Easter Vigil, April 4, 2026
- Apr 4
- 3 min read
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. 2 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. 3 His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he[a] lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead,[b] and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 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.”
Sermon
I was teaching the 3-4th grade VBS class and this was our lesson for the day. We read the story and talked a little about how it might have felt to be there that day- the earthquake, the angel, hearing that Jesus was not there - meeting Jesus who you thought was dead.
Then we acted it out. We got out the costumes and the kids put on robes, and one put on angel wings. We had plastic armor from the armor of God playset, and two of the boys became the Roman soldiers.
It was a simple moment with silly 3rd and 4th graders. They laughed at the costumes. The soldiers had a mock battle and tried to arrest one of the girls. Chaos reigned supreme, as it will when children are getting ready to play dress up.
I rounded them up - herding cats - and I read the story one more time, as they acted it out. If there had been cell phone cameras back then it would have been recorded and posted on the church’s Facebook page - if there had been Facebook then - and everyone in the church would have given it likes and hearts.
I can still see it in my mind - the angel entering and the soldiers falling down as only a child can fall down as if they were dead!
The women huddling together in fear and that fear changing to joyous childish enthusiasm as the angel said He is risen (he is risen indeed).
The women running up to Jesus as he entered and falling down, not in fear but in wonder and joy.
They liked it so much we had to do it again.
I don’t know if any of those children remember that day in June in the fellowship hall of the church. But I remember it clearly.
Because that morning in June - resurrection happened.
I saw the power of empire faint away, powerless, in the face of God’s power.
I saw God’s angel, shining with all the brightness of heaven, roll away the stone so fiercely that the earth shook for miles around.
I saw fear and sadness change to joy as the good news was proclaimed - He is risen
I was the adult there, but those children were the teachers.
I read the story, but they proclaimed resurrection
They proclaimed God was at work that Easter morning
through earthquake
And angel
And a tomb that was empty even before the stone was rolled away
Resurrection is a huge “God at work” sign
Easter is just the beginning of God’s construction project
Sure, there is debris everywhere
Orange cones are up
Traffic is slow or rerouted
Is it too corny to say - Jesus is the pilot car?
That’s the true glory of Easter -
Not once and done
Not a story of something that happened once long ago
But the good news that God is in totally completely at charge of creation once again.
We are witnesses to resurrection
Witnessing where God is at work bringing resurrection
Bringing comfort to those places still waiting for resurrection
Standing watch to witness as the power of sin death and evil fall down as powerless as children playing soldier.
This is the good news I get to proclaim today:
Christ is risen!
He is risen
He is risen Indeed