The Wonder, the War Zone, and the Weariness: A Pascha Sermon

In this Pascha sermon, Fr. Geoff Harvey reflects on John 1:5 — “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” — through three themes: the wonder of the empty tomb, the spiritual war zone of human history, and the weariness that Christ meets with resurrection. A message of hope and transformation for all who carry the light of the risen Christ into their daily lives.

Transcript

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is risen!

My text this evening is from the Gospel we have just heard. John 1:5: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” I have three hooks for you to take away tonight: the wonder, the war zone, and the weariness.

The Wonder

Tonight, after our long journey through Great Lent, the solemn quietness of Holy Week, and the sorrow of the cross, we find ourselves standing in the radiant light of the resurrection. The tomb is empty. What a wonder. Death has been trampled down. Life has begun again.

The resurrection of Christ is not simply a historical event — though it certainly is that. For us, it is an event for today. It is the turning point of all creation. In rising from the dead, Christ has not only restored his own life; he has restored our lives as well.

The Holy Week services work as a great parable, a story that we actually join in. We were there on Palm Sunday, shouting “Hosanna in the highest!” We were there shouting “Crucify him! Crucify him!” We were there when Pontius Pilate questioned and sentenced him. We were there when the soldiers scourged him, mocked him, and spat upon him. We were there when they crucified him and buried him. And now we are there at the empty tomb.

This is a world in which darkness reigns, where individuals and nations commit the vilest atrocities. Yet it is only when we become aware of this absolute darkness that we can begin to understand why it was necessary for our Lord Jesus Christ to come into the world to overcome it. Jesus has entered into the deepest darkness of our humanity and filled it with his uncreated light. There is no place left untouched by his victory — not our sin, not our suffering, not even death itself.

Christ is risen means that nothing is final except God’s love. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

The War Zone

Someone has described the world we live in today as a love story set in a war zone. The love story is the story of God and his undying love for all his children — sons and daughters separated from him by sin, whom he longs to be reunited with. This is the reason he sent his Son to become one of us, to die for us, and to make union with God possible again.

Against that love there stands the enemy — Satan, the fallen angel who is determined to take as many of God’s human sons and daughters as he can into eternal separation from God’s love. This is what makes the earth a war zone: a perpetual battle between good and evil over human souls, raging since the fall in the garden, and continuing until God returns and ends it.

Why does God not end it now? Because he is gracious and patient, allowing time for people to repent and be reunited with him before he returns. So the light continues to shine in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.

The Weariness

The weariness we feel tonight, after so many long services, is real. But it is also part of the story. The myrrh-bearing women, when they came to the tomb, were exhausted and grieving. And there, in their weakness, they were confronted with the impossible: Christ had risen. And so it is for us too. In our tiredness, in the challenges of our ordinary everyday lives, Christ meets us with resurrection.

I should mention briefly — and will address in more detail in coming days — that some people have spoken to me with great concern about our King. He publicly wished the Muslim community well for Ramadan, but did not similarly acknowledge Christians at Great Lent or Easter. There is quite a furore in the media, and people are genuinely asking about the nature of his faith. It is an important question, because if he is no longer a Christian, he may be in breach of the oath he took at his coronation. But we must not judge him — only God can judge a person’s heart. I will try to address this further in the coming days.

What we must remind ourselves of is this: whatever questions surround our earthly rulers, our true allegiance is clear — it is to the risen Christ, and to him alone.

Tonight, we place everything — even our uncertainties about the world and our earthly king — into the light of the resurrection. Tonight, all creation rejoices: heaven and earth, angels and human beings, the living and the departed, all united in one proclamation: Christ is risen!

And because he is risen, we are no longer trapped by fear. We are no longer terrified by death. We are called to live as people of the resurrection — people of the light, hope, forgiveness, and joy.

Let us take this uncreated light into our homes, into our work, into every part of our lives. Let us become witnesses, not by words alone, but by lives transformed. Because the world outside the church is still waiting, still searching in darkness. And we carry the light of an empty tomb in our souls.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. But we must allow it to keep shining through our transformed lives.

May God help us to do this.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!