Easter Day: Hope is living!

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Jesus has risen. Hallelujah!

Today we rejoice in the truth that hope is not an idea, a feeling or a wish: hope is alive because Jesus is alive! The resurrection is more than a moment to mark and move on from: it is a living assurance, a hope that breathes, moves and reaches into every part of our lives.

The wholeness that he brings can restore the broken, refresh the weary and redeems all creation. We are not merely living in hope… Hope is living!

In Matthew 28, the story begins in darkness. Mary Magdalene and ‘the other Mary’ (v1) went to the tomb carrying the weight of their questions, grief and confusion. Matthew describes a dramatic scene: the earth shook, the stone covering the tomb was rolled away, the guards trembled. They expected to be met with death, but they found life!

Matthew 28:5 and 6 read: ‘The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”’

Right at the heart of the Easter story is an invitation to step from fear into hope. Upon hearing this news, the women ran with a mixture of awe and joy, until Jesus himself stopped them in their tracks.

In each Gospel account, the resurrection of Jesus is revealed as deeply personal. He met his followers where they were. He came in tenderness and spoke to their fear, their grief and their doubts. He restored their courage and reassured them of the hope before them. He sent them on with purpose.

Later, on the mountain in Galilee, Jesus gathered his disciples in their worshipping and their doubting to entrust them with a mission that would ripple across the world, sealing it with the promise of his continued presence: ‘I am with you always’ (Matthew 28:20).

Hope for our whole lives

This is what hope made whole looks like: a hope that meets and restores us, a hope that commissions us into meaningful life, a hope that will never leave us. Our hope is whole because he has made it whole!

Take a moment to pause in today’s celebration: Where do you long for a stop to your fears or your tears? Where do you require fresh courage? Where do you hunger for the wholeness that only God can bring?

Because Christ is risen, none of these longings are met with silence. Jesus comes to us as he came to the women at the tomb – powerfully, personally and speaking the words our hearts most need to hear.

Let us pray

Jesus, thank you for the hope made whole at Easter. Where there is fear, bring comfort. Where there is doubt, bring faith. Where there is weariness, bring wholeness. May your living hope shape my heart and your risen presence guide my steps today and always.