The women at the tomb were surprised by Easter. Amazed and filled with wonder at Jesus' Easter eucatastrophe. And so are we.
This is an excerpt from Chapter 6 in Sinner Saint: A Surprising Primer to the Christian Life (1517 Publishing, 2025). Sinner Saint is available today from 1517 Publishing.
On its journey from Byzantium to Constantinople to Istanbul, this special place helps us understand the broader arc of Christian history, which goes on until Christ's return.

All Articles

The result of this day’s proceedings, in Luther’s mind, was likely to be a painful death at the stake.
The Holy Spirit does what his name implies. He makes us holy. We believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord, and come to him only by the Holy Spirit who calls us with the gospel.
After more than a year of facing our collective mortality as a species, the promise of a physical resurrection is welcome news.
The cross is not some mystic metaphor for the change we must undergo before our self-realization, but the earth-shattering event that changed the course of eternity.
The promise you will make, which brings about the presence of Christ and creates rejoicing, is the peace Jesus brought to the disciples that night behind locked doors.
Repentance means to turn or change your mind. It is not a turn from sin to righteousness. It is a turn from sin to the righteous Son of God who has defeated all sin.
Like the women who came despite their questions, your hearers will gather despite their uncertainties, and they will be looking for a word of honest hope.
The truth is we’ve always mixed up the roles of penitent and priest.
This is not a plea for us to be given the strength to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. It is our helpless cry when boots – straps and all - slip off the edge of temptation’s cliff.
As we gather for Palm Sunday, John invites us to simply experience the wonder of Jesus, the Lord of all, who does His work in humility.
Being able to tell the difference between truth and lies is at the core of repentance.
The petition not to be led into temptation is found in just the right place within the seven petitions.