{"id":10885,"date":"2026-04-01T08:40:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T13:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=10885"},"modified":"2026-03-31T21:42:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:42:42","slug":"april-5-2026-the-interruption-of-easter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/april-5-2026-the-interruption-of-easter\/","title":{"rendered":"April 5, 2026 – The Interruption of Easter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prepare<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The gloom and despair of Matthew 26-27 hangs over the beginning of chapter 28. Those who had followed Jesus, who had been welcomed by his grace, had lost everything. All of their hopes had been cruelly nailed to the cross with violent and stunning finality. Many of those close to him, fearing for their own lives and darkened by unspeakable despair, hid in a room. Three women who had followed him, however, forced themselves to bring honor to Jesus one last time, heading out early in the morning to anoint his broken, scarred, dead body for burial.<\/p>\n

Jesus had interrupted their lives with the call to follow him. It was an interruption that took them places they never dared dream possible.<\/p>\n

But now, his execution put paid to all of that.<\/p>\n

Until\u2026<\/p>\n

Opening Exercise:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

When you hear the word, \u201cEaster,\u201d what memories\/feelings\/images\/stories does it conjure up for you?<\/p>\n

Text Read Aloud:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Matthew 28:1-10<\/a><\/p>\n

A Bike Crash and the Empty Tomb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

On March 11, 2019, I was finishing up a 20-mile bike ride. I\u2019d been riding the bike paths of Glendale, Peoria, and Phoenix, AZ for over 13 years. To that point I had cycled over 40,000 miles! Starting out the day with an early morning ride was one of the best parts of my day. In fact, it still is!<\/p>\n

But that day, about two miles from my house, riding around a corner I had ridden dozens of times, my front tire slipped on some loose gravel and I fell. Hard. My right shoulder and head did battle against the cement path. Thanks to my helmet, my head won. My shoulder, however, lost. Badly.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t in pain, but the first thing I noticed, after getting up off of the ground, was that my right shoulder was several inches higher than it should be.<\/p>\n

I had blown up all of the ligaments that held my shoulder together. Two weeks later I was in surgery.<\/p>\n

That split second interrupted my life for several months. Being right-handed and now in a harness, it interrupted my eating. My teeth brushing. My sleep\u00ad\u00ad; I slept in an easy chair for 12 months! My ability to type\/text. My bathing habits. My ability to show up and lead worship. My ability to drive and hug my grandkids.<\/p>\n

Interruptions are a part of life. Moments that can reset the paths of our lives. Some of those interruptions impact us positively: falling in love; graduating high school; starting a job; gaining new friends; moving to a new city. Others can set us back and negatively impact our lives: cancer; the loss of a loved one; divorce; an injury.<\/p>\n

Sometimes those interruptions break us.<\/p>\n

Easter’s Interruption<\/span><\/h6>\n

Matthew\u2019s Gospel recounts an interruption that not only changed the trajectory of two women\u2019s lives, but one that continues to reverberate to this day; an interruption that changes everything.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Women at the Tomb, Novgorod School icon, 15th century. Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.<\/p><\/div>\n

2000 years ago God interrupted human history when God\u2019s grace exploded out of a tomb in Jerusalem, interrupting:<\/p>\n