The stone wasn’t rolled away to let Jesus out; he had already risen. It was rolled away so that the two Marys could look inside and see that the tomb was empty. There were other witnesses to this, independent witnesses if you like. The guards at the tomb saw all this and were terrified.
I asked my confirmation class what they received for Christmas gifts. The 8th and 9th graders were more than willing to admit that what they received this Christmas was not always what they wanted. Then I asked “What did you give this year for Christmas?” For a moment, there was silence.
Here is what Isaiah had to say to the exiled Israelites, to the people living under Roman domination, to the suffering Jesus and to those who suffer today. "The Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near."
But the best way of all to celebrate Easter is the way that Jesus did it. That does not require painted eggs or chocolate rabbits or crowded churches. To celebrate Easter as Jesus did means to forgive somebody, somebody who doesn’t deserve it.
THE VISIT OF THE WISE MEN: Herod is a king who shows himself to be a catastrophe. He cannot salute a royalty greater than his own.
George Barna, the sociologist of religion, notes that most people form their religious identities by the time they are thirteen years old. For many people true worship is what they experienced as children. Think back on what church was like when you were thirteen.
They had a good boat, but the journey got long and arduous. Winter came sooner than expected. It rained, the canned food got old, the engine died, they were dirty, and it was boring. By the end, it wasn’t fun anymore. This is what life does sometimes.
Three versions of the Christmas story: The Gospel According to Matthew, where we get the wise men. The Gospel According to Luke, where we get the shepherds and angels. And then there's the Gospel According to Hallmark, in which we get a partridge in a pear tree.
We live in a culture where the prevailing gospel is: go for the gold, in every sense of that word. The problem is with the confusion of all these desires on the one hand and what we truly need to become truly happy and fulfilled human beings on the other.
In college we were required to go to weekly convocation. To validate our presence we were required to present our computer cards. The cards were sent to a computer company to track our attendance. If college students learn anything in college, it is learning how to beat the system.