April 5, 2026 – Currie-Jesson

Matthew 28:1-20

“Goodness is Stronger than Evil”

As I was reflecting on the Gospel story for this Easter Sunday, a little song kept coming to mind. It goes like this:
Goodness is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate;
light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death.
Victory is ours, victory is ours through him who loved us.
Victory is ours, victory is ours through him who loved us.

One week ago, we gathered here with palm branches waving to sing “Hosanna! Save us, O Lord!” as we remembered Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem a few days before his arrest.

The Jewish people who formed the crowd on that first Palm Sunday were singing words from Psalm 118. They were remembering and celebrating the fact that God had saved their people in the past – rescuing them from slavery in Egypt, guiding them through the wilderness and into the promised land, and later bringing them back from the exile in Babylon. And they were hoping that God would save them again – from poverty, from illness, from oppression, and from all the other struggles of their present context.

The people wondered that day if this Jesus from Nazareth might be the one who was coming in the name of the Lord to be their saviour. And today, Matthew’s Gospel confirms that he was indeed!

Goodness is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate;
light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death.
Victory is ours, victory is ours through him who loved us.
Victory is ours, victory is ours through him who loved us.

Matthew’s Gospel was written late in the late first century for a Jewish Christian audience, and the author tells about Jesus’ life and ministry in a way that mirrors Moses’ life and his role in salvation history.

Jesus is the “New Moses” who escapes being killed as a young child, who goes down to Egypt for sanctuary, who leads his people out of slavery to sin through the waters of baptism, who teaches the people from a mountain, who feeds the multitudes, whose face shines because of the presence of God, and who interprets the Law for the people.

The author of Matthew’s Gospel says, “Yes, Jesus is the one who has come to us in the name of the Lord. Yes, this Jesus has come to save us just like God sent Moses to lead our ancestors out of slavery in Egypt. But Jesus is even greater!”

Whereas the other Gospel accounts have Jesus quietly rising from the dead and gently appearing to his disciples to assure them that he is alive and remind them of their mission going forward, Matthew presents a dramatic spectacle that no one can ignore.

As Matthew tells it, the women don’t just see someone near the tomb who might be an angel. They don’t just find that the massive stone has been rolled away from the entrance to the tomb. No, they watch as an angel dramatically descends from the sky, looking as bright as lightning. The whole earth shakes, the angel rolls away the stone, and then he sits down on it triumphantly. It’s a seismic shift, an earthquake, and death is conquered!

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph are frightened of course, but not as scared as the guards at the tomb who shake with fear and faint from the shock of it all. When Jesus suddenly meets the women, they recognize him immediately, and they are ready to worship him and then to go and tell the other disciples.

But the drama is finished yet. Matthew is the only one who talks about the conspiracy surrounding Jesus’ resurrection. The guards go and tell the religious leaders exactly what happened, and they don’t like it at all. They can’t have these guards or any of Jesus’ disciples spreading the news that Jesus is alive again, so they try to take control of the narrative. They bribe the guards and get them to say that the disciples stole Jesus’ body while they were sleeping. We might say today that they made up some “fake news.”

One of the things that strikes me about Matthew’s telling of the resurrection story is that there are lots of obstacles, but that God is triumphant. There’s doubt from the disciples, there’s political opposition, and there’s the power of death itself, but God has the power to overcome all of those things. God breaks down the barrier between heaven and earth, shakes the foundations of the earth itself, rolls away the stone, and conquers death.

The words we’ve been singing are from a prayer written by Bishop Desmond Tutu, and they were set to music by the Rev. John Bell of the Iona Community in Scotland. The prayer was published in 1995, the year after South Africa’s first democratic elections. Tutu had just helped guide the country through the end of apartheid and was about to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)—a process built on confession, forgiveness, and restorative justice rather than revenge.

Tutu wrote this prayer as a declaration of hope at a time when the wounds of apartheid were still raw, the future of the nation was uncertain, reconciliation seemed almost impossible, and the people needed a reminder that evil does not have the final word.

When you think about the world today and about our lives within it, I wonder what struggles, worries, and concerns come to mind. Are you thinking about the rise of fascism and the increase in conflicts around the world? Are you concerned about rising prices on everything, and the impact on those who have been struggling to make ends meet for a long time? Are you worried about the fentanyl crisis, about addiction in general, or about young people who are at risk when they can’t imagine a future with hope?

Or perhaps your concerns are more personal – worry about your own children or grandchildren, concern about your aging parents, or struggles with health issues, or work issues, or relationships. There may be times when it feels like there are so many obstacles in your way. There are so many obstacles in our way as we try to live as Jesus’ disciples today, as we try to build communities of love and care, as we try to share some good news and some kindness with our neighbours.

There’s one final scene in Matthew’s Gospel account. Jesus meets his disciples up on a mountain again. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Moses’ final moments with the Hebrew people before he dies and they continue the journey into the promised land.

In his final words, Jesus gives his disciples a great commission and a promise. You see, his saving work is not meant for them alone or even for their people only. As God saved the Hebrews from slavery, from wilderness wandering, and from exile, God is going to save all the people of the world from slavery to sin, from confusion and lack of purpose, and from isolation and loneliness.

Jesus sends out his disciples with a mission to baptize and to teach all people and all nations without distinction. God’s saving help is available to every one of us, and God’s power is greater than any obstacle that might try to get in its way. And because Jesus is alive, because death itself is conquered, Jesus will be with us always, to the very end of the world.

On Wednesday this week, the “Women of the Dawn,” an Indigenous-led organization here in Regina is putting on a special conference for Indigenous youth with education about the risks of fentanyl and other drugs, as well as traditional teaching, and cultural and spiritual practices to support their lives. This event is being funded by The Presbyterian Church in Canada’s “Honouring the Children Fund,” and about a dozen people from First Church are going to help out with serving lunch to the students who will attend.

This is the kind of thing that we are called to support and to participate in because of our history of supporting the Residential Schools and colonization. And we do so in hope that healing, wholeness, and even reconciliation are possible because God’s goodness is stronger than evil. God’s love is stronger than hate. God’s light is stronger than darkness. God’s life is stronger than death. And victory is indeed ours, through him who loved us.