Gospel
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake;
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven,
approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.
His appearance was like lightning
and his clothing was white as snow.
The guards were shaken with fear of him
and became like dead men.
Then the angel said to the women in reply,
“Do not be afraid!
I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.
He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples,
‘He has been raised from the dead,
and he is going before you to Galilee;
there you will see him.’
Behold, I have told you.”
Then they went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce this to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me.”
It was what he had foretold. But it was more than they expected.
Expecting a tomb to be closed and instead they found guards immobilized and an angel from heaven to greet them. So, there was fear and amazement and joy and hope and delight in his message.
And then there he was even before they told the disciples… Jesus was there now… it was not just a message that an angel had told them but Jesus Christ himself. In Matthews gospel the women were the first to see Jesus.
And awash with so much emotion they went to tell others.
My brothers and sisters I tell you that even today when we finally give ourselves to Jesus Christ… finally stop sitting on the fence between agreeing to the terms of the deal… and finally making an investment ….only when we push all our chips and say I am in all in. Only then will our hearts open and soften and we will find fear and amazement and joy and hope, and our life will be changed forever. His delight in us will reside in our hearts and we will know we are truly loved like nothing we could imagine.
Today we are at the precipice of Easter a moment when the disciples finally go all in for Jesus Christ. And they spread his word to all the world and it was changed forever.
We, you and I, are called to change the world too. To run and tell others about this Jesus who came, died and was resurrected so that we might have a way home.
We have to choose today what life we want going forward.
Jesus is about new journeys and new life and living water and intense love unknown between men and women. A love that requires all of us without reservation or reserve.
Yes, it can be fearful to let go of everything. But our God requires us to give him all. That’s what putting God first means. We belong to Jesus Christ. But that only happens when we are able to profess to him that we now give him all, everything. Every loss, every victory. Every hope. Every sorrow. Everyone we cherish and every struggle we fight for…
What will Easter 2026, the holiest day of this year mean to us?
Will it be when our journey is made new, for it is finally not our journey anymore but Jesus Christ’s.
We have to choose.
I can continue saying the right words. Reciting the right prayers. Being kind and charitable but keeping Jesus just out of reach of my protected and hardened heart.
Or I can let go of everything and finally understand this love being offered is like a light shining so bright it covers every cell in our body and every moment in our life… his love radiates so brightly if we get just a glimpse, we will be awestruck and changed forever.
This Easter, pray that he will open your heart and pray you can give him your whole world.
He asks for nothing less.
You see true discipleship requires giving up our old life completely. It means our heart, our actions, our words, our love, will now be shaped and aligned with his will … and we will no longer be living our old life which is basically trying to live with one foot in heaven and one in hell. It’s doesn’t work.
Sjen we let him take over, we will finally be his. He will own us. We will be his servants. His sons and daughters. We will be truly living as if we were made in his image.
We were created in his image but only when we recognize his love in our open hearts and see his suffering and love for us do we get it. His suffering was for my sins and your sins and for his love for us…each of us gloriously loved every moment of our life from the movement we were conceived. Through sin and worship. His love has never faltered.
This Easter we are called to be like the women in our Gospel… fearful, delighted, full of joy and eager to tell others how wonderful his love is for us.
When will we be able to finally run to others and say, “Let me tell you how much he loves you.”
Deacon Tony Pynes 
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