For many years I served at a church that hosted an Easter sunrise service on the beach. I would dutifully wake up far earlier than I was accustomed to, layer up since a warm Easter Sunday is more of an ideal than a reality here in the Northeast, and make my way to the seaside where our worship leader would work his frozen fingers over his guitar and lift his tired voice to lead the twenty early bird worshipers in their favorite Easter hymns.
After the sunrise service, we’d retreat to warmth, grab breakfast, and bide our time until the “real” Easter service would arrive and the rest of our congregation would join their family and friends in our warm sanctuary. While there was something sweet and wonderful about beginning those Resurrection Sundays with the tired faithful, I can’t help but contrast how we felt with the mood of Mary, Mary, and Salome on that first Easter morning. While we gathered with a sense of anticipation and excitement about the day, I imagine their day began with disorientation and confusion.
They had just witnessed their whole world collapse. Their hopes for their future were radically altered. Seven days prior, they were likely talking around the dinner table about what life in Jesus’ new kingdom would look like; perhaps this morning they were wondering what they were supposed to do next. They decided to do the only thing they knew to do: dress their friend’s body properly for burial.
While Jesus was laid in a tomb Friday night, Jewish law would have prohibited the celebration of Passover for anyone who would have touched a dead body. The women, shattered and aching at the scene they had just experienced a few days prior, brought spices to treat Jesus with what should have been a final act of love.
But that’s not how the story ends.
Our weekend is radically different from theirs because Jesus wasn’t in the tomb. We begin Sunday morning with excitement and celebration because Jesus is not dead. We gather to worship with friends and family this weekend because He lives. Hallelujah. He is risen. He is risen indeed.
This was originally posted on April 2, 2026
Pastor Jeremy Stephens 
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