In the darkness before the dawn

And behold, there was a great earthquake;
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven,
approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.
His appearance was like lightning
and his clothing was white as snow.
The guards were shaken with fear of him
and became like dead men.

In this evening’s Gospel (Mt. 28:1-10) the announcement of our Lord’s resurrection comes in spectacular fashion: literally both cosmic and earthshaking.

The message is clear.

The resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is no small thing.

No human eye may have beheld the actual moment of resurrection, but it not only changed history, it changed the universe and beyond.

Death is no longer the end.

Creation is no longer impossibly alienated from God.

Infinity and eternity are open for us.

Have we been resisting that earthquake? Have we tried to hide or play dead like the guards, trying to act as if what happened didn’t happen or as if the resurrection of Christ has not challenged the very foundations of our existence?

Christ is risen. Indeed he is risen.

We want to rise. We must rise.

We therefore must be thoroughly changed.

We must let the resurrected Christ shake us
so that by his grace
we may be like him in glory.

Alleluia!