Matthew 28:1-10

            Something strange is happening in Death Valley - perhaps you've read about it; flowers are blooming. This has not happened in anybody's lifetime. I have visited Death Valley, on a day that registered 126 degrees in the shade. The whole place is desolate, dry, parched land - average rainfall, less than two inches per year. Suddenly, this year, without warning or explanation, rain has fallen in Death Valley, and flowers are growing - pink, purple, and white; knee-high. A veteran ranger on the news said, "You know, just as soon as you think you have it all figured out, this old earth will jump up and surprise you. I suppose anything is possible now."

            It seems incumbent upon any Easter sermon - in this skeptical, scientific age - to talk about proof. How do we know that really happened? How do we know it wasn't all a big hoax? Even the Bible itself tells how the Jewish officials were very concerned that the tomb be well sealed, out of fear that the disciples would steal the body of Jesus, and spread the tale that he was raised from the dead. How do we know that wasn't exactly what happened?

            The real proof is in the stories themselves, told in the Bible. First of all, there's the women. The first witnesses to the Resurrection were the women who went to care for his body. For some very strong reasons that are all sexist, if you were going to make up a story about a resurrection, and tell it in a way it would be taken seriously in the first century, you would not have women as the first witnesses. That is simply not a role they would have, unless, of course, that's exactly the way it happened.

            The second proof of the truthfulness of the Easter story is that nobody got it straight. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Bible all tell the story differently. Aside from the fact that Jesus rose, none of the details match. Some have said that that proves it didn't really happen. But think about it. If you are going to hatch up some far-fetched hoax, isn't the first thing you're going to do is get the story straight? Agree on the details? Actually, the way the Easter story is told in the Bible is exactly the way it would be if a bunch of people had seen something so unbelievable and exciting, that as they are running around telling it they are so passionate and overwhelmed that they can't tell it the same way twice.

            But third and most important, the proof is in the followers of Jesus, and what happened after Easter. I read a fable about an angel welcoming Jesus back into heaven, and congratulating Him on the completion of his mission on earth. "Now," said the angel, "what's the plan to make sure the work continues?" And Jesus pointed to this confused and struggling band of disciples and other followers, and said, "They're the plan. I will send my Spirit to them, and they will continue the work." And the angel looked down on them with doubt on his face and said, "What's plan B?" And Jesus looked on them with love and said, "There is no plan B."

            You and I are here this morning, celebrating an unbelievable story, because of those first followers, and what they did after Jesus ascended to heaven. They told the story to anybody who would listen. And they lived the story for anyone who would watch. And that's not a job many people would apply for. In point of fact, the disciples - nearly every one of them - was persecuted dreadfully for their faith. Most of them died terrible deaths at the hands of powerful enemies. And here would be the strangest story of all: if this band of simple folk who followed Jesus hatched up a

hoax about his resurrection from the dead - and then while they were being crucified and burned at the stake and tortured and thrown in front of wild dogs because of their story - not one of them said, "Hold on. It was a hoax. We made it up." Every one of them was willing to face persecution and martyrdom for one reason, and one reason only - they had seen something too good to give up. They had seen Easter.

            But what did that mean? We see lots of things in this world, but that doesn't mean we would give our lives for them. What was it that had captured the hearts of those disciples? I think it has something to do with what that National Park Ranger said about flowers in Death Valley: I suppose anything is possible now, he said. I think those disciples felt that anything was possible now that they had experienced Easter. A new world was possible. A new life was possible. Love and peace were possible - but most of all, hope.

            We live in a world that is struggling for hope. All around we can see the struggle. All we have to do is look at the case of Terri Schiavvo, which is all over the news now, to realize how wrong things can go when human institutions get involved. What should have been a simple case of compassionate care and death with dignity becomes a political and religious and cultural mess when human passions become involved. We see this happening again and again, with anything humans touch.

