The forces of evil had turned the crowd who on Sunday had sung Hosanna to the King, to cry out "Crucify Him" by Friday. Evil had turned the hearts of the religious power to stone. The jealous, power mad chief priests were provoked to a fever pitch. The curious kept still. And one man, a friend and disciple, accepted the demonic gift of feeling a hero and brought this would be king into the grasp of Hell.

It certainly looked as though Evil had won the day. Jesus was in the tomb, the disciples were terrified and hiding in an upper room. The Roman's did the dirty work and the religious authority had made all of Judaism look guilty. How the devil must of smiled.

The disciples had completely given up their old lives, their old possessions. And now, with a dead leader, they were confused, not sure of what to next. They're pain and fear must have been palpable. Their dreams had died on the cross along with Jesus.

You know, sometimes it feels like Evil is in charge. The world seems stuck in Good Friday - a time of darkness and torment. Joyless. Hopeless. Yes, evil is real and it is still lurking about. It has names like genocide, racism, drugs, violence, abuse, hate. Evil turns the hearts of well meaning people into purveyors of hate and distrust. It takes our children and makes them feel so helpless that they commit terrible acts of violence, often ending with their own death.

Evil has planted the seed in us that we can not trust each other. It has bred cynicism to such a degree that once respected offices, police, fire, clergy, statesmen, are held in contempt until proven trustworthy.

All we need to do is look in the paper or on the news to see evil running rampant throughout the world. People are dying in Uganda, the Sudan and Kenya because of their ethnic traits and their religion. We're still watching the very incarnation of evil stand trial yet continue to stoke the fires of fear in Iraq.

Yes, it is true that the world seems a dark and foreboding place. Every time we fall into a sense of hopelessness or despair, the devil shrieks with hideous joy. Every time a child kills, the devil shouts in glee.

Yep, we live in an often Good Friday sort of world.

See, the devil thought he had won. He probably had noticed the women making their way to the tomb. He may have thought that this was one more chance to cause pain in those who had loved this son of God. And when the women found the stone rolled back and the Jesus' body gone, the devil laughed even harder. He didn't even have to orchestrate this one. Somebody had found an even better way of tormenting these poor women. His laugh could be heard throughout Hell's dominion.

And then the angel spoke, "he has been raised, he is not here." With those words, the devil quit laughing. His victory had again been taken away by God. He had killed Jesus. He had a man ram a spear in Jesus' side. He made sure Jesus' mother cried. And now, all that is gone. Gone with the body of the dead man who now lives.

Jesus is alive. The tomb could not hold him in its stony hands. Death could not lock him in. No, all of the tricks of the evil one failed. Jesus is Risen. He is alive.

So, why is that important to us here and now? Why should we care about Jesus coming back from the dead? What does resurrection mean to us.

Well, it must mean something. We're here. Even those who don't worship every week come on this day. Why? What is it deep down inside us that reminds us that this is an important day?

It's quite simple, really. When Jesus died on the cross, laid in the tomb, and rose again, he secured for us a place in heaven. When we die, we will go to heaven. If we suffer pain and torment in our lives, we will spend eternity in a perfect body free of all that harms and corrupts us on earth.

That's the Good News, the Gospel. Because he lives, we will live. Paul writes in his letter to Rome that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ. Not principalities or powers, not doubt or fear, not even sin and sorrow, and certainly not death itself. And the empty tomb proves it.

Now a warning in all this joy, it is possible to refuse God's love as found in Jesus Christ. It is possible to refuse the gift of eternal life. It's not by smoking or drinking, or even using the wrong dinner fork. We can allow our character to become so corrupted that we simply don't recognize love. That's why living in a worshipping community is so important. Our character is shaped by what we do and say and by the environment in which we live. Community is a wonderful corrective for the corruption of character.

The resurrection tells us that we are loved. The gift of eternal life is ours. But Easter isn't just about our deaths and the after-life. The resurrection tells us that there are new beginnings. We can start over.

In the newest version of Jesus Christ Superstar, there is a new song, sung by Mary Magdalene and Peter called , "Can we start again, please". The answer to that is the Resurrection. Of course we can, because the old order of life and death has been broken for ever and all time by the opening of the tomb that Easter morning.

No longer are we tied to a linear life. When Jesus arose, he broke all the power of evil, not just death. Resurrection allows us to recognize our failings and to make amends and then start again please.

We are free. Free from the fear that our mortality raises in us. Free from the fear of death. Free from the fear of judgment. Free from the fear of Hell.

Jesus is alive and therefore, we will live forever. Evil has no power over us unless we let it. Death has no more hold on us. Certainly, we will all pass from this life into the next, but as the old prayer goes, to the faithful, life is changed not ended.

That's why we're here today. Our souls, created in the perfect image of God, continues to draw us, no matter how covered over in the worries and stress of the world, to the empty tomb. Our very souls want to cry out in joy for the gift of eternal life Jesus gave us when he walked out of the tomb. That's why we're here.

As the devil shrieked in demonic laughter, women came to minister to their crucified lord. Instead, they heard the life giving news that "He is not here, he has risen."

Evil rejoices and laughs in glee every time we allow our imperfections to cloud the image of God within us. But we faithful know, that by the Resurrected body of Christ, we can no longer be held captive. We are free to love and live. Our sins are forgiven. Our future assured.

The Devil may have laughed on that dark Friday afternoon, but who's laughing now?