There is but one
answer and hope.

On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.

A quick check of Google, the Internet Search Engine, points to over 534 million websites that discuss the how, where, why, and when of ‘finding the answer.’ Finding the answer is important to us. Now in those 534 million answers about ‘finding the answer’ there is plenty of information about recipes, fixing things around the house, self-improvement, relationships, job strategies, raising children, and planning for retirement among those about faith, the Bible, and Jesus.

We long for answers to many ordinary things. We long even more for the answer and hope that will save us. What is the answer and hope we can rely on? What can we offer those searching?

Mary Magdalene, the Apostles, the disciples on the Road to Emmaus were all seeking answers and hope. The reign of God, the Kingdom seemed to be so close. It was almost in their grasp while Jesus was with them. Now He was gone, dead. What would happen to them? Where should they turn for the answer now? What hope was left?

They had duties to perform before they moved on or went back. The Body of Jesus needed to be anointed. So off the women went. The tomb is empty – and only more questions, no ready answers. Hope remained elusive.

Jesus came to them and made His resurrection apparent. He helped them to understand that He was the one answer and the fulfillment of all hope. By their witness we have inherited that answer and that hope.

The answer and hope all seek is rooted in the glory of this day. He has been raised. In Jesus’ death we have been reconciled with God. Everything that could possibly separate us from God has been removed. No wall, no curtain, no failing can keep us from God. When we fall the answer and hope is in Him. In Jesus’ resurrection we have a new hope. We too shall rise like Him. We will not just come back from the dead to mortal existence. We, like Jesus, will pass beyond death into everlasting life in God. Death has no claim over us. Like Jesus we have entered into an entirely new existence; an immortal existence in Jesus. Our story is no longer birth, life, death, and corruption. It is now birth, life, death and eternal life.

We have the one answer to every question and perfect hope. It is the resurrected Jesus. Christ is risen! Alleluia!