4-5-26 "A Resurrection We ALL Can Believe In"

0:00Welcome to the Indianapolis First Friends Sermon Podcast. We are glad you have chosen to download this message and hope it will speak to your condition today. If you're interested in more information about First Friends Quaker meeting in the beautiful city of Indianapolis, Indiana, check us out at IndieFriends.org. Now we invite you to center down and take a listen to this message. Happy Easter friends and welcome to White Reflections. The scripture I have chosen for the celebratory morning is the Resurrection Story from Luke 24, 1-12 from the New Revised Standard Version. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices

1:01that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. But the men said to them, why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee that the son of man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified on the third day rise again? Then they remembered his words and returning from the tomb. They told all this to the 11 and to all the rest. And now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the Mother of James, and the other women with them who had told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them to an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and he ran to the tomb, stooping and looking in, he saw the linen clothes

2:03by themselves. Then he went home amazed at what had happened. Wow, it's hard to believe that it's Easter morning. Where has this year gone? We've had such a full and often deeply disturbing start to 2026. I mentioned to Sue several times over the last couple of months, I wish we could go back and start 2026 over. But then here we are in April already. It has been a crazy year in so many ways, but today we turn again to our faith for some respite and some hope. I know Quakers aren't as quick to turn to the Scriptures as many others who consider themselves Christian do at this time of the year. And that may be due to the stories of our faith around Easter, often raising more questions than they answer. Some consider these grounding stories to be fairy tales, but I believe they are much more than that. As I've been preparing again for Easter and my message about the resurrection of Jesus,

3:06I decided to turn back to these grounding stories to hopefully glean some new insights and optimism for our alien condition. Maybe if you are willing this Easter morning, we can explore them briefly together. I've found Tom Kenner, a priest from England and a progressive Christian scholar, helpful in opening my eyes anew to these ancient stories of our faith. Please note, I know people have many interpretations and deep convictions about the story of Jesus' resurrection and its implication to our Quaker and Christian faith. My hope is that this Easter, we can find a resurrection that we all can believe. First, let's consider Luke's account. The Scripture text I chose for this morning, Easter morning. Mary Magdalene and some other women head off to the tomb early, very early, they find the stone rolled away, empty, gone, then poof, two men in dazzling clothes appear. They deliver the news, Jesus isn't there.

4:08He has risen. Remember what he said back in Galilee about being handed over, about being crucified, about rising on the third day? The women remember and they rush off and they tell the 11. But the 11 think it's nonsense, empty talk. Peter though, he goes to the tomb, he looks just the lid and wrappings, he then wanders. Now let's take a look at Matthew's account. It's a bit different. It starts with a violent earthquake, an angel descends. This angel rolls back the stone and then sits on it, terrifying the guards into a faint. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary arrive, the angel tells them not to be afraid. Jesus has risen. He's going ahead to Galilee, they should tell the disciples. They leave, quickly afraid, yet filled with joy. Then bam, Jesus himself meets them. They clasp his feet. They worship him, Jesus repeats the Galilee instruction.

5:10Hmm, that's basically an entirely different story about the same event. Well, let's look at Mark's account. It's the simplest of the four gospel accounts. The women arrive, they see a young man, dressed in white. He tells them Jesus is risen, he's going to Galilee, tell the disciples, the women flee, they say nothing to anyone, nothing to the 11, nothing to Peter, they're afraid, end of story. Well, the original ending, anyway, later bits were tacked on. And finally, there's John's account. Matthew, Mary Magdalene goes alone, the stone is gone, she runs to Peter, and the beloved disciple, and they both run back. Peter goes in, sees the linen wrappings, the beloved disciple sees and believes, Mary stays outside weeping, she sees two angels. Then Jesus appears, she thinks he's the gardener, he says her name, Mary, she recognizes him,

6:11she tries to hold him, he says, don't cling to me. He doesn't ascend yet, and he tells her to go tell the others. Even Paul, writing much earlier, offers a different take. He lists eyewitnesses, Peter, the 12, over 500 brothers and sisters at once, James, all the apostles, and last of all, Paul himself, which he tells through a vision he has on the road to Damascus. No empty to mention, no women finding angels, just appearances. So what are we to make of all this? Identical accounts? Not exactly. Actually, all different details, all different emphases, all different characters even. Does this undermine the core message? Some people think so, they clutch at these discrepancies, they declare the whole thing of fabrication and a house of cards built on shaky foundations, they say.

7:12The friends, what if the point isn't the literal blow-by-blow account? What if the point is the earth-shattering impact of this Jesus? This radical rabbi who preached love for his enemies, who challenged the powerful and the governments of his day, who offered hope to the marginalized, this man who was executed by the state government for being a threat. And he was executed in the most brutal way, crucifixion, the death penalty, or electric chair of his day. Jesus as follows, were devastated, their dreams lay shattered. Yet friends, something happened, something profound, something that re-adnited their hope, something that propelled them out into the world with a message that ultimately turned the Roman Empire upside down. Isn't that what we need more than ever in our world still today?

8:12Is it a literal re-suscitation of a corpse? Maybe? Maybe not? Now bear with me for a moment, could these stories of the empty tomb, the angels, the appearances be the ways these early devout followers tried to articulate the inexpressible? The dawning realization that even death could not extinguish the flame that Jesus had lit, that his spirit, his message, his way of being in the world was still alive in them and among them. Could it be that our modern insistence on a physical resurrection, a scientifically verifiable event, is actually hindering belief for many? I know it is because I have conversations with people all the time about this very subject. As we live in a world obsessed with proof, with empirical evidence, and frankly, these ancient stories with their not inconsistencies and supernatural elements don't always fit

9:13neatly into that framework. It's vital that we understand that the gospels were not written as historical documents, but as John says at the end of his gospel, to inspire belief. Friends, what if we shifted our focus? What if we emphasize the spiritual resurrection? The enduring power of Jesus' love, the transformative potential of his teachings, the way his message continues to inspire acts of compassion, injustice, and peace to 2,000 years later. Think about it. It's impossible to deny the impact of Jesus' life and teachings. It's impossible to just dismiss the countless individuals who have been moved to change their lives to work for a better world because of him. Isn't that a kind of resurrection? A resurrection of hope? A resurrection of love? A resurrection of human spirit?

10:14Maybe the details of how it happened matter less than the undeniable fact that something happened, something shifted, that the world was never the same, that a small group of frightened disciples were transformed into bold proclaimers of a new reality, a reality where love conquers hate, where justice rolls down like a mighty river, where even death has lost its sting. So this Easter morning, let's celebrate the enduring legacy of Jesus. Let's not try to persuade our friends and neighbors that they must believe the impossible in order to follow Jesus, or that they must ignore the enormous inconsistencies in the text. Instead, let's embrace the power of his message. Let's make Christianity credible again to a modern generation. Let's allow Jesus' spirit to be resurrected in our own hearts and actions. For that, my friends, is a resurrection we can all believe in.

11:18A resurrection that continues to change the world, one act of love, one step towards justice at a time. Now that's something we're celebrating this Easter morning, amen, amen. As we enter waiting worship this morning, I ask you to join me in pondering a couple of queries. How might I allow Jesus' spirit to be resurrected in my own heart and actions this Easter? What is the earth's shattering impact of resurrection in my life? And where do I see it taking place around me? And what one act of love, one step towards justice, do I need to take to help change the