight them in my sermon; still in the early stages of researching that) to help us see how unbelievable the resurrection of Jesus is. Who expects a dead person to come back to life? But, even more to the point for today’s political, economic, and social reality, who expects love, mercy, kindness, and justice to prevail?

Just as the Roman Empire seemed to have all the power to do as it willed, with cruel efficiency, so it seems as though those who are going about eviscerating federal programs, deporting opponents without due process, punishing universities, ignoring judicial mandates even to the level of the Supreme Court, and pitting us citizens against each other, are unstoppable.

But Jesus was raised from the dead. Love did conquer fear. Every promise God has made about redeeming the world and preparing a realm of abundant, everlasting life, is surely secured.

And that is the Good News of Easter. And that is why our Easter service begins with the call and response: “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”

In Christ,

Lee