“The Good News Is Alive in the World”
Matthew 28:1-10
Easter Sunday, April 12, 2026
Prayer for Illumination: Almighty God, you are able to turn the shadow of death into the dawn of a new day, so enable us, by the power of your Spirit, to receive your good news with open hearts and open minds. Relieve any fears, and fill us again with faith, through Jesus the Christ, who came and lived, and died and was raised, so that we may live life anew. Amen.
Isaiah 25:6-9
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food,
a feast of well-matured wines, of rich food filled with marrow,
of well-matured wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people
he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
The grass will wither and the flower will fade, but the Word of our Lord will abide forever.
Hear the good news of the gospel. Matthew 28:1-10:
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven,
came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.
But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid;
I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.
He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead,
and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.”
This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy,
and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’
And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them,
‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
I will never forget the first earthquake that I experienced.
We were in Los Robles, Nicaragua for a church mission trip.
We could smell the wonderful breakfast being prepared by our hosts,
and I was standing outside next to this grass-covered pavilion.
The pavilion was the hangout place; it stood over a large stone firepit
surrounded by stone benches with large pillows.
It was a glorious, sunny morning. Gazing out over the verdant hills,
you could not help but appreciate the vibrant green grass,
the flowering plants of various sizes and colors,
the beautiful lake, Lago de Apanas, in the foreground, and Volcan Yali,
a volcanic mountain, towering over the scenery. Life was good!
But suddenly, the ground began moving beneath my feet.
I could sense danger! but it did not feel dangerous.
Being new to earthquakes, and not really knowing what was happening,
I was a bit in shock, wondering what was happening.
My feet were firmly planted on the ground, but my whole body was swaying back and forth.
Everything around me seemed to be in motion.
One of our group was still in bed, and they said that it felt like their bed was swinging,
as if it were hanging from ropes.
The tremor lasted probably five seconds, and when it finally stopped,
we all breathed a sigh of relief.
Apparently, nothing around us had been damaged and no one in our vicinity had been injured.
But we could not help but wonder: Is this going to happen again soon?
Was this just some small precursor to a potentially far more damaging earthquake?
The locals relieved our fears.
They told us that these sort of tremors happen all the time.
In fact, as it turns out, such tremors are quite common in Nicaragua.
Just this past week, Nicaragua had 16 quakes of magnitudes up to 4.1
in only 24 hours!, and 1 of those quakes was rated above a magnitude 4.0.
Did you know that Nicaragua can experience as many as 1000 earthquakes in a year!
In that five seconds, as everything seemed to be moving all at once,
and the ground was literally moving under our feet,
I came to that sudden realization that we were not at all in control
of those unexpected circumstances that had impinged upon our beautiful morning.
Whether from a natural event like an earthquake or tornado or hurricane,
or perhaps from some sudden, unexpected change in our life’s circumstances,
sometimes the ground beneath us seems to be literally moving under our feet.
Have you ever felt like everything was changing all at once?
Have you ever felt that sudden realization that you are not at all in control
of the circumstances surrounding your life?
It can be a humbling experience to be reminded that we are not fully in charge of our lives.
It can be disconcerting to realize that we have no idea sometimes
of what is about to happen in the world around us.
Such experiences can make us feel vulnerable, afraid, panicky even.
We might wonder: what in the world is going to come next?
What I experienced in Nicaragua took only seconds, but for some people,
such feelings of tremors and turmoil last for months or even years.
When my friend received that unexpected cancer diagnosis…
When another friend, who was struggling chronic illness and pain,
had some new, unexpected side effect impinging upon their body…
When that nice couple with the three little kids went through that separation
and then began speaking of divorce…
When that high school student received that low grade on her big test
and she wondered if she would still be able to get into the college she most desired…
When our friend at the CDC got laid off from his job that he’d had for many years
and was forced to consider a new career direction, and maybe even a different city…
All of us have experienced some measure of turmoil in our lives
or in the lives of our loved ones.
