Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!  Have you ever noticed how we say those words.  Christ IS risen.  St. Mark records the angel’s words to the women at the tomb.  He has risen; He is not here.”  He has risen, and He still is risen from the dead.  He is not in the grave. He is alive now and forevermore.

The Gospel of Mark ends without telling us the rest of the story.  We know that Jesus has risen and that He is not in the grave.  We know that Jesus will meet His disciples later on, just like He told them He would, though we don’t hear of that today. Today, we are left with a little bit of a cliff hanger.  What is Jesus going to do next?  Where is He going to go? 

This isn’t just a question for history, but it’s a question for us here. Where is Jesus now?  Where do we find this one was raised, and still is raised? We confess in the Nicene Creed that after His resurrection, He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.  Did Jesus come out of grave just to turn around and abandon the world?

Just like those women, fear and trembling faces us in our lives and we are left to wonder where God is in the midst of it all.  Why does He allow the suffering, the sadness, the death in this world?  Why doesn’t He do anything about it, at least for me?  A Jesus who is left in heaven is as good for us as Jesus who is left in the grave.  What I mean is this: All that Christ did on the cross, His perfect and pleasing sacrifice, does no one any good unless it is delivered. 

Today we are truly blessed by our Giver and Provider of all good things.  For all that Jesus did on the cross is delivered to you today.  You can’t go back in time 2000 years to Golgotha. So Jesus comes to us, today, here and now.  This isn’t just in some spiritual, I feel Him in my heart kind of way.  But Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, comes to us today. He delivers Himself to us through, speaking to us through His Word. He delivers Himself to us, giving us His body and blood in the Sacrament.  As surely as He opened the tomb, He opens up heaven and comes.

Jesus’ victory over the grave is not only won, but it is now delivered to us, personally, substantially, freely through God’s Word and His Sacraments.  And all this is received solely by faith in Him who was crucified, died, was buried, and three days rose again.  The gifts are given through God’s Word and Sacraments, but these means of grace require all hearts to believe in the promises of God that they are for you, given freely by our Triune God-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

When receiving a gift, we know what is good, right, and salutary for us to do—give thanks!  How can we react to Easter, to receiving the benefits of the cross and the empty tomb, in any other way than with joy and thanksgiving?  Of turning first to God in such a way, then turning to our neighbor to tell Him of this great news, these great gifsts, that are being handed out freely!  Rejoicing in the risen Redeemer, we cannot help but spread the news that all men have been reconciled to the Father in the death of Jesus Christ.  No one who believes in Him shall die forever.  Jesus has risen for our justification.  He has declared us righteous and holy.  So that we now live in the freedom that Christ has given to us through our words, though our good works, through giving of our time, our talents, and our treasures for the benefits of others so that they too might receive the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

All who believe in Jesus Christ, the good and the bad, whether honored or despised by men, whether rich or poor, whether having it all together in life or a complete mess, all who believe in Jesus Christ receive from Him eternal life.  Since the Head has risen, the members cannot remain in death.  All will come out of the grave in their bodies.  The resurrection is not just for Jesus, but He is the firstfruits of those who will be raised.  Just as in between Good Friday and Easter we waited for the resurrection of Christ, so we wait now for the resurrection of the dead.

But we do not wait alone, for the message given to the women at the tomb has reached us.  He has risen, He is not here.  In reaching us, the resurrected Christ still comes among us.  Easter is not a surprise ending for us but the ending we know and for which we hope. What comfort that brings in our sufferings.  As Jesus lay in the grave for three days and then rose again, so the time of our afflictions are short.  The clock is ticking for our suffering to end, our graves to open, for the day of deliverance is coming soon.

And so, beloved in the Lord, do not fear the grave.  Not the empty one where Jesus once rested, nor the one into which you will one day rest.  For Christ will provide while we live, sustain when we suffer, refresh in our dying hour, keep while in the grave, and finally receive us into glory to adorn His Church with the crown of everlasting life.   Alleluia, alleluia. Jesus lives. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia! In the Name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.