I still remember sitting in those metal bleachers at the Dean Road Recreation Center watching seven and eight year old girls and boys run up and down the basketball court. They’re wearing brand new basketball shoes with bright colors. Their jersey was usually one size too big. And a couple of them had headbands on like their favorite NBA players. And the refs were as much coaches as they were referees. Foul shots took longer than halftime, showing everybody where to stand and how to line up. And they’d come dribbling down the court. And as soon as they passed half court, the defense would swarm the point guard and it was utter pandemonium for a minute until the ball would pop out and then it was like hungry, hungry hippos. Everybody reaching for the ball. But all of a sudden, one player would grab the basketball and run as fast as he could towards the goal and execute a perfect layup followed by his best celebration dance. But then the referee would blow the whistle because he scored on his own goal.

That oftentimes in life we get moving so quickly, surrounded by so much that we run in the wrong direction and score on our own goal. It’s the confusion of misdirection, the chaos of distraction, and in many ways, it is the mistake of effort, thinking that everything relies on ourselves.

The disciples kept discouraging Jesus from going to Jerusalem. Jesus was talking about this suffering that was to come and the disciples kept protesting almost as if they thought they could prevent it from ever happening. But then problems arose as they anticipated and they all ended up abandoning or denying Jesus. They wanted victory. But all of this looked like defeat. And as it turns out, they started running in the wrong direction.

But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb early this morning. And I don’t know if you felt it, but the ground shook and an angel descended and rolled the stone away and said to them, do not be afraid. Go tell the disciples, he will meet you in Galilee. That while the disciples were running in one direction, Jesus was running in the other, that what looked like defeat turned out to be victory. Because Easter is more than we can do by ourselves.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb on the first day of the week at dawn. And as we look back, God created the world in six days and then God rested on the seventh. But on the eighth day, the first day of the next week, Jesus rose from the grave that it is new creation. What Jesus described as the kingdom of God, where all wrongs would be made right and all sin would be forgiven and all brokenness would be healed.

And it is why so many chapels throughout the history of the church have been built with eight sides constructed as an octagon representing the seven days of creation and then the eighth day, the day of resurrection, the day of re-creation, that they went to the tomb at dawn. And God said again, let there be.

And we feel the problems of our lives and see the problems of this world. And out of fear, we can go running in the wrong direction, assuming it all rests on our shoulders, that we can make the mistake of effort, thinking that it all depends on us. It’s more than we can do by ourselves.

This does not mean we don’t make any effort. The disciples were invited to go to Galilee to go and see Jesus there. And I have a hunch that when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary told them what took place and told them to go to Galilee, that those disciples were not certain about what to do. Because Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were the first preachers of the gospel. Women were not given the same authority as men, that apparently God is not interested in certainty. The way of grace comes to us not through certainty, but by grace.

That we might prefer certainty. It’s why we fall into that mistake of thinking that it all depends on us, that we want to hold it all together under our own strength. Easter breaks loose. The love of God is out there at work.

And there’s this old tradition in the church that speaks to God’s love breaking loose, where we bury the hallelujah at the beginning of Lent. That on Ash Wednesday, we could write the word hallelujah on a piece of paper. We can go outside and dig a hole, and we can bury it. Because during Lent, it is a time of reflection and repentance. So we do not say it or sing it during those days. But on Easter morning, it starts to rise up out of the ground and we cannot hold it back any longer.

That one can try and tie Easter down. In fact, it has been tried. When Jesus was arrested, they sent extra security just to be certain, carrying clubs and swords, leaving nothing up to chance. And after the crucifixion, Pilate thought, just to be certain, I’m gonna send extra guards to stand outside the tomb. That every measure had been taken. Easter was well protected and still. The love of God broke loose.

So we go to Galilee knowing it does not all rest on our shoulders. The love of God is at work. Colossians invites us to seek the things from above, to set our minds on the love of God as our lives are hidden with Christ. But we don’t have to worry about getting a crick in our necks from seeking the things from above, because the things from above are happening below. The risen Christ is in Galilee. And our hallelujahs are breaking free.

That whenever we experience the relief of forgiveness, hallelujah. Whenever we have enough strength to finally forgive somebody else, hallelujah. Whenever we feel like we are welcomed and belong, hallelujah. Whenever we get to begin again with the grace of God, hallelujah. Whenever we rely on the kindness of others, hallelujah. And whenever we go to the margins to offer assistance and help, hallelujah. Whenever we are surprised again by the love of Christ, hallelujah. Because Easter is more than we could ever do by ourselves.

That’s why Frederick Buechner says, to wake up is to be given your life back again. And on this first day, God says to us, let there be life. Because Easter has been set loose. And we shout again, Christ is risen. Hallelujah, indeed. Amen.