“Fear and joy together. That is the life of faith.” Friday of Quasimodo Geneti (observed) 2026

15. April 2026
Friday of Quasimodo Geneti
Matthew 28:8-15

This is the Word of the Lord that came to me, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His + Name. AMEN.

"So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples" (Matthew 28:8). Fear and joy. Both at once, in the same hearts. That is what happens when you meet the risen Christ.

You want joy without the terror of standing before the God who raises the dead. Or you settle for dread with no hope of mercy. The women leave the tomb with both, and Matthew does not apologize. He tells you: this is what the resurrection does. It gives you fear and joy together, because the One you meet at the empty tomb is both Judge and Savior, both Holy God and your Brother.

The angel had spoken. “Do not be afraid,” he said, “for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said” (Matthew 28:5–6). The tomb was empty. The stone was rolled back. The guards were terrified and fell like dead men. The women heard the word, saw the evidence, and received the commission to go and tell the disciples. They left with fear and great joy.

Why fear? They had been told that the man they saw die on Friday was alive. The God who made the heavens and the earth had invaded death itself and torn it open from the inside. Nothing in their experience, their reason, or their expectations could account for what they were hearing. The resurrection is not, at base, a comforting idea. It is the end of the world you thought you knew. It is the claim that death has been defeated, that the grave could not hold Him, that the One who was buried is now loose in the world again with all authority in heaven and on earth. If that does not terrify you, you have not understood it.

Why joy? The tomb was empty. He is risen. Death is not the last word anymore. The One they had loved, followed, and lost was alive again. The message they were given to carry was not “He is still dead” but “He is going before you into Galilee.” The resurrection means that everything Christ said about Himself is true, everything He did on the cross accomplished what it set out to do, and everything He promised to you still stands. If that does not give you joy, you have not believed it.

Fear and joy. The women ran with both. Jesus met them and said, “Rejoice!” (Matthew 28:9). He did not scold them for their fear. He met them where they were, and He gave them more joy. “So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him” (Matthew 28:9). They fell at His feet. They worshiped Him. Not because they had figured everything out, or because the fear was gone, but because He was standing before them, alive, and there is only one response to the living God who has defeated death: you fall down and worship.

He said it again: “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me” (Matthew 28:10). He did not promise to remove their fear. He commanded them through it. He told them to go, to speak, to carry the message to the disciples. Fear does not disqualify you. Fear is the appropriate response to standing before the One who was dead and is now alive. But fear does not get the last word. Joy does. Christ does. The resurrection does. He sends you with the message anyway.

“While they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place” (Matthew 28:11). The soldiers were afraid too. They had seen the angel. They had felt the earthquake. They had watched the stone roll back. They knew something had happened that their swords and their orders could not stop. Their fear took them in a different direction. They went to the chief priests.

The chief priests paid them. “When they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, ‘Tell people, “His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep”’” (Matthew 28:12–13). A lie, funded and rehearsed. A cover-up, insured against consequences. “And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble” (Matthew 28:14). The soldiers took the money. “So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day” (Matthew 28:15).

Fear and money. That is the other response to the resurrection. The soldiers brought their fear to the chief priests, who gave them a story to tell instead of the truth.

You live in that same choice. You will be afraid. You are human, finite, guilty, and mortal. You know what you have done. You know what you deserve. You know that death is coming and that the grave is real. When you hear that Christ is risen, that the tomb is empty, that the Judge of the living and the dead is alive and on the move, you will feel the terror of standing before Him. That fear is not a sign of weak faith. It is a sign that you understand who He is.

What you do with that fear determines everything. You can take it to Christ, or you can take it somewhere else. You can fall at His feet and worship Him, or you can fall at the feet of the world and take its money. You can hear His word — Do not be afraid, go and tell — or you can hear the world's word: Here is a lie, here is some money, keep quiet and you will be safe.

The soldiers chose the lie. They were bought. They told the story they were paid to tell, and that story is still circulating to this day. It is a well-funded lie. It has institutional backing. It has been repeated across generations. It is still a lie. The tomb is still empty. Christ is still risen. The lie does not change that. All it does is damn the ones who tell it.

The women chose worship. They brought their fear to Jesus. They fell at His feet. They heard His voice. “Rejoice. Do not be afraid.” Then they went and told His brethren. They brought their fear to the right place. They brought it to the risen Christ, and He met them there.

You are baptized. That means you have been joined to His death and resurrection. You died with Him in the water. You rose with Him by the power of His Word. You live now as one who belongs to Him, not to the world, not to your fear, not to the lie. When you are afraid — and you will be afraid — you bring that fear to Him. You fall at His feet. You worship Him. You hear His word: Do not be afraid. Go and tell.

The fear does not go away. This side of the grave, it will not. But it is no longer in charge. Christ is. He is risen. The tomb is empty. Death is defeated. He speaks to you the same word He spoke to the women on that first Easter morning: Rejoice. Do not be afraid. I am going before you. You will see Me.

Fear and joy together. That is what the resurrection gives you. That is the life of faith. That is what it means to live in the power of the resurrection. You tremble before the God who raises the dead, and you rejoice because He raises you. You confess your sin, and you receive His absolution. You die daily, and you rise daily. You bring your fear to Him, and He meets you there with the word that swallows death forever: I am risen. I am with you. Do not be afraid.

The soldiers took the money and told the lie. The women fell at His feet and worshiped. You are baptized into His death and resurrection. You belong to Him. Bring your fear to Him. He is risen. He meets you where you are. He speaks to you the same word He spoke to them: Rejoice.

This is the Word of the Lord that came to me, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His + Name. AMEN.

Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
St. John Ev. Lutheran Church & School - Sherman Center
Random Lake, Wisconsin