Do you remember that scene in the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Lion, and the Tin Man are finally in the presence of the Wizard? The Wizard, behind the curtain, tries to scare them away with pyrotechnics, and thunderous noises, fire bellowing up, and a loud voice coming through the speakers saying “Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful Oz! Come back tomorrow.”
Dorothy and her friends quake, but the Wizard himself is agitated, and that causes the curtain to shake, and that gets Toto going, and in a moment the dog pulls the curtain open revealing the Wizard pulling levers, yelling into the microphone, jamming gears, and gesticulating wildly. “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain,” the Wizard says as his game is exposed.
Well, that’s exactly what is happening today. The curtain is pulled back on Death’s game.
All the time we thought Death had the upper hand, when in reality God does, and it is God who made all things, and to whom all things shall return.
What this day’s victory establishes once and for all is that death is dead. What we see is a curtain pulled back, exposing the fraud for what it is.
Because of Christ’s victory over death, we know that God’s love is greater than the world’s hate, God’s healing is stronger than the world’s brokenness, God’s power for life is greater than death’s power to destroy. The light that streams from Joseph’s garden shines brightly; we can see our world, despite war and greed, despite our lack of concern for people who differ from us—despite whatever it is that attempts to eclipse God’s dream—they’re put to flight. Today we see our neighbors, ourselves, the earth, and every living being in the light of Jesus Christ, who is risen from the dead.
The good news of this day is that death is given over to life.
Who are you looking for?
He is not held in a tomb, nor wrapped in grave clothes. The spices and aloes, lovingly prepared by the women disciples, even they’re not enough to keep him; the stone itself is but a pebble for God’s strength. He is risen, the heavens proclaim, and it’s a truth too great to deny. Life has overcome death, and neither will ever be the same again. Happy Easter, a very happy Easter, indeed!