Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has arisen (Luke 24: 5).

Many years ago - when credit cards and mobile phones were uncommon - I travelled with a friend from Cairo to Jerusalem by bus. We wanted to be there in time for Easter. It was an adventure. A trip into the unknown.  I still remember the excitement of getting up at early dawn and walking to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Easter Day where many other pilgrims and tourists had gathered. The memory of the empty tomb, the clanging of ancient bells, the lingering of incense, the candles flickering in the dark, the singing, the sharing of the peace along with the partaking of bread and wine still remain.  A connection had been made which was real. You will have your own stories about Easter and your encounter with the risen Christ. Think about them this week.

Imagine however, for a moment, that first Easter. We are told that the women were perplexed, terrified and bowed down. Sometimes we feel that way too. Only afterwards did they remember what Jesus had told them. They returned with their story to the rest of the disciples but they refused to believe it.  They called it an idle tale. Only Peter went out to see if it might be true. He was amazed. He went away wondering at what had happened. How like us.   The very fact that Peter was there says much about him. His earlier denial was not a thing that could be kept silent. Yet he had the moral courage to face those who knew his shame. There was something of the hero in Peter, as well as something of the coward. The man who was a fluttering dove is on the way to becoming a rock.

That first Easter, those who were there, including Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and Peter, all experienced something that turned their lives around.  Despite their initial unbelief, their questions and their doubt, something life changing had happened.  What do we think happened?

Professor William Barclay comments that “Many of us still look for Jesus among the dead.  Jesus is not dead; he is alive. He is not merely a hero of the past; he is a living reality of the present. He is not a figure in a book; he is someone to be met and lived with every day. He helps us and guides us and strengthens us to follow his pattern and example. He is not simply a model for life; he is a living presence”.

Recently I  listened to the homily for a priest who had died.  She had a terminal illness. A close friend, who was also a bishop, visited her at Christmas in the hospice. He asked her  “Do you ever wonder where God is?” She replied “He is here with me” as she tapped the side of her bed. Despite the uncertainly of what might happen and the nature of her illness I expect she had her own story about encountering the risen Christ.  She trusted him in life and also with what the future held.

On this Easter Sunday, may we allow the risen Christ to come afresh and touch our lives too. However we are feeling, whatever challenges we may be facing or questions which remain unanswered may we hear again those life changing words:-

“Why do you look for him among the dead? He is not here, but has risen”.