On the first Easter, Mary Magdalene - faithful witness through crucifixion, burial, and empty tomb - becomes the first to encounter the risen Jesus and is sent to proclaim it, a role the sermon reclaims against centuries of erasure. Pastor Sara reframes Easter not as a triumphant conquest but as a new paradigm: the Jesus movement’s refusal to be crushed by empire is the resurrection’s enduring meaning, and we are invited to rise into that same courageous, love-driven resistance today.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​