Year A – Easter Sunday – April 5, 2026 Pastor Megan Floyd Acts 10:34-43 Colossians 3:1-4 Matthew 28:1-10 Grace and peace to you from God and the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, our Savior. Christ is Risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! *** This past Holy Week has been… really something special. Last week, on Palm Sunday, many of us here participated in the Palm Sunday March in Lansing. We were surrounded by a crowd of about 800 people from various denominations, who came together to march with palms in hand, bound by our shared commitment to the foundational teachings of Jesus. We marched to share our commitment to love our neighbors… to feed the hungry, clothe the naked… to care for the sick, and the poor… and those who are outcast… and to welcome the stranger. And our group here in Michigan was part of a larger movement across at least sixteen other states… thousands and thousands of Christians showed up… disciples of Jesus… marching to proclaim the saving words and promise of Christ. Jesus Christ is not dead and gone… he is alive! And then on Thursday, I had the profound honor to care for you by washing and anointing your feet… and by allowing my own feet to be washed and anointed. We do this because Christ did this for his disciples… and told us to continue the practice, and so trusting in the words of our teacher, we wash… There's a closeness there, in that simple and ancient practice, that just cannot be replicated any other way… and when sharing this practice, Jesus is profoundly close. And then we shared our meal of Holy Communion together… and yes, we do that every week in remembrance of Christ… but on Maundy Thursday, we recall why we celebrate this meal… and we recall together the grace, love, and inclusion that Jesus demonstrated for all, even those who would later betray and deny him. And so, we share our meal with all who are gathered… more than just trusting and hoping that Christ will show up… we expect our Christ to show up. Jesus Christ is not dead and gone… he is alive! And then on Friday… on Good Friday… we gathered with our siblings from All Saints Lutheran and St Paul Lutheran, and with our bishop… we gathered together as one community… to remember and honor Christ's death on the cross. Even as we acknowledge that Christ is with us, always, we know that we cannot get to the Resurrection without going through death and the cross… and so we gathered …as one body… and honored the presence of Christ that was there with us… and in each of us… it was, so very holy… and special. And still we proclaim… Jesus Christ is not dead and gone… he is alive! Jesus Christ is risen today! Alleluia!! Alleluia!! I came here today… knowing that I would meet Christ… I expect him to show up because Christ promised to show up… and I know Christ lives in you… and in me… and so wherever we gather… Christ is there… alive… and with us. That expectation of meeting Jesus everywhere we go… that's what it means to follow Jesus… to follow our God who became human… who defeated death and the grave… That's what it means to follow a crucified and risen Lord… it means that we show up in the world expecting to meet Christ there. We expect to meet Jesus… because we trust the Word of our God… we trust… and we dare to hope. Just like Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, who showed up at the tomb on the third day… I believe they showed up expecting to meet Jesus! …or at least, daring to hope they would. Now, I know that in the gospels of Mark and Luke, they write that the women showed up at the tomb with spices to anoint his body. But not in Matthew… The Marys have been disciples of Jesus all along, following him and hearing his teaching… hearing him proclaim that he must die, but would rise again on the third day. And all four gospels record that Jesus was anointed for his burial before he was crucified. The women did not desert him or betray him… they stayed near… and watched. They felt the earth shake at the moment he died and heard the Roman Centurion proclaim that, truly, this man was the Son of God. The Marys stayed… and on the third day… they came to the tomb… not carrying spices for anointing… but coming with fear… and outrageous hope… that death did not win. They came… at the dawning of that new day… expecting to meet their risen Lord! And the earth shook for the second time in three days as the stone was thunderously rolled aside… and the angel of the Lord descended from heaven to meet them. The Roman guards fainted with terror, but the women stood strong, and they witnessed with awe and wonder that the tomb was empty. They stood strong because they expected something wonderful… Jesus Christ is not dead and gone… he is alive! The angel sent them on to meet Jesus, and they go with great fear and joy… but Jesus doesn't wait…...
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