Black Friday -the day we now call Good Friday because of its meaning to Christians - ended this way: Luke's Gospel tells us, "The Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, 'Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.' Having said this, he breathed his last." (Lk. 23:46)

Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man, went to Pilate the Roman ruler of the province and asked for the body of Jesus. The request was granted. "The women who had come with him (Jesus) from Galilee followed and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid." (Lk. 23:55)

This brings us to the scripture reading for the morning:

Luke 24:1-12 (read by Robyn Poynter) and Luke 24:13-24 (read by Katy Downing)

The women went to the tomb early to anoint the body of Jesus. SO - why are you here so early on this March morning? Either you wanted to come - or - someone exerted undue pressure on you at a very early hour!

At a deeper level, we are all here because something unexplainable and never repeated took place about 1975 years ago. A man who had been crucified and then buried was found to be alive! Before sunrise that first Easter morning Jesus had risen, but his family and friends did not know it. The night that was in their hearts was darker than the gloom that preceeded the dawn.

(Now I'm not recommending that you become what were once known as "Shouting Methodists" but I think a little verbal response is not out of order on Easter morning. I want to divide you down the middle, and the line for the people on your right will be "He is not here!" and for the people on the left, "He has risen.")

The women in the account went at dawn to the tomb of Jesus with spices. Another Gospel, Mark, tells us that as they went they asked each other, "Who will roll away the stone?" I can imagine those women walking hesitantly, uncertainly through narrow streets in Jerusalem, talking in hushed tones to one another. As is often the case in our lives, they were asking the WRONG QUESTION! The real question was, "Where was the body of Jesus? Where was their friend Jesus?"

Did those women know that the Romans had posted a guard at the tomb and that the tomb had been sealed? Two men in dazzling clothing gave them a partial answer to the question as to where Jesus was. They said: (Right) HE IS NOT HERE!" (Left) "HE HAS RISEN!"

Then those angels asked a question: "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" Well, that was a good question under the circumstances, but one that comes like a bolt of lightning. It is saying, "What you know is not so! You know that a dead body was placed in that tomb. You know that the dead stay dead!" But these messengers say: (Right) "HE IS NOT HERE!(Left) "HE HAS RISEN!" They said, remember that you teacher told you that he would be crucified but that he would rise again.

The women then returned to tell the disciples what had happened. Let me digress a moment. Had the soldiers been standing or lying there in stunned silence while this was taking place? We are told in Matthew that while the women were going back to report, the soldiers were on their way to report that the grave was empty.

The women related with elation the wonderful thing that had happened - and those men, being reasonable people, knew this was impossible! They did not believe the women. What they had reportedseemed like an idle tale. It was as if the women were telling them nonesense.

That's the account of the morning discovery. Admit it, it is hard for us to believe that such a wonderful thing could happen! We can, however, know that Jesus lives in our inner being if we are willing to give him control.

We move on the the evening awakening about which Katy read. Two men were walking, trudging their way to Emmaus about 7 miles from Jerusalem. Suddenly and unexpectedly someone joined them. At this moment we know something that the two men did not know. But - similar experiences do come to us. God comes into our lives when we least expect it. Their minds - as ours - were clouded with what they KNEW. There was no possibility that his could be Jesus. They did not even consider the off chance that he could have joined them. They told this "stranger" that some women had come to the tomb of Jesus early this morning expecting to embalm the body. They did not find him. They saw angels who said that he was ALIVE! They said (R) "HE IS NOT HERE!" (L) "HE HAS RISEN!" Some of the men's companions had gone to the tomb, but they had not seen Jesus.

We are told later in the chapter, beyond what Katy read to us, that they invited the "stranger" in to the house where they were staying. As he blessed the meal they realized that this was Jesus. They scurried back to Jerusalem - presumably in the dark - to tell what had occurred. As they arrived the disciples were saying, "He has appeared to Simon." What do we make of this? Is it a case of, "Now we have heard it from a man - someone we can believe?"At that moment Jesus stood among them and said, "Peace be with you," Their doubts and fears were turned to joy! Doubting followers have now become convinced believers.

It is easy to miss the presence of Jesus, to fail to recognize that he is with us,

• when sorrow comes, the shock may blind us to the fact that he wants to share our pain and help us to heal
• when answers to problems that face us seem to be beyond our limited grasp, we may easily forget that the outcome is in the hands of a limitless God who loves us
• when temptations rattle our beams and braces, we may fail to remember that we have been promised strength to overcome. Even when we do fail, there is good news (Vss. 46b, 47) "the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later, and in his name the message about repentance and forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem." - and this morning in Prescott.
• When we have tried our best in a worthy cause and failed, remember that Jesus, on the surface, failed as well. In failure we have won the approval of an eternal God.

Jesus has proven that the tomb is not a blind alley. It is a thoroughfare! There is life beyond death.There is also a new dimension to life here and now for us. When we sin, when we fail, God offers us a clean start, a new life.

There is a man who lives here in Prescott named Tommy. He retired from the Air Force after 20 years of service. One of the things he learned in the military was to drink liberally. He started a home repair business in Phoenix and was quite successful. He at one time had two crews working for him. He was doing well, but gradually alcohol and other drugs began to engulf his life. He lost his business, his house, his truck. One day he walked to the store - and his wife did not see him again for 2 1/2 years. He shoplifted and stole to support his habits. Finally, having hit bottom, he ended up at the Church on the Street in Phoenix. There he says that a miracle took place in his life. God helped him break the habits he could not kick and he became a Christian. Some time later he was asked to come to Prescott to take a minor responsibility at the Church on the Street here. Today he is the program director for that ministry. In similar ways God has made life new for millions of people across the centuries since the Resurrection.

John Masefield in writing The Trial of Jesus has Pilate's wife in conversation with the Centurion who was at the cross when Jesus was crucified. She asks,

Do you think he is dead?
No, lady, I don't.
Then where is he?
Let loose in the world, lady where neither Roman or Jew can stop his truth.

The Centurion was right! The women made an incredible morning discovery. The two men walking to Eammaus, and then the disciples back in Jerusalem, had a tremendous evening awakening. BUT, there is more: Beyond the celebration of Jesus' resurrection we have this assurance, "I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matt. 28:20)

We have repeated, "He is not here," but that reference was to a graveyard in Palestine a ges ago. The important truth is that he IS HERE because he has risen, You may not be finding life to be soft and fluffy at this point, but even in the midst of turmoil, fear and pain Jesus continues to say, "Peace be with you" AMEN

Sermon delived by Dick Unkenholz on Sunrise Service, Easter Morning, March 27, 2005.