In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

This Easter Sunday is not like any we can remember. This is not the celebration we were expecting. There are no full churches, no fragrant lilies, no brass instruments, no choirs singing beloved music.

Instead, we are celebrating Easter at home in a new, unfamiliar way.

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It is jarring. Perhaps this Easter fills us with discomfort, with loneliness, with a yearning for something familiar.

We know the Easter story so well, it would be easy for us to forget that the very first Easter was also unfamiliar and jarring. That first Easter had no full churches, no fragrant lilies, no brass instruments, no choirs singing beloved music.

Instead, the first Easter began on a quiet morning. In St. John’s telling of the story, there is just one person on the scene when Easter begins. Mary Magdalene has gone to the tomb where Jesus has been buried. She is there to care for Jesus’ corpse, to do the sad but familiar duty.

Easter morning’s empty tomb shows us that God’s love cannot be vanquished by sin, fear, hatred, or might. God’s love is stronger than whatever we might face in our own lives, stronger even than death.

When she finds that the stone used to seal the tomb has been rolled away, Mary Magdalene is understandably disturbed. She runs and finds Simon Peter and the beloved disciple, who rush to the tomb. No one can make sense of what they are experiencing.

As we read the Gospel accounts of the resurrection, all the figures we encounter are uncomfortable, yearning for something known, something they can hang on to.

We find people — Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, other women, the beloved disciple, Simon Peter, the other disciples — doing their best to grapple with uncomfortable and unfamiliar events.

It is only when Jesus speaks Mary Magdalene’s name that she realizes that her Lord has risen from the dead.

Jesus had told his followers again and again that he would die and then be raised to new life on the third day. But it seemed so impossible, so unknown, that none of his followers could quite grasp this truth which changed everything.

On the third day, Jesus was raised from the dead.

St. Paul’s letter to the Romans tells us why Easter matters, why everything changes because Jesus is raised to new life.

“We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:9-11)

On Good Friday, we saw the worst of an evil world. We saw what happens when sin, fear, hatred, and might run rampant. The empire tried to crush love by executing Jesus.

Easter morning’s empty tomb shows us that God’s love cannot be vanquished by sin, fear, hatred, or might. God’s love is stronger than whatever we might face in our own lives, stronger even than death.

In a way, this year’s jarring, uncomfortable Easter gives us a great gift. Stripped bare of all the trappings and traditions, we are left with only the world-changing story: Jesus Christ, an empty tomb, disciples trying to make their way, and the ultimate power of God’s love.

The coronavirus understandably frightens us. Many of us are lonely, are struggling, and are suffering. Easter does not take away that pain, but it offers us hope and the knowledge that we are never alone.

The first Easter didn’t happen according to any human expectations. In fact, just about every expectation is defied. Even the way in which the Good News is told turns out to be surprising.

It was the faithful women who went to care for Jesus, who first encountered the risen Lord. It was the women who bore the Easter Gospel to the men. The disciples, though they were few, would soon give their lives because they knew that death was not the end.

Perhaps in our time, we too need to let go of some expectations. The Gospel might be preached to us by surprising people at unexpected times. We might meet Jesus when we do not expect to see him.

All around us, people peddle fear and greed. And in reply, the gentle voice of Jesus speaks our name and tells us that in Him we have our redemption. We are freed from death and sin. We are free to offer God’s grace to a world that yearns for hope, for mercy, for justice, and for peace.

The coronavirus understandably frightens us. Many of us are lonely, are struggling, and are suffering. Easter does not take away that pain, but it offers us hope and the knowledge that we are never alone. For in the end, love always wins.

Sometimes the messages we need do not come as we expect them to arrive. Yet our loving God reaches out to us again and again. We are never alone, and nothing we face will ever separate us from God’s love.

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Today our empty churches stand as unexpected signs of Easter joy. If we loved our traditions more than we loved Jesus, we would have filled our churches this morning.

Jesus told us that loving our neighbors is one of the most important commandments. Loving our neighbors means keeping them safe from disease if we are able.

We have emptied our churches so that we can show forth our love of God and of our neighbors. In a way, this strange Easter testifies to the power of God’s love more than any other Easter in recent memory.

An empty tomb was a sign of the triumph of God’s love. Empty churches are also signs of the triumph of God’s love.

This Easter as we wrestle with unfamiliar, uncomfortable times, we can discover afresh what this day has always been about.

All around us, even without lilies and favorite songs and new Easter clothing, we see signs of hope. All around us, we can see love, even if it’s not always there in the ways we might have expected.

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All around us, it is Easter.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

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