Right now there are two new movies in theatres about the life of Jesus.  One has been out for a while, “Risen,” which is the story of the Resurrection of Jesus as told through the eyes of a Roman centurion.  His job, assigned him by Pontius Pilate, is to find the body of Jesus and put to an end these “idle tales” of a resurrection.

The other movie, which is more recent, is entitled, “The Young Messiah.”  It is the story of a young Jesus, taken from Bethlehem by His parents to Egypt for fear that Herod might find the boy and kill him; this was his order all through Bethlehem and surrounding areas. They eventually do return to Nazareth upon the knowledge of Herod’s death.  This story may well be filled with “idle tales” since most of them (with the exception of the story of Jesus left behind in the Temple at age 12) are based on legends and other writings that were not approved for the Bible as we know it.

In this year’s Gospel for Easter (Luke 24:1-12), women have gone to the tomb and seen two angels who told them of the resurrection of their Lord.  They run and tell the disciples, who, in turn, “…(it) seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them…”
Jesus and the resurrection is not an idle tale; it’s not some folklore that people made up to make others feel better about their faith in this one Man of God.

Our whole faith is based on the fact that we believe the story of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  But also realize that this story was a difficult one to swallow, even for the disciples of Jesus.  In each of the four Gospels, there was some pretty obvious doubt about the whole thing.

There is always doubt when a loved one dies.  Our hearts often cannot comprehend it all at the time of such a death.  Our mind can play tricks on us.  Our minds don’t want to believe that our dear one is gone.  For the disciples – they’re not only trying to deal with such a quick set of circumstances – from Thursday night to Friday when Jesus is well and enjoying Passover to the point in which He dies on the cross – they’re now having to deal with a story that He is now alive again?

This “idle tale” is the salvation of the world.  Believe it.  Accept it as truth.  What God has done is an amazing, incredible thing.  It’s only as “idle” as you make it!  He did this – died and rose from the dead -for you.  You and I are reminded of this every time we receive Holy Communion.

Come and join us this Easter Sunday.  Relive the remarkable story of Jesus’ resurrection.  He truly does love you, and so do we!

He is risen – He is risen indeed!
Pastor Jim