The Rev. Dr. Patricia Ramsden                                    First Presbyterian

         It’s Easter morning and the women are coming to the tomb --- faithful women who had stood by and witnessed the crucifixion of their Lord upon the cross – women whose hearts were broken, come to grieve at the very place where the one they loved lay buried.   But the tomb was sealed and guarded by soldiers. 

         Then it happened.

         An earthquake shook the ground, the stone was rolled away, and the soldiers became like the dead.  Suddenly there was an angel perched on top of the grave as if to say Ta Dah! It is finished!  Love’s final battle against evil has been waged – and love won!

         Now make no mistake, this angel was no sweet little cherub with chubby cheeks.  He was no slim and delicate figure lifting a graceful hand as if to give a blessing.  No.  This angel was a warrior who knew what it meant to fight against the powers of darkness.  Scripture tells us he appeared like a lightening flash of heaven’s glory and his first words to the women were “Do not be afraid.”

         “Do not be afraid.  He is not here, for He has been raised and goes ahead of you to Galilee.  Do not be afraid.”

         That was God’s message to the women so long ago and it is still God’s message for us today.  Do not be afraid --- for Christ is risen, and He goes ahead of us.

         Do not be afraid to step out in faith building a new life for yourself and others.  Do not be afraid to take risks for fear that you will fail, for God will be there if you should fall, gently picking you up and helping you begin again and again and again.

         He is there as a gentle loving Father slowly teaching His child to walk.  Saying softly and gently do not be afraid for I will watch over you. Simply take the next step and then the next, step by step until you reach your final destination. 

         It was those words that gave my friend Anna the will to start her life over after her husband was suddenly killed by a drunk driver, leaving her in grief with three small children to raise.

         The future looked too big, too dark, too scary for her to even summon the strength to get out of bed in the morning.  But then one day she remembered in a flash of lightening that God was with her, that she did not have to walk alone. 

         For her, the words came with a  special meaning:  “Do not be afraid.  Christ is risen.  He goes before you.”  What was true for Anna in that moment – and all the moments after – can be true for you.  Do not be afraid.

         Make no mistake, Anna did not go through her life without a care after that moment of faith.  Bills still needed to be paid.  The children still threw tantrums.  She lost her patience and her nerve.  There were still those days when she didn’t know how she would make it, but now there was a difference, now she knew she was not alone.  She even taped a note to her bedroom mirror to remind her of those words, “Be not afraid.”

         So today, my message is just that – don’t be afraid of the power of sin in your life, whatever that sin might look like --- instead break free – for Christ will break each and every chain that binds you just as certainly as He has broken the chains of hell, for at times, our chains may feel like a living hell.

         That was true of Bill, whose sin is so often rewarded in our society.  It was his addiction to success that robbed his family of his presence and love and chained him to his desk 60 to 80 hours a week.

         It was in an ER that he finally confronted the consequences of his addiction when he had a massive heart attack.  He knew he had to break free from the success that hid his insecurities and his fear.  So as he was resurrected from certain death he heard the voice of the angels say, “Do not be afraid.  Step out into the love that awaits you.” 

         Do not be afraid, for you do not have to change on your own.  God has already broken the back of every wrong and will give you the strength you need to move on, free from the burdens of the past.  Only be not afraid, for the victory is won.

         Do not fear even the mystery that is death, for death does not have the final word.  It is true that we grieve in the moment of saying farewell to those we love so much, but our farewells are only for a time and we grieve not as those who know no hope but as those whose certainty is in the resurrection of Christ the Lord. 

         We know He will come again to take us by the hand and lead us from this life to the next.  So do not be afraid.  The grave is empty, and Christ has gone before. 

         That is the good news of Easter.  Christ has risen.  He has risen indeed.  Alleluia! And Amen!