As soon as she (Mary Magdalene) had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn’t know it was Jesus.” (John 20:14, CEB) 

Growing up on a farm, rolling out of bed early to do morning chores was pretty routine and forgettable. But there is one morning when I was 11 or 12 years old that sticks in my memory decades latter. It was still dark when I reached into the feed barrel to scoop out some feed for the cows. Instead of the scoop handle, I grabbed a opossum. Scared the daylights out of me! Click here to listen to the full story (first part of the April 4 sermon).

In the early morning darkness, the bottom of the feed barrel was the last place I expected to see a opossum, let alone grab a hold of one! So, you better believe I was looking for it after that!

The only reason a hungry opossum was able to get into the feed barrel in the first place was that I, or one of my brothers, left the lid off the barrel the night before. I of course blamed my brothers. Regardless of who was at fault, after that I always made sure the barrel lid as tightly secure after the chores were done. I had never carried a flashlight to do morning chores before, but I did after that! For the next several days, I would shine that flashlight every where I went in the early morning darkness. And I always made sure to look into the feed barrel first, before reaching in to grab the scoop.

After my close encounter with the furry feed scoop handle, I expected a opossum to be lurking at every turn. I was not going to be caught off guard by it or any other varmint again! It's the same way with Easter. If you really believe that Jesus Christ is risen, do you expect the living Jesus to show up in some way in your life?

Receiving the gift of Easter means expecting Jesus at every turn!

Your partner on the journey,

Pastor Steve