“Created to Be FREE!”

Easter Sunday

April 20, 2025

What if the resurrection is true?

Luke 24:112

What if it’s true? We say we believe in God. We say we believe in the resurrection. We say, “Christ is Risen! Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!”

But what we say doesn’t always tell the world what we truly believe. What we do…does. We see today the caustic form of Christian faith that preaches intolerance, that exemplifies hate, that lives like a bully on a playground. They say, “Jesus is Lord,” but their actions speak louder than words, and the lord they worship takes many forms—none of which look like the Jesus of the cross.

The Jesus of the cross refused to seek vengeance on those who put him there. Instead, he said, “Father, forgive them.” The Jesus of the cross refused to take matters into his own hands. Instead, he said, “Into your hands I commend my spirit.” The Jesus of the cross refused to condemn. Instead, he said, “This is my body. This is my blood. Do this, and re-member—remake—my Body for the sake of the world.”

The Jesus of the cross chose death rather than retribution. He died. And in his death, God chose love for creation rather than annihilation of the people who killed God. This could have gone so many ways. But no one—not one person—expected a resurrection or an empty tomb.

So, what if it’s true? What if the things we say on Easter morning actually took place? What if it took hold in our lives? What if it changed the way we saw the world—the way we saw each other? What if the power of death is defeated? What if our bondage to sin is released? What if God is real? What if God is really good? What if God really does love us? Love YOU? What if God really has forgiven you? What if God really has died to show us all a better way? What if the tomb was really empty that day?

Now, I can tell you what happens if it’s not real. Nothing. Humanity just keeps spiraling through the hateful activities of genocide, racism, xenophobia, and destruction until we completely annihilate our world. If God doesn’t care, why should anyone else? Or worse, if the intolerant form of Christianity we see tossed about these days is true, if God hates certain people, if God wreaks havoc and harm to punish certain people, then I don’t want that kind of God—in theory or in reality.

But, that’s not the God that Jesus shows us. Jesus shows us a God of justice, of compassion, of life and love. Jesus shows us a God of suffering-with, a God who would leave the flock to search for the lost one, a God who never stops embracing us no matter how many times we return after running away. This is the God who will always go to the cross willingly. On our behalf. At our demand. For the sake of our lives.

So, what if THAT’S true? What does life look like if the tomb was really empty, and Jesus really did rise to new life? Will tomorrow look different? Will the outcome of bills in Legislature or executive orders or climate change or war in Ukraine miraculous change this week?

No. Probably not. But when we gather around communion, we join faithful Christians of all times and places—including the persecuted Christians of the first century; including the black slaves who secretly learned to read using their Bibles; including the faithful who hid and smuggled Jews during the Holocaust; including the Palestinian Christians seeking safety under the deluge of bombs and missiles; including the Christians who worshipped secretly and silently in China; including the faithful believers who are afraid to enter the doors of a Christian Church.

When we gather around communion, we re-member the Body of Christ. We literally re-member as our siblings in Christ are brought together in body and spirit. And we enter a reality that defies the powers of sin, death, and the devil. We take that reality with us when we leave this space. We take it with us when we enter the world beyond the walls of the Sanctuary. We take it with us in our conversations and our dealings with those who don’t understand the deep compassion God has for ALL of God’s people.

We take that reality of our Risen God and we go forth, changing the reality of the world around us. The power of the faithful does not avoid death or weakness or pain or suffering. But we shoulder those things together. That’s what happens when God refuses to stay dead. God’s people come together, living out a hope that defies and defeats the powers of this world.

So, what if it’s true? Let’s find out.

Pastor Tobi White

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Lincoln, NE