Once there was a young man who had a bit of a rascal of a cat. One day his cat came home dragging what looked like a bunny. It was clearly dead and looked like it had been dragged through the mud. Much to the young man's horror he recognized the little bunny. It belonged to the little girl who lived next door named bonny. His cat had killed Bonny's bunny. Well what could the poor fellow do? Carefully he took the bunny from his cat and placed it the sink. He filled the sink with hot water and soap and washed off all of the dirt and grime. With a brush and hair dryer.. get it “hare dryer” he fluffed up the dead bunny's fir. If you didn't look too close, it looked like it was alive and just sleeping.

Late that night, he went out to the neighbors rabbit cage and placed the dead bunny back where it belonged.

The next morning, he saw Bonnie, and several of his neighbors out at the rabbit hutch and everyone looked as if they had just witnessed a miracle. “What happened?” he asked the little girl's mother. “It's a miracle!” She said, “Yesterday, Bonnie died and we buried it in the garden. This morning it's back in it's cage, alive and sleeping!”

Well what a surprise that must have been!

Resurrections tend to be full of surprises! And in this morning's account of Jesus' resurrection is no exception. How surprised the disciples must have been not just at Jesus' resurrection, but that he called them to once again become his disciples.

Now how would you have felt had you been in Jesus position? Jesus' disciples had deserted him in his hour of greatest need. One by one they had turned tail only to think of their own necks. What kind of generals recruits deserters? What kind of commander promotes known cowards?

And yet, surprisingly, this is what Jesus does for his disciples. He takes them back again. And not only does he take them back, he drafts them fro the greatest job in all the world. Sharing the good news of his resurrection from the dead! Instead of just privates and mess hall helpers, Jesus promotes them to four star generals. The ones directly responsible for the most important champagne in history.

“You shall be my witnesses in Galilee and to the ends of the earth!”

Wow! What a commission! What a surprise for those early disciples.

And not only does Jesus commission these deserter disciples to serve in his kingdom, but he sends them to a most surprising location.

Galilee!

In New Testament times, Galilee was the land of the gentiles. It was where Greek and Roman soldiers had settled after their campaigns to conquer the middle east. It was where half a dozen other ethnic groups settled after they had conquered Israel. Galilee was the land of half breeds and heretics. When people learned the Jesus Jew from Nazareth of Galilee, people said, “Can anything good come out of Galilee?”

Appalachia, Harlem, New York City's “Hell's Kitchen” these were the kinds of neighborhoods we might associate with Galilee. It would make more sense for Jesus to send his disciples to Jerusalem or Rome. More sense to send the disciples to Aspen Colorado, or Washington DC. Some place with power and influence. Some place with VIP's and stretch limousines, but Galilee? “Can anything good come out of Galilee?”

Surprise! Surprise! Jesus is sending his disciples to Galilee. And who more than the Galileans need his word of salvation and hope. The Galileans were the abused and the neglected. The one's felt at home with neither Jew nor Gentile. They were the least and the last. The most cast out of the out casts.

We might wonder.. who are the Galileans in today's world? Who might Jesus be sending us to to witness to his resurrection and love?

Surprise! Surprise, Jesus send his disciples and us, to Galilee!

And what else is surprising about Jesus' resurrection? How bout the reason. Just why does Jesus rise from the dead? Why does God take the time go though the agony of the crucifixion and betrayal to share the gift of eternal life with us?

Wouldn't it make more sense for God to just leave things as they are? God and the angles go play golf all day in Heaven if they wished. No angry crowds to deal with. No ten million prayers to answer ever day. No confusing theology to share with the masses who so often just don't get it.

Why does God go through all this work to share with sinful human beings his gift of the resurrection to everlasting life?

Well could it be that he loves us? Could it be that one lifetime is just to short for God to get to really know us? Be known by us? In the beginning, God walked hand and hand with his pride and joy, Adam and Eve. They were his kids. His crown of creation. And could it be, that despite all the falleness and sin. All the heartache and cruelty. All the wars and inhumanity, God still sees something in human beings that is worth loving! Worth suffering and dying for!

God loves us, surprise! Surprise ! And one lifetime is just too short for God to share his love in. God has so much love for us, that it takes all eternity for him to share it in and hence the resurrection to eternal life. Surprise! Surprise! God wants your company not just for one life time, but for all eternity!

So many surprises and aren't they good surprises? Jesus promotes his disciples despite their sins and shortcomings. Jesus sends those disciples to Galilee the land of the Gentiles, the land of the least and the last, the down and out. And best of all, God gifts us with the resurrection, because he wants our company for all eternity. What a host of Easter surprises we celebrate today. What a wonderful surprise we have in Jesus' resurrection from the dead!

 Happy Easter! Amen.