On April 21, Pastor Jim preaches on Matthew 28:1-10.

Fear and joy, though usually mutually exclusive, share similar symptoms: rapid pulse, high energy, tears, and deep emotion. Imagine the sensation of being fearful and joyful simultaneously. One of the things I’ve noticed after reading the Gospel accounts is all the running. The women run and the disciples run. I grew up listening to Sunday school stories told to me through a flannel board. On the flannel board the characters always moved serenely and slowly. Nobody ran.

What would it take to get you running? What is the most wonderful thing you can imagine that would also scare the life out of you? Easter was full of earthquakes, angels, and running women. It’s not for the faint of heart. 

One of the certainties of life is that the dead stay dead. On Easter the tomb is empty. Our Lord, once bruised and battered and hanging on a cross, is no longer in his grave. Remember how they put him in a “borrowed tomb?” Sure enough, he was only borrowing it. He just needed it over the weekend. After that he was elsewhere. Jesus had places to go, things to do, and people to see!