The story of Easter is a story of hope, victory, and triumph over evil. Jesus was crucified. Jesus was buried. On Sunday morning, the tomb was empty, and Jesus was seen alive. The world is forever changed. Death is defeated, Jesus is alive, and the Kingdom of God is at hand.
But soon enough, Jesus would be gone, and life would go on. It was different, of course; the first followers of Jesus could not “un-see” what they saw, could not “un-hear” what they had heard, but life did go on. Injustice was still here. Pain was still here. War was still here. Death was still here. Easter HAD happened, but then life in some ways continued as before. And in some sense, that is where we find ourselves. We who follow Jesus believe He is alive, BUT…pain, sickness, sorrow, injustice, evil, and death. We want to celebrate today and wear fine clothes, feast with our families, and snap the pictures. We will bask in the truth, and yet just as surely as Sunday follows Friday, Monday follows Sunday.