            The Bible has a very clear picture of that, and a very concise word for it - it is sin. And the idea of sin in the Bible is the idea that even if God placed us in a Garden of Paradise - we would make a mess of it. Even if God civilized us, so that we had the knowledge to build great structures - we would build a Tower of Babel. Even if God sent prophets and great teachers to show us the way to peace - we would build weapons of mass destruction and attack one another. And even if God sent his own Son into this world to show us the deepest love we could ever see - we would nail him to a cross and crucify him. The thing is, everybody was guilty - the religious leaders, the political leaders, rich, poor, common people, his best friends - they all played their part in the passion and death of Jesus Christ. Left to ourselves, we are incapable of building a world of dignity and hope. Our sin is too strong within us.

            If there is any hope in this world, it is in what we lift up today. If there is hope for this world, it is because that very cross that killed Jesus became an instrument of forgiveness and power. If there is hope today, it is because Easter represents God making this world something better than we are capable of making it on our own. It is because flowers can grow in the desert, and light can shine in the darkest places, when people embrace the Easter power, and live as messengers of hope.

ukhtar Mai is such a messenger. Mai is a Pakistani woman whose younger brother was accused of improper behavior. For his punishment, the village officials decided that his sister would be attacked and systematically violated by a group of men. What that meant in her society was that she would be considered permanently dishonored, and would disappear into a life of quiet poverty. But Mai decided to take a different path. She spoke out and challenged what had happened to her. Putting herself in constant danger, she bypassed her village leaders, and pressed charges against her attackers in provincial court. Her courageous act struck a chord with women across Pakistan and beyond. Without meaning to, she became a spokesperson whose cause is known internationally. Donations started coming in to support her case. Six of the fourteen men who attacked her are now convicted, but the male- dominated court system has seen two convictions reversed, and constant appeals.

            Meanwhile, she has used the resources she has gathered to build schools in her village - one for girls, and one for boys. A grant from the Canadian government will be used to build a library, a children's playground, and a cattle-breeding project for poor women. She is speaking of a dream to build a children's hospital. The Pakistani government has now paved the road to her village, and is bringing electricity. When she returns from her travels to her village, the women surround her and watch over her to assure her safety. Whatever religion she may be, Mai is a messenger of hope -- an example of life springing out of a desperate situation.

            Ashley Smith is a messenger - we all will know her story before long. She had a very troubled past - so much so that she was not able to live with her 5-year old daughter. But she had found faith, and Christ was working Easter hope in her life. And then she was unaccountably in the path of Brian Nichols, a desperate young man who had just killed three people on his way to trial, and escaped, and needed a hostage. He kidnapped Smith at gunpoint, and forced her to take him home - any person's worse nightmare.

            From that point, the story is nothing short of miraculous. She began to talk with Nichols about God; she shared the story of her own dark past; she witnessed about the power of forgiveness, and the goodness of Jesus; she treated him with human decency, she gained his trust, and she gained her release. It was an amazing feat, and she would not claim any credit for it. It was the God of Easter who made it possible.

            And the thing is about both Muhktar Mai and Ashley Smith - neither one was a celebrity or a person in high places. They were both simple individuals living their lives - messengers of hope. And all around us are people who are living in Easter faith - their ordinary lives made extraordinary by a God who sends transforming power into this world - power that can take an ugly cross of death and make it into a symbol of abiding love and power.

            And you and I have a choice this morning - we can be part of the despair, or we can be part of the hope. We are all part of the crucifixion - but we can also be part of the Resurrection. We can join right in with the conflict, the divisiveness, the greed, the name-calling, the car-honking, the finger-raising that passes for civilized life these days. Or we can be part of a different spirit - a new way of thinking, a new way of acting. If we can bring that kind of love into this world, it will be shocking. People will take notice. And if we do it persistently and passionately enough, people won't wonder if hope is alive, and Christ is Risen. Your life and mine will be all the miracle, all the proof, anybody needs to see.