The .Plan

Craig Kocher describes what the celebration can be like for the rest of us:

Peter is the first of the three to actually go in the tomb and look around. He is evidence driven: empty tomb, stone rolled aside, linen cloth, no body. Peter lives in a world of rationality, of cause and effect, with the laws of motion and mechanics soundly in place. Dead bodies do not disappear; somebody has to move them. Peter leaves the tomb unaware of the Lord’s resurrection. He doesn’t believe until much later when Mary tells him her story and convinces him that the good news is real.

Peter is the disciple of hope because he gives hope to the rest of us plain Jane and Joe disciples. Through all his smugness, his denials, his “just not getting it”; through his missteps and mistakes, and now through completely missing the central moment of our faith—he is still the one upon whom Jesus builds his church.

Not everyone has the beloved disciple’s faith, or the depth of Mary’s love. But all of us sitting in worship on Easter can find hope in Peter.
–Craig Kocher, “Encountering the Resurrection”, Easter Sunday sermon, 2008