Our four Gospels each tell the story of the resurrection in their own way.
It can be confusing. After all, why could they not all agree on one way to tell the same story? I find it helpful to think of these Gospels as more than just four different writers. (Although when can four people who witness something agree with each other on all the details of what they have experienced?)
Instead, picture four different communities, each with their own needs, experiences, and backgrounds. Each of these communities brought their questions to the task of witnessing to Jesus Christ: Who is Jesus? What did he do? What did he teach? What does this say about God? Why did he die? And what does it mean that he was raised from the dead?
Each Gospel is the witness of a community of faith in answer to these questions.
When we encounter the resurrection in scripture, in the witness of the Gospels, it asks us where we have witnessed the resurrection in our own community.
Did we see it in someone’s sobriety? In someone’s reconciliation? In love that moved past barriers or prejudices? How have we experienced resurrection in our own lives? Where have we known healing, or seemingly impossible stones being rolled away?
As we move towards Easter, let us continue to look for resurrection around us and within us. For the first resurrection was just the beginning!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Phil