Dear Friends,

It was the greatest news the world had ever known - but for those who heard it first, there was only fear and confusion.

As far as the disciples knew, the news that Jesus had been seen walking around, apparently healthy, could mean only one thing: he was a ghost.

Of course he was not a ghost, but it took some doing for Jesus to teach them what had really taken place, in the early hours of the morning that first Easter Day. He had to invite Thomas to touch his wounds. To others he said - as in this Sunday's scripture passage - "Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." He even ate a piece of fish in their presence, to show that the resurrection was real - and maybe also because he was hungry!

It was no wonder the disciples reacted with confused astonishment. It wasn't that they were slow learners: this was something unprecedented, entirely new! We in his church sometimes lose track of that fact, after two millennia of Easter celebrations. We've come to accept the reality of resurrection, in ways the disciples hadn't yet been able to accept.

For us, the resurrection is a promise. Paul describes Jesus as "the first fruits of those who have died" (1 Cor. 15:20). For farmers, the first fruits are a sign of promise: one small part of the harvest has come in, but there's much more to come! So, too, we don't expect loved ones who have died to return and walk among us, but we do - by faith - expect that in time, or maybe outside of time, they live again in the heavenly places.

The details of new life in Christ are a mystery too large for small minds like ours to comprehend. But it's a joyous mystery nonetheless: and one we receive - and celebrate - by faith.

Join us as we do that very thing, this Easter Day!