Readings : Acts 10:34–43 and John 20:1–18
A professor once asked his class, “How many Easter eggs can you fit into an empty basket?” The students looked puzzled. One eventually raised a hand and said, “Well, it depends on the size of the eggs and the size of the basket.” The professor smiled and replied, “No matter the size of the basket or the eggs, you can only ever fit one egg into an empty basket, because after that, it isn’t empty anymore.”
Today, with millions of Christians across the world, we celebrate something else that was empty: the empty tomb. Jesus, who had died on the cross, had risen again. And because of that, we can say with joy, with confidence, with hope: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The depth of God’s love was revealed on Good Friday as Jesus faced torture and accepted death for us. The power of God’s love was revealed on Easter morning as he conquered death for evermore. God’s love can be discussed for hours, its breadth, its constancy, its sheer extravagance, but the message of Easter is beautifully simple: God loves us. He showed that love by sending his Son to die for us and to rise again, offering new life for all eternity.
And this morning, I want to think about some of the simplest, most profound words ever spoken - “I have seen the Lord.” Mary Magdalene’s announcement in John’s Gospel is the first Christian sermon. It isn’t polished, not theological, not rehearsed. Just the truth of a transformed encounter.
John is clear - Jesus was dead. The Romans were experts at execution. There was no mistake. Jesus had lived among us, taught us, inspired us, healed us, loved us, and he had made the ultimate sacrifice for all the sins that had ever been committed or ever would be. He took upon himself the punishment for the things we do wrong.
He went to the cross willingly, enduring excruciating pain and humiliation. And even there, he showed the heart of God, forgiving those who crucified him and promising the dying thief that he would be with him in paradise. In those two moments, forgiveness offered and eternal life promised, Jesus summed up why he came.
He came to offer forgiveness. The Bible tells us that all have fallen short of the glory of God. Some people dwell endlessly on their past mistakes, but Jesus urges us to look forward. On the cross, he took the punishment for every sin and when the punishment is taken, the wrong is forgotten. With God, that is exactly what happens. And we didn’t even take the punishment ourselves.
And he came to offer new life, eternal life. When he promised the thief paradise, he extended that promise to all who turn to him.
That is the message of Easter. A day that changed history, a day that transformed the world for every single person whether they know it or not, whether they accept it or not. Easter is God’s incredible gift to each one of us.
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb in the early morning darkness. She wasn’t expecting resurrection. She wasn’t expecting joy. She was simply doing what love does, and that is being there even when hope feels impossible.
But in that garden, everything changed. She heard her name spoken by the risen Christ. And she ran to the disciples with the words that have echoed through every generation since: “I have seen the Lord.”
Those words are the heartbeat of the Christian faith. Not “I have understood everything.” Not “I have solved every mystery.” Simply, I have met him. He is alive.
Arsene Wenger, the former Arsenal football manager once said, ‘Christmas is important, but Easter is decisive.’ He wasn’t talking about faith, he was talking about football, but the words still made me smile. In footballing terms, he meant that the season is shaped not by the early fixtures, but by what happens when everything gets towards the end of the season.
But unintentionally, he’s captured the heart of the Christian faith. Christmas tells us that God has come among us. Easter tells us what that coming means.
Christmas shows us Emmanuel, God with us. Easter shows us salvation, God for us, God victorious, God alive.
Christmas is important, but Easter is decisive.
And then we turn to the reading from Acts, where Peter stands in the house of Cornelius and says something profound, ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality.’ The resurrection is not a private gift for a chosen few. It is for everyone, Jew and Gentile, religious and searching, confident and uncertain.
Peter proclaims the same message Mary proclaimed. Jesus is alive. But he adds that this risen Jesus is Lord of all, and that through him forgiveness of sins is offered to everyone who believes… Everyone.
That is the wonder of Easter… No one is beyond the reach of God’s love.
A while ago I watched the film The Way, which follows a group of pilgrims walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostela. Most of them aren’t particularly religious.
They walk for all sorts of reasons - grief, escape, curiosity, restlessness. But when they finally reach the cathedral, they find themselves doing what pilgrims have done for centuries, dropping to their knees as they approach the shrine of St James.
They don’t plan it. They don’t fully understand it. But something in them responds. Something recognises that they are standing on holy ground.
And that is how many people come to Christ. Not expecting to be changed. Not expecting to find anything. Not expecting that God might meet them. But something draws them. Something stirs. Something awakens.
They come with doubts, fears, needs, hopes - hopes that life might somehow be different.
And Easter means it will be.
If Christ can step out of a sealed tomb, he can step into any situation we face.
Easter means that like Mary Magdalene, we too can say, “We have seen the Lord.” And as her life was changed, so is ours.
Easter is not an academic subject. It is a relationship. It is the living Jesus calling us by name, just as he called Mary. It is God who rolls away stones - stones of fear, guilt, doubt, shame - so that nothing stands between us and his love.
Pope Francis said, “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.”
That is the invitation of Easter. Not to understand everything. Not to have perfect faith. But simply to step forward… because Jesus has claimed victory for us all through his resurrection, a victory that promises forgiveness, new life, and hope that death cannot destroy.
Mary Magdalene said, “I have seen the Lord.” Peter said, “We are witnesses.” And the Church has been saying the same ever since.
May the risen Jesus meet you this Easter just as he met Mary in the garden.
Jesus is risen and alive, and because of that, nothing in our world, nothing in our lives, stays the same.
The first Easter morning was not the end of a story but the beginning of one, a story that continues in us, in our communities, in every act of courage, forgiveness, and love.
The tomb is empty, and because of that, no life is ever truly empty of hope.
The risen Jesus still speaks our names, still meets us in gardens of confusion and grief, still turns our darkness into dawn.
God still rolls away stones, stones of fear, guilt, doubt, shame, so that nothing stands between us and his love.
So may we go from here as Easter people - people who have seen the Lord, people who carry resurrection in our hearts, people who dare to believe that God’s love is stronger than anything we will ever face.
For Jesus is risen, and because he lives, everything is possible. Amen.
Comments