Why should we look at Easter when Iran has had 87 earthquakes in a year and the world feels unstable?
The episode is an Easter Sunday sermon by Jamie Mulvaney at St Michael's Church in Chester Square, London. It opens with a reference to recent seismic activity in Iran, noting 87 earthquakes in the past year, and links this to Romans 8's idea of creation groaning. Mulvaney poses a central question: why focus on Easter when the world feels unstable? He argues that Easter is not escapism but addresses both those feeling shaken and those feeling stuck. The sermon structures around 'two shakings': first, the shaking on Good Friday described in Matthew 27, where an earthquake occurs at Jesus' death, the temple curtain tears, tombs break open, and a centurion declares Jesus the Son of God. Mulvaney explains this as Jesus absorbing the shockwaves of human sin, with the torn curtain symbolizing access to God. Second, the shaking on Easter Sunday from Matthew 28, where an angel causes an earthquake, rolls back the tomb stone, and announces Jesus' resurrection, leading the guards to shake in fear. Mulvaney emphasizes that the resurrection manifests a victory already won, not a reversal. He shares a personal story about interviewing Mashtaba, an Iranian man imprisoned for his faith who experienced Jesus' presence in solitary confinement and now serves as an ordained minister in London. The sermon concludes by comparing invisible fault lines and COVID to the invisible effects of sin and the visible impact of Jesus' resurrection, citing Iran's fast-growing church as evidence. Mulvaney encourages listeners not to live in fear, as Jesus' resurrection shakes sin, fear, and death, offering purpose and eternal life.
