And it is Peter who speaks the powerful sermon at Pentecost fifty days after the resurrection. And it is Peter who becomes the leader of the church. Every year on Easter throughout the world hundreds of millions of people gather to hear the words Christ is risen . If that s all Easter does, then we miss the point. Then the idle tale remains simply an idle tale for us.
Easter is about transforming what has been, creating anew, giving new life and new hope.
It is about the power of God giving new life to Jesus and to you and me and the world. It is about moving us beyond flirting with a story that looks good and sounds good, but is too good to be true. It is about moving us beyond our unbelief so that we are found running to the tomb and being amazed at what has happened, like Peter. It is about moving us beyond our unbelief and running to share the story, like the women. A few years ago someone asked me if it wasn t intellectually dishonest to regard this resurrection tale as being anything more than a tale.