All of us have received some news report and felt like the world was spinning out of control.
Most of us have lived long enough to have had some unexpected or fearful tremors
in the relationships we hold dear.
Even in our evolved state, we human beings are still fallible, vulnerable creatures
of the earth, and we could spend our days, if we chose to do so,
finding almost constant reason to be afraid.
With the news that invades our phones and our computers,
we become aware of people dying every day, and we have good reason to fear death.
With the heartbreaking stories of our friends and neighbors,
we become aware of real struggles of physical and mental health, and we fear that path.
With the ongoing, fierce competition for limited resources, we become more aware of scarcity
than of abundance, and we fear being left out or left behind.
What do we do when our world is spinning out of control?
What do we do when the person who has been our rock, our fortress, our protector is gone
or has let us down in some way?
What do we do when it feels as though death
and those who deal in death and division and despair might have the last word?
More than any other phrase from the mouth of God or a messenger from God in the Bible:
do not be afraid.
When the women at the tomb witnessed the risen Jesus, the messenger told them:
do not be afraid.
When soon thereafter they encountered the risen Jesus in their midst: do not be afraid.
When they went back to Galilee and gathered with other like-minded souls,
can’t you just hear them saying to one another: do not be afraid; he is with us.
He will always be with us.
Just recently, a young woman was talking about the death of her father.
We were sharing memories and stories about the man who had meant so much to her.
She surprised me a bit when she blurted out:
“My dad is everywhere; he’s in everything I do.”
I think that’s how Mary Magdalene and the other Mary felt when they got back to Galilee.
When they gathered with the disciples and others in those familiar places,
they could see Jesus everywhere.
He was in everything that they and their friends would do.
He was alive in their heads and their hearts.
He was no longer bound by death or silenced by the empire.
His love was coursing through their veins; his words were emblazoned upon their hearts;
his actions would never be forgotten.
There, in Galilee, they experienced his real presence and Yes!, Yes!,
Jesus was very much alive!
No doubt death is powerful, but Jesus’ resurrection reminds that Love is very much alive!
And love is more powerful than death,
and Love will win – eventually, ultimately, without a doubt.
Fear and despair and disunity are the tools of those who would deal in death.
Love and hope and community are the practices of those who would abide,
now and forever, in eternal life.
Have not I commanded you?, says the Lord (Joshua 1:9) Be strong and of a good courage;
be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for the LORD your God [is] with you wherever you go.
Psalms 23:4 – Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Isaiah 41:10 – Do not be afraid, for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God:
I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my powerful right hand.
Psalms 56:3-4 – When I am afraid, I will trust in God.
In God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
For decades, my father repeated the same biblical benediction at the end of worship.
When he retired from the pulpit, the congregation spoke these words back to him.
Go forth into the world in peace. Be of good courage.
Hold fast to that which is true. Render to no one evil for evil.
Strengthen the faint-hearted; support the weak; honor all.
Love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This, friends, is what Easter people are called to do.
This kind of Christ-like living becomes the ongoing incarnation
of the good news of the gospel for a world in need.
Rachel asked us last week: Where is Jesus?
Jesus is right here in plain view. Every time we gather in his name.
Every time we break the bread and remember his sacrificial love.
Every time we try to lift up the weak and avoid manipulation by the powerful.
Every time we heal the sick and hold fast to that which is true.
Every time we hold accountable those who bear false witness.
Every time we choose love, hope, and community over fear, despair, and division.
There were two groups at the tomb that first Easter morning.
The soldiers of the Sandhedrin who, when the fearful earthquake shook,
became like dead men, and later took money to tell a bunch of lies.
And then there were the women, who ran to tell the others the good news,
and who went back to Galilee to live a life of love and service to the Lord,
rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit at work among them.
Whatever happened on that first Easter morning was astounding.
And here we are, 21 centuries later, proclaiming this wonder, this mystery, this joy:
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!!
Alleluia! Amen.
Rev. Dr. Todd Speed
Decatur Presbyterian Church, Decatur, Georgia
