Rev. Zach

Luke 24:1-12 “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” he said. “He is not here, but has risen.” As far back as I can remember, at least in my adult life, part of my Easter celebration has always been to call my mom and say, “He is Risen!” and hear her respond, “He is risen indeed!” That’s how we greet each other, without even saying hello! Likewise, many of us have that tradition at church – even before the service begins – and I love being able to say that together as God’s people! It’s such a great feeling to proclaim the resurrection of Christ. As good as it feels to say that, and as basic as it is to our proclamation about God, I seem to hear from more people these days that the thing they just can’t fathom about Christianity is believing in the resurrection of Jesus. Perhaps it has become “an idle tale” for so many because of advances in science that make us want to claim a greater understanding of the mysteries of the universe than we might actually have. Scientific curio...

Isaiah 25:6-9     1 Corinthians 5:6b-8      Luke 24:1-12 The women were first. Peter was amazed. Paul called out pride and the Prophet Isaiah spoke the truth of God’s love: God invites us to a life-giving feast where God will swallow up death. What does that all mean to us, though? For starters it means that we are being invited into the story. In this story, our amazement in the resurrection calls us to become truth and sincerity. That’s the butterfly moment that God has in mind for us. On the other side of our Lenten cocoon is a life where we embody truth and sincerity. We’ve been to the cross, and now we must go to the tomb and be amazed by the fact that he isn’t there. We have to wrestle with the reality that we have been looking for the living among the dead. Today, we must be confronted with the resurrection of Jesus, and what it means to us. All week long I have been struggling with the proclamation   of these three women and the ...

Isaiah 65:17-25 Acts 10:34-43 Luke 24:1-12 “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” he said. “He is not here. He is risen.” Out of all of the liturgically correct responses we hold dear in the church, I have to say that “He is risen indeed!” is one of my favorites. The resurrection of Jesus is so very basic and fundamental to our proclamation about God, and yet for many it seems to be an “idle tale.” It seems that the more we know about scientific processes and discoveries, the greater claim we want to make on our ability to understand the mysteries of the universe. The unknown is simply the “not known yet.” Scientific curiosity is certainly a good thing, but it can at times become a sticking point for those who do not believe what they cannot observe. Likewise, the more we know about the human body and disease and metabolic processes, the more impossible it seems that the resurrection of Jesus could have ever occurred. Of course, this point has been argued fro...