What a fascinating thing for the writer of Luke to include in the resurrection story! Here we are, celebrating the greatest event in the history of the world. Here we are, come together to re-hear the greatest story ever told—that death has been defeated, that sin holds no power to destroy us, that the rule of God awaits us, that there can be new life now. Here we are, and what do we hear? We hear that those closest to Jesus during the three years of his ministry, those who heard him preach on hillside and beside water, those who had shared in miracles, those who had broken bread with him as only friends can in the intimacy of the upper room, those who had heard him teach with patience about the kingdom of God, now we hear that when they heard the amazing story of the empty tomb, they thought it was nonsense!
Does that shake your faith a bit? It does mine. I have always had this image of the disciples—the true followers of Jesus. These were the eyewitnesses to Jesus' ministry. If they hadn't shared what they saw and heard, we wouldn't have the story of Jesus to tell. Here they are—these people of faith, the ones Jesus told about his new kingdom he was establishing. Here they are, the ones whom Jesus tried to tell about what would happen after three days—they thought it was nonsense then, too.
You know what? They were right! The story the women told them is nonsense.
Who ever heard of someone regaining life after being declared dead for three days? Preposterous! Physiology tells us the brain cells would have died; the body would be decomposing. It is nonsense to think that someone who went through the agony of crucifixion and had the life, breath and blood squeezed out of him could suddenly have enough strength to walk out of a damp, dark tomb. And what about that huge stone rolled away from the tomb's entrance? Explain that! This whole resurrection story is so much nonsense—it defies medical explanation. It goes against rational thinking. It just isn't possible!
But the Bible says it happened! It makes no sense, but it happened.
I believe one of the biggest problems with Christianity is that people want to take the nonsense out of it. I've heard radio preachers and television evangelists and all manner of Christians try to tell me that Christianity makes sense—that it's the easiest, most natural thing in the world to believe in Christ. I've been told and preached to and almost convinced that being a follower of Jesus is simple, that the stories of miracles and healings and the accounts of Jesus' life—some of them incredible to me—are easy to accept. I've been told that it's logical to believe in someone who walked this earth almost 2,000 years ago in an obscure corner of the world, someone who performed miracles, who fed 5,000 people with a few loaves and fish, who raised a friend from death, who forgave the sins of a scorned woman at a well. Tell me, is it logical to believe in something that happened so long ago, so far away, something that defies medical, scientific, rational explanation?
I don't buy it. I'm in the camp with the disciples. It is nonsense. For me to believe any of this would be for me to accept what isn't possible. Believing in an event, in a story, that is so radical would have to change my perception of life. If I believe the women's story who ran from the tomb that first Easter morn, then I'm stuck with believing something so new, so different, so radical, that my life will have to change, to be new, different, radical as a result of the belief!
I don't care what anybody says. It doesn't make sense to believe in Jesus Christ. It is nonsense, this story of resurrection.
Here’s my point: It’s precisely because it is nonsense, precisely because it defies explanation, precisely because it is radical, that my life is dramatically changed by it.
Because Jesus Christ lives, I too can live—that's radical. Because of Jesus Christ, I can love my enemy; I can pray for those who persecute me; I can turn the other cheek when someone slaps me; I can give until I hurt when others hurt—that, my friends, is radical. It is not the way of the world.
To be a Christian is not to be a rational, logical part of this world. To be a Christian means to live in the nonsense of the resurrection. It means living a radical new life because Jesus lives and is here now with us, in a way we can’t comprehend. Because of what he did, love can triumph over hate, goodness over evil, truth over lies, hope over despair.
We are new creatures—radical, nonsensical people who live, believing an incredible story. We are new creatures in our baptism into this Christ of the empty tomb. We are new creatures—with love to share, with a story of hope to tell, with forgiveness to embrace our neighbor, with hands and hearts that can reach out beyond our own selfish concerns to that person who needs us. We are new creatures living in the nonsense of the resurrection.
I really like what Pope Francis I said in his Easter Vigil Homily:
Dear brothers and sisters, let us not be closed to the newness that God wants to bring into our lives! Are we often weary, disheartened and sad? Do we feel weighed down by our sins? Do we think that we won’t be able to cope? Let us not close our hearts, let us not lose confidence, let us never give up: there are no situations which God cannot change, there is no sin which he cannot forgive if only we open ourselves to him.
Let the risen Jesus enter your life, welcome him as a friend, with trust: he is life! If up till now you have kept him at a distance, step forward. He will receive you with open arms. If you have been indifferent, take a risk: you won’t be disappointed. If following him seems difficult, don’t be afraid, trust him, be confident that he is close to you, he is with you and he will give you the peace you are looking for and the strength to live as he would have you do.
May he make us men and women capable of remembering all that he has done in our own lives and in the history of our world. May he help us to feel his presence as the one who is alive and at work in our midst. And may he teach us each day not to look among the dead for the Living One.
Along with the pope, I assure you—Jesus lives! Therefore, so do we. We live radical new lives of faith and love. Jesus lives! So do we. We live changed lives filled with hope and joy. Jesus lives! So do we!
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