Matthew 28: 1-10                                                                                                       Rev. Dr. Galen E. Russell III

Colossians 3: 1-4                                                                                                  April 5, 2026, Easter Sunrise

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Prayer: May your Spirit of new life open us up to your power and presence, O risen Christ. Amen.

What do all these names have in common?

 Willian Moore, Joe Cook, Herb Andrews, Scott  Wogelmuth, Diane Ziegler, Karen Helms, Dawn Byers, Sandy Spayd, Denny Fackler, Jean Balderson, Rich Kalberer, Barb Kondras, Arlene Lokey, Ed and Jane Hoffman.

Every one of these people have entered the Church Triumphant. Each one died and their cremains are here in this Memorial garden.

None of us has died physically, yet. But we all will someday. We know it will happen. And if you’re like Woody Allen, you might say “I’m not afraid to die; I just don’t want to be there when it happens!”

But, each of us had died in other ways over our lifetimes, haven’t we? I mean we’ve died inside when perhaps a loved one passed away, and the grief if missing that person hit us. Or, when we’ve experienced transition, from one thing to another, leaving the former thing behind for good.

Some of us have experience divorce, which is a death of sorts. And others of us experienced old habits going away, which may or may not be a good thing. Remember Paul’s words in 1 Cor. 13, “when I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But, when I grew up, I gave up childish ways” (1 Cor. 13: 11)  So, even growing up implies a death of sorts.

So it seems very ironic to me that we are always seeking God, the God of Easter, the God of new life, and we come to the grave yard to do this! To this Memorial Garden.

Of course, we come here because Mary came to the grave yard on that first Easter. She came with her friends with the mindset that they would be finishing the burial process for Jesus.

And lo and behold, she didn’t find Jesus, but instead found an angel whose words were strong enough, maybe convincing enough to change her mindset. She left in a hurry, maybe newly energized with a message for Jesus’ disciples.

As I thought about Mary this week, it occurred to me that she must have had an open mind. She seemed to have a flexible personality. One that was willing to explore, willing to discover new options.

Because we surely know that sometimes when our minds get set, it’s difficult to get us to change our perspective. Because once our minds are made up, we can’t learn anymore.  Sometimes we can’t see anything else. We can’t learn anymore. Nothing can sway our thinking.

        And guess what? The Holy Spirit can’t touch us, either. Our obstinacy can stop the Holy Spirit very effectively.

The author of Colossians encourages us to set our minds on things that are above, meaning things that are God-centered. And with that comes an open feeling. An open-mindedness.

The angel said, “come and see.” What if Mary had said, “No way. You’re a figment of my imagination.” Where would we be now?

But as it was, she was open. Her mindset changed from finishing the burial to sharing the news. Her sadness turned to joy. And when she saw Jesus, her excitement turned into reverence and worship.

What big changes can come if you have an open mind!

You can live life with great expectancy of how, when, or where the Holy Spirit may just show up and greet you.

You can live with the living risen Spirit of Jesus alive in your inner spirit. How do you know that the Holy Spirit is alive in you? When you have an open mind and are exhibiting actions that look more and more like Jesus. What he would do. The ideas he would say. His ways become more and more your ways.

I was thinking about this idea of developing the likeness of Jesus. And while I was watching the Duke vs. U Conn Men’s basketball game. There are two players on Duke’s team that are twins. Caleb and Cameron Boozer. They are the sons of Carlos Boozer, another famous basketball player for Duke. They aren’t the spittin’ image of their father physically. Even as twins, they have differences. But, they both play with every level of skill that their father had. And in that way, they developed his likeness.

It’s the same with Christ. The more open we are to the work of the Spirit in our lives, the more we live and act and think like Jesus. The more we develop a likeness to him.

That way his risen presence continues to live. In us. And our minds grow more and more set on things that are God-centered, and are less earthly centered.

So this Easter, let’s ask God to teach to have an open mind, that we’re willing to let the Holy Spirit take us to where we can find new life with God.



And where that is, is anywhere we are—wherever we are. Amen. Happy Easter!