Easter: Everything has Changed

by Tom Fairman

'Noli Me Tangere' by Titian

After Jesus' body, had been placed in the tomb on Good Friday, Holy Saturday gave us time to breathe and reflect on what has happened. For the disciples, this reflection led to fear and hiding, the end of an exciting adventure that had started with such hope and was now ended in the cruellest fashion. The religious elders and Romans had suppressed their little uprising, sacrificing one man for the good of the people to maintain the status quo. 

Everything was supposed to go back to normal, everyone was supposed to know their place again. It had been a dangerous message: a God who loves us unconditionally, forgives everyone and dies for us even when we are sinners. It was a message that could change the world, overturn the power structures and bring hope to those with none. It had to be stopped. The elders knew this and took the unprecedented step of having the tomb guarded by Roman soldiers as well. This had to end now before it really got out of control. 

Yet on that first Easter morning, Mary is faced with an empty tomb. There are no soldiers, no stone no body to be found and she is faced with a reality that changes everything. Jesus was no longer dead and was alive again. It had been done before: Lazarus and Jairus' daughter were both brought back to life, but this was different. This was a victory that could be shared by all humanity. 

Humanity in its very nature is united by a start and end point; you are born and you die. A lot happens in between but this is common to all, rich and poor alike. It is unavoidable. The mystery of life concerning why we are here is mirrored in the question of what happens after we die. In the Easter story, this question has an unavoidable answer; life carries on. Not in a way that has yet been revealed, but in a glorified, redeemed way, the way it was first imagined, the way we were meant to be. 

Although the historical evidence for the existence of Jesus is strong, a recent poll found 23% of Christians do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. This is a worrying sign. St Paul writes that without the resurrection Christians are a people to be pitied above all others. Without the resurrection, our hope is still constrained by death; we are still enslaved to this ultimate suffering. Our God is limited in His power to save us and the life we live, with all its struggles and suffering, is all there is. The resurrection is the cornerstone of Christianity; it is the ultimate sign that Jesus is the Son of God and is the source of our joy, hope and faith. Without it, the story ends. 

The empty tomb faces each one of us and poses a question to each one of us which cannot be ignored; it is completely unavoidable and has to be faced. You can choose to dismiss it, believe the body was stolen, claim the stories of sightings are fabrications. You can say the people who gave their lives to spread this message were deluded, tricked and manipulated. You can say that it has only spread due to powerful institutions imposing it upon the common people. You can dismiss the miracles as placebos and the lives changed as stories of the strength of human nature. You can choose to say death is the end and religion is there to make life easier. 

Or you can choose to believe Jesus rose from the dead, that the final victory is won. You can choose to believe that as Jesus walked out of that tomb, the sun rose on a whole new world. You can choose to believe that God has the power over everything, even death. You can choose to see that love is the driving force of life. You can choose to live with this hope and joy in your heart that makes you want to share it with those you love. You can choose a God who walks with us, suffers with us, dies with us and rises with us. You can choose to see that everything has changed. 

Happy Easter.