Isaiah 25: 6-9; Mark 16:1-6

It’s Easter again, one of the two most important dates of the Christian calendar.  Easter is so big that even those who are not interested in the faith message ride along with it with bunnies and Easter eggs. Not only is Easter the greatest catalyst of hope in the Christian community.  The joy of our faith stands and falls with the Resurrection.  The Resurrection story ironically has also been one of the greatest obstacles to Christian faith.  Especially since the Enlightenment people have had trouble with it.  Didn’t Jesus defy the laws of nature God is responsible for?  You can’t be dead for two days and live can you?  For a long time now those who accept science and those who are fervent believers were pitted against each other.  Conservative Christians feel under siege from science to the degree that they have become the political bed fellows of climate change deniers.  Somehow science has become threatening as if it turned the message of the Bible into a house of cards that can be easily blown over.  It is true, if we accept the findings of science, as I think we should, there are certain parts of the Bible that are hard to take very literally.  But I have good news.  Science can actually help us with faith also.  There are widely accepted scientific theories now that are a lot weirder and odder than our religious claims.  Just for a start, there is the space-time continuum, that claims that space and time are really part of the same process.  The further away we go in the universe the stranger the idea of time becomes.  Something could be happening far off in the universe at the same time something happened here years ago.  It shows that the whole idea of time is something we may have made up.  Certainly time zones we have made up.

Then there is this theory called Quantum Mechanics.  It does not talk about what goes on in the universe, it talks about what goes on in the tiniest world of particles.  There is the principle of probability that states that there is only the likelihood of things happening.  Then there is the uncertainty principle that states that we can never really sure where a particle is.  Then there is the principle of entanglement that states that the act of observing cannot be separated from the object being observed. And let’s not even to speak of the principles of non-causality and duality.  In addition, friends, physics theorist are convinced that a can particle can go from one place to another without actually moving along a trajectory.  There is a theory out there that says not just that there are four dimensions, but as many as eleven.  What this means is taking all these theories into account that the resurrection of Jesus becomes a much less difficult of a concept to defend.   It still does not make it likely, but it does make it possible within the laws of nature, if I understand it right.  Possible is good enough for me.  Congolese soccer player Patrice Muamba who plays for the Bolton Wanderers in England collapsed a few weeks ago during a game. It turns out his heart stopped for 78 minutes and he is now aware and speaking to his family.  This is not likely, but it is possible.  A few years ago a man fell 47 stories and survived. This is not likely, but obviously it is possible.  Ten years or so ago a man parachuted out of plane and his chute did not open. He somehow survived. This is not likely, but it is possible.  We do not know what happened to the particles in Jesus’ body after the crucifixion. We do now know that particles can behave in stunning ways.  And let’s face it, we are talking about God here, the source of energy of the universe. So, friends, the resurrection is not necessarily an obstacle to faith in God.  It is still a big deal of course, but because of what we know about particle science the resurrection is not the deal breaker it used to be. You see science can be our friend.  I believe faith and science will come together one day.  We can’t keep them separate.  It’s primitive to do so. So now let’s focus on what the real point of Easter is.

What is the real point of Easter: it is God’s overwhelming love that was shown in the suffering of Christ, God’s identification with lowly humans. No story humans have ever received shows this love more.  That is the real point of Easter.  Leave behind the mechanics of the resurrection. That’s not such a big issue any more.  Focus instead on the love.

This does not mean that faith is now easy. Not at all. Faith always has obstacles.  Something is always getting in the way of our faith. Something is always pushing back against our faith.  We human beings can easily get discouraged.  Faith is always under siege. It’s always fragile.  Yet the joy we find in the resurrection is so much more powerful.  “He is risen” is the statement that pushes back against all the depression and despair and injustice and violence. It is the symbol that sums up all our hopes.Thanks be to God. Amen.