“THE RISING: Hope in a World of Ruins”
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Joseph of Arimathaea was a very wealthy Pharisee, a member of the Council, and a secret follower of Jesus. It was Joseph who went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body after the crucifixion. And it was Joseph who supplied the tomb for Jesus’ burial. I wonder if someone pulled him aside and said, “Joseph that was such beautiful, costly, hand-hewn tomb. Why on earth did you give it to someone other than yourself to be buried in?” “Why not?” Joseph may have answered. “He only needed it for the weekend.”
We gather today not just to celebrate a historic moment, but to encounter a living reality. Easter is not a monument—it is a movement. Not just a holiday—it is a holy uprising. Not just about what happened to Jesus, but what happens in us, through us, and for us, because He lives.
But as we celebrate, we must also confront a brutal truth:
The world still bleeds. There are headlines of war, news of economic despair, and stories of families torn apart, of churches divided, of nations in chaos. In a world so filled with brokenness—what does the resurrection mean? Let’s go back to the Scriptures and draw out God’s Word of hope for a hurting world.
Isaiah was speaking to people who had known war, exile, ruin, and trauma. Yet he declares God’s dream—a vision of shalom:
- A world where weeping is no more
- Where children live full lives
- Where people enjoy the work of their hands
- Where lions eat straw and wolves lie with lambs
This isn’t fantasy. It’s God’s promised reality.
And let’s be honest: we long for this world. A world without Gaza bombs, without Congo massacres, without Sudanese suffering, without world poverty. A world where children are not malnourished, where politicians serve and do not steal, where the church heals and does not divide.
God’s vision speaks into our valleys of despair. God’s resurrection is not an escape from the world—it is the transformation of the world. If Christ conquered the grave, what can’t He conquer in you?
(Psalm 118) – This psalm was sung in times of victory. It echoes Jesus’ triumph over death: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
In a world that rejects the weak, where people are cast out for their tribe, gender, race, disability, or income—God says,
I am building my kingdom with the rejected stones.
- Rejected women—God sees you.
- Jobless youth—God calls you.
- Wounded hearts—God heals you.
- Tired leaders—God strengthens you.
“The stone was rolled away, so we don’t have to stay buried.” Easter is God's Yes! to a world full of man's No! “The tomb is empty so your life can be full.”
1 Corinthians 15:19–26 – “If Christ is not raised, our faith is in vain” Paul hits the nail on the head. Without the resurrection, we are just playing church. Singing songs. Wearing new clothes. But with the resurrection—everything changes.
Death doesn’t get the final word. Corruption doesn’t get the last laugh. Tribalism doesn’t sit on the throne. Sin doesn’t hold the keys. “You can’t resurrect the world if your soul stays buried.”
Let’s now look at Mary. She comes early, broken, hopeless. She sees the stone rolled away—and runs in confusion. But when Jesus calls her by name—Mary—everything changes. That’s the moment of resurrection: When the Risen Lord speaks to your personal pain.
In our communities, in the Church, in our broken families—Christ is still calling names.
- To those barely surviving—He calls them by name.
- To the refugee, to the orphan, to the lonely widower—He says, Come forth.
- To the church—He says, Arise again.
- To all the people of the world—He says, Do not cling to the past. I am doing a new thing!
Don’t just visit the tomb—walk in resurrection.
And what does Mary say? She cries out Rabboni!—Teacher! Lord! The One who knows me. And what message does she carry? “I have seen the Lord!” She becomes the first apostle of the resurrection. The first preacher of the good news. She doesn’t carry a philosophy. She carries a person.
And today, that is still the call: to carry a testimony, not just theology. To carry an encounter. “You may not know every verse—but if you’ve seen the Lord, you’ve got a message.” When the world is broken, when the church is confused, when systems fail—what we need is not clever slogans, but people who can stand up and say: “I have seen the Lord in my pain. In my healing. In my transformation.” Mary teaches us: the resurrection is not an argument to win, it is a reality to witness.
The Resurrection calls us to resurrected living:
- In Families: Speak peace, not past offenses.
- In the Church: Be a voice of healing, not division.
- In Politics: Be a leader of principle, not personal profit.
- In the Economy: Build a culture of diligence, not dependence.
- In the Community: Start small resurrections—visit the sick, feed a neighbor, forgive someone today.
Jesus didn’t come out of the tomb for us to stay in hiding. This is not a day of fantasy. This is not history for the past.
This is a revolution of resurrection. This is not just Easter—it’s The Rising—and you're part of it.” This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rise, rejoice, and rebuild. Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!