When you think about it, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday would have been a great place for his story to end.  

The cheering crowd that welcomed certainly would have liked that.  Jesus, who had been so faithful in his ministry, was now being welcomed into the capital as a revolutionary king.  Of course, that was not the end of the story.

Jesus then celebrated his Last Supper with his disciples.  Again, that would seem like a good ending place for his story.  But no!  

He is arrested and killed on the cross.  Surely that was the end of the story.  For those who had him killed and those who had hoped that he would avoid crucifixion, it was just that: the end of his story.

Yet it wasn’t!  Jesus Christ, by the power of God’s eternal love, rose from the dead.  He appeared to his friends and many others and continued to teach them.  Eventually, he would be seen ascending into heaven itself.  That has to be the last chapter and verse of his story, right?  Still no!

Jesus, from heaven, sends the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and so inspires the disciples with that spirit that they go on to form the Christian religion throughout the world.  Period full stop?  Not hardly!

The story of Jesus’ birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection has not ended.  The next chapter is being written right now…with your life.  It is an absolute Easter joy to be included in the story of Jesus Christ and also given the power to shape what happens next! 

It is a tremendous gift and it is also a tremendous responsibility.  We, of course, like the “gift” part.  We like that God gives us a part in the unfolding drama.  What we don’t care for is the “responsibility” part.  And it’s not just us.  The original ending of Mark’s gospel has the disciples leaving the empty tomb both terrified and telling no one what had happened.

Easter not only showers us with the Good News of Christ’s victory of death but, as those who participate in the story of Jesus today, it calls us to act on that Good News.  How?  How do we do that?

By how we live, the choices we make, and the attitude with which we approach life.  These things are the residue of Christ that we leave behind when we depart this world.

It takes work.  It takes courage.  It is not necessarily the easy road.  Then again, neither was Jesus’ road.  But look where it led: to the peace of God and the glory of heaven.  

The resurrection belongs to each of us.  Let’s live it out.  It is not yet the end of the story!

See you in church,

–Rev. Dominic