Three women went to the tomb on Sunday morning to finish the job of embalming Jesus. Instead of finding a dead corpse, they found an empty tomb and two men. These men asked a most profound question: “Why do you look for the living among the dead,” they asked.  (John 245:1-6) This question echoes through time and still requires an answer. Now to be fair, these same women saw Jesus die, they had started the embalming process, but were interrupted by the Sabbath, and these same women saw where they laid him; quite dead indeed. However, it was these same women that also heard Jesus say “destroy my body, and in three days, I will rise again” (John 2:19) These women heard Jesus teach in John 11 that he was the resurrection and life, and in Mark 9 that he would die at the hands of men but rise again after three days. The problem is that they heard it, but didn’t believe it. Their reality trumped their experience. Jesus is alive. Yet here they are, looking for a dead Jesus. But you won’t find him among the dead! Then. Or Now.

He is alive. And he wants us to experience his resurrection or the risenness of Jesus in our every day life. If Jesus is alive, he is among us. And even greater than that, if Jesus is alive, he can live in us. Not in a theoretical way, or in superficial way, or in an academic way, but in an experiential, life-giving, powerful and intimate oneness.  Why we look for what is living among the dead is still a profound mystery to me. We won’t find a living Christ in a dead religion. We won’t find the resurrection life (what is eternal) in a temporary experience. We won’t find satisfaction for the soul in a promise that is not timeless.

Cease looking for life (Jesus) in what is temporal, decaying and dead. Instead, open your heart to the resurrected Christ, open the eternal Word of God (re-read the gospels) and embrace a posture of humility towards God. If you do, you will find Jesus in the most unexpected places. 

This Sunday, I will be sharing “Finding Jesus in Unexpected Places.” Jesus wants to be in our lives - in every part of our lives; because he loves us and wants to satisfy the eternal longings of the soul.

Come and join us this Sunday.

Jim Reimer, Pastor