Brief synopsis of the readings: Our first reading comes from the New Testament Acts of the Apostles. Peter addressed the gathered crowd about Jesus. He explained that Jesus was baptized in the Galilee, then went about healing those in need. He was then put to death but was raised on the third day. Peter then explained how his followers were tasked to preach about Jesus and how all those who believe in him will receive forgiveness of sins. John’s Gospel describes how Mary Magdalene went to Jesus’ tomb only to find it empty. Thinking Jesus’ body had been stolen she ran to Peter and another (unnamed) disciple who went with her back to the tomb. They found Jesus’ burial cloth but not Jesus. When they saw the empty tomb they “saw and believed.”

Do you remember where you were when….? We all have these memories. For some it was Pearl Harbor. The next generation can point to the Kennedy assassination. Or the Apollo 11 moon landing. Or 9/11. If asked I think all of us can remember where we were, what we were doing, and who we were with when these events happened.

But with the exception of Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the anonymous other disciple, nobody remembers where they were when Jesus rose from the dead. And truth be told, even they don’t remember as nobody witnessed the Resurrection. Point of clarification: all four Gospels recount the finding of the empty tomb but have different details. But all of them show the discovery to have been made by women who then told the other disciples. They, then, told others and word spread. As we’ll read this Easter season how this small group then preached to everyone they could reach.

There is something noteworthy that all Christians point to this event as the cornerstone of our faith and the day it all changed for us, even though nobody witnessed it or remembers where they were. For non Christians it still isn’t a big event. The historical figure of Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew who was born during Roman occupation, went askance of his fellow Jews and the Romans and was executed.

Nevertheless this was the day it all changed. Even today, more than 2000 years later, our reality is different in large parts and small. Jesus’ Resurrection gives us the ability to see resurrections all around us. When a loved one dies we often take comfort in the belief that they now reside in a place with no more pain and suffering and we will someday join them.

But it also gives us the perspective to notice ordinary things in new ways. The birth of a newborn almost universally calls humans to joy but it also calls us to recognize that God still loves us, God still chooses us to participate in the ability to create life, and God enjoys our company. Sometimes we can look around and believe that the “end times” are near because of our wickedness. But, as I reminded one of my patients a few years ago, every birth is proof that God hasn’t given up on us.

Easter also gives us the ability to see resurrection in other areas. At the end of World War II there were large areas of the world reduced to smoldering ruins. But the victors, instead of exacting revenge on the losers, spent years helping to rebuild what they had been forced to destroy. And while there are war memorials in Japan and Germany there are no longer ruins. Those nations literally rose from the ashes of the destruction that their government caused. If we think about it we’ve been able to see reconciliations and resurrections all around us. Siblings who end years of estrangement simply because they miss each other. Adult children recognize that their parents did the best despite their own limits. Recovering addicts use 12 Step spirituality as a framework to repair the damaged relationships in their lives.

And finally we need to recognize that while only Christians recognize and celebrate Easter, Jesus’ Resurrection happened for the entire world, not just us. In no way does God’s justice mean “just us.” Easter didn’t happen to make us #1 in God’s eyes or because we are more deserving of God’s love than others. While we are all called to recognize our salvation we can come to it in different ways.

Many of us, and likely everyone reading this, came to a belief in Jesus Christ whether we were born into it or came to it later. We first learned of Jesus and then learned about a kingdom of peace and justice where all will be healed. We learned that we have both the ability and the responsibility to treat everyone as a fellow creation of God. But others came from it differently. Some were born into or discovered other faiths that also taught the need for universal love and compassion. And some came to these beliefs outside of any faith.

The 20th Century Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner wrote about the “anonymous Christian.” Rahner believed that by virtue of our creation we are all oriented toward living o life of love and service and that some, while never learning about Jesus, live their lives as if they had. Rahner believed that because of these decisions these folk would be saved. And while not everyone agrees with him I do.

Salvation wasn’t simply meant to be a test we pass or fail. Jesus didn’t rise from the dead only to give us the chance to complete an earthly obstacle course to get the reward at the end. Our salvation comes from the fact that our eternal life directly links to Jesus’ Resurrection and we can live like that from day 1.

None of us remember where we were when Jesus rose from the dead. But at the end of our life when we think about our best moments we will remember occurrences of resurrection. Those will be the days when we fully understand that first Easter morning and “came to believe.”