Easter Sunday
Peter opened his mouth and said, "Truly I perceive that God doesn't show favoritism; You yourselves know what happened, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem; whom they also killed, hanging him on a tree. God raised him up the third day and gave him to be revealed, Not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen before by God, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that this is he who is appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him, that through his name everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins."
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, For his loving kindness endures forever. Let Israel now say That his loving kindness endures forever.
The right hand of the Lord is exalted! The right hand of the Lord does valiantly! I will not die, but live, And declare the Lord's works.
The stone which the builders rejected Has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.
If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.
Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went early, while it was still dark, to the tomb, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Therefore she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have laid him!"
Therefore Peter and the other disciple went out, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran together. The other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he didn't enter in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying, And the cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself. So then the other disciple who came first to the tomb also entered in, and he saw and believed. For as yet they didn't know the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
The empty tomb changes everything, yet notice how slowly understanding dawns. Mary Magdalene finds the stone rolled away and immediately assumes the worst - grave robbery. Peter and John race to see for themselves, finding only folded burial cloths and an absence that speaks louder than any presence could.
There's something deeply human in their confusion. Even witnessing miracles for three years hadn't prepared them for this moment. The text tells us plainly: "they didn't know the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead." Sometimes the most profound truths take time to penetrate our hearts, even when the evidence sits right before us.
Peter's speech in Acts reveals how this confusion eventually transformed into unshakeable conviction. He becomes a witness not just to Jesus's death, but to meals shared after the resurrection - ordinary moments of eating and drinking that proved extraordinary reality. This is how God often works: through the familiar rhythms of daily life rather than dramatic revelations.
Paul's words to the Colossians invite us into this same transformation. "Set your mind on the things that are above" doesn't mean escaping earthly concerns, but approaching them with resurrection perspective. When we're buried in work deadlines, family tensions, or health worries, we can remember that our life is "hidden with Christ in God."
The psalm captures the movement perfectly: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." What seemed like ultimate defeat becomes the foundation of everything new. This pattern repeats in our own lives - moments of apparent failure or loss often become doorways to unexpected grace.
The empty tomb reminds us that God specializes in making something from nothing, life from death, hope from despair.
Where in your life might God be working through apparent absence or loss? How might resurrection perspective change how you approach this ordinary Sunday?