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In our age of fragmentation, where everyone’s reality seems to be dependent on the media they consume, it’s easy to be nostalgic for the days of our youth. Some of you have told me with fondness about how much simpler the world seemed back then, with three channels on TV and the calm voice of Walter Cronkite guiding you through the day’s current events. And I get it. Even though I’m not old enough to remember the three channels era (except at my great-grandparents’ Wadena farmhouse), I do remember there was a dominant narrative about what was happening in the world. There were other narratives to be sure, but for the most part, it seemed like most people shared the same reality. Things seem vastly different now. But even back then, the story was told in a particular way. That’s been true from the dawn of human civilization. Every culture has had stories that it tells in a particular way to create and nurture identity. Who are we? What do we believe? Why do we believe it? And these resurrection stories are also told in a certain way. They are told in the way they are to nurture faith in Jesus Christ. The difference is that the resurrection story ultimately overturns every other story. The resurrection reveals the truth and faithfulness of God in a world filled with spin and deceit. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. And because Jesus Christ is risen, reality has changed. Death and sin have lost their ultimate power over creation and the human family. That doesn’t stop the religious leaders, in cahoots with the guards, from trying to spin the story. They can’t see Jesus’ resurrection as anything but bad because they see him as a threat to their power. If Jesus is raised, that means they were wrong about him. So, that story must be countered with another (we might call it “fake news”) so the status quo remains unchanged. You see, empire, in the form of these religious leaders and guards, can’t stand to be wrong. (I’m using “empire” broadly to speak of all those powers that seek to dominate, manipulate, and exploit the humanity and the rest of creation.) It would be an intolerable contradiction. That would mean they would be weak. They would lose power. And most intolerable of all, if empire were wrong, empire would not be god. All such powers have a vested interest in being the object of devotion. They have an interest in spinning the story for us so that we keep believing their lies about ourselves and each other. And empire tells us a lot of lies. A glance at much mass and social media reveals this. We’re often told who to hate. Who is irredeemable. Who’s to blame for the problems of the world. We’re also often told that the solutions to these problems are easy, if we just believe them. But Jesus Christ is the truth that endures in a world of story spinning. And the first clue to this is the fact that the first witnesses to the truth of his resurrection are women in all four gospels. This is surprising because in the ancient world, women were not considered reliable witnesses to anything. Their testimony was not accepted in court. The Jewish historian Josephus puts it this way (and feel free to boo this quote!): “From women, let no evidence be accepted because of the levity and temerity of their sex.”[1] If someone in the ancient world were to concoct this story, you would not have women as the first witnesses. This tells us that the gospel is not about spinning a yarn but telling the truth, even if it might be embarrassing in its ancient context. Second, the idea that the disciples would have stolen the body is simply laughable. To what end? These were not brave men. They had all abandoned Jesus. They surely knew what awaited them if they told this story. Humiliation, irrelevance, or both. There was no earthly reward in this for them. No retirement villa on the Mediterranean. They knew that violent opposition, culminating in death, was the most likely outcome. No, they were bound not to their own survival, but to the truth. And the truth is that Jesus is risen for us all, defeating the powers that imprison us in sin and death. Reality is not the same. Even the creation shakes, just as it did on Friday at his death. Sin is forgiven—now and for all time, through the gift of his body and blood for us—on the cross and at this table. Death is overturned, now and for all time—at the tomb that morning and at this baptismal font. And we are brought into a new reality, the reality of the church, which isn’t bound to “business as usual”. We are people of the truth. And that truth is that the love and mercy of God win over every lie. Over every injustice. Over every sin. God’s love and mercy win. Resurrection wins. And we who belong to Jesus Christ win too. Every time we forgive, that is victory. Every time we pray for an enemy, that is victory. Every time we come before God or our neighbor and confess our sin and receive forgiveness, that is victory. Every time we refuse to see someone as lesser than or unworthy of mercy, that is victory. Every time we speak of our hope rooted in Jesus Christ, that is victories. And we know these little victories point to our final victory. Because we trust that as Jesus is raised, we too will be raised. Death is not the end. Our destiny is with Jesus Christ. Where he is, we will surely follow. Amen. © 2026, David M. Fleener. Permission granted to copy and adapt original material herein for non-commercial purposes. [1] N.T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God, p. 607 footnote.
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