Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Jesus – John 11:25-26

I took this photograph of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. You can see the Kidron Valley and the “Old City” in the foreground, and then the more modern city as a backdrop. For me, the image is evocative because it captures so much of the emotion and the experience of my most recent trip to this remarkable and holy place.

Typically you would expect a sun-drenched landscape, and the sense that the entire city is baking in excessive heat. But this was January, it was raining, and – other than the remarkable vista – nothing was quite as we had supposed.

And this is exactly why I chose this photograph for this particular Easter morning, March 31 in the year 2024. Because the world today is not quite as we had supposed – nowhere even close! Nothing like we had planned… nothing like we expected… nothing like we had counted on.

Of course, very little in our experience is exactly what we have in mind. And usually that’s a good thing because God’s imagination and God’s purposes are always so much more interesting and inventive than ours.

• This nation is teetering on the brink of chaos, democracy is under attack, and the political weapon of choice is the telling of lies. Yet, still, Jesus has defeated death and we are invited into New Life that makes the status quo both impotent and irrelevant.
• A global pandemic hitherto unimagined has reset every calculation so many congregations had counted on as communities struggling to stay viable. Yet, still, Jesus is risen and his invitation to New Life remains the most important news we can share.
• The world is reeling from international conflicts, warmongering, threats of genocide, and political instability rooted in power grabs by those unwilling to play by the rules. Yet, still, God is sovereign and the Creator’s message to this world remains – “Do Justice; Love Mercy; and Walk Humbly with your God…” (Micah 6:8).

Time and again, the news that hits us hard and fast via TV, radio, the papers, the Internet, and social media tells us that, as R.E.M. once announced, “It’s the end of the world as we know it…”

Yet that view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives suggests something more profound, more durable, more meaningful, more hopeful and more sound.

Because the question today is not so much that of “How much control do we have?” or “Does the world today make us feel comfortable and at ease?” No, the question is more along the lines of, “Do we trust God?” and, “Do we know that our redeemer lives?” and, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening…”

I know that my redeemer lives,
    and that in the end he will stand on the earth.

Job 19:25

Any and every moment in time stands as an opportunity – “the” opportunity – for us to live and to tell the Good News story! Because Lord knows this Easter morning, today on Sunday March 31, 2024, we are without a doubt Good News People, telling a Good News story, and inviting anyone who has ears to join us on this remarkable, epic, unpredictable journey.

Happy Easter, friends. I don’t know exactly what it is that you’re looking at, but the view from up here on the Mount of Olives is still one of redemption and promise and joy – DEREK