"All Things New" ~Luke 24:1-12~Easter Sunday~April 21, 2019

Today is the day!!  Today is THE day - the day upon which our whole faith hinges!  In case you have not heard how the story ends (SPOILER ALERT COMING), the women coming to the tomb early on Sunday morning to anoint the body of Jesus find the tomb EMPTY!  Upon their discovery, they run to tell the other disciples, proclaiming what they have seen and heard.  These women (according to Luke's account, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary mother of James, and others) give their testimony and thus are the first Easter Preachers.  Without the voices of these women, there would be no Easter story proclaimed.

We have spent a lot of time this Lenten season talking about identifying and dismantling unhealthy and dysfunctional systems and cycles of behavior.  Believe it or not, the tearing down is the easy part.  The challenge comes in the building back up - in discerning what is healthy and faithful and then replacing the unhealthy with the healthy.  I can easily demolish walls in my house in order to created a larger space - but I do not know the first thing about rebuilding walls, framing or hanging sheetrock.  This Sunday is about building back up - this Sunday makes "All Things New.'