Easter Day 2026

Sermon for Easter Day 2026
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
The Rev. Andrew McLarty

Alleluia, Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!

“Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Cor. 15:20)

First-fruits: the earliest yield of the harvest. Under the law of Moses, these were not what was left over, not what was convenient, not what could be spared—they were the first and the best, offered to God in gratitude and trust. An act of faith that said: there is more to come, because God wil provide.

So when Paul calls Christ the “first-fruits,” he is proclaiming something astonishing: Jesus is not only raised from the dead—he is the beginning of a great harvest. The resurrection is not a one-time miracle; it is the first movement of a promise that will sweep through all creation. What has begun in him will be brought to completion in us.

If Christ is the first-fruits of God’s new creation… what do we owe in return? Not as a transaction, but as a response. Because God's love is not reactive. It is not conditional. It is not earned. It is freely given before we even realize it is already happening. We are Christians because we accept a life reshaped by resurrection.

Just like the first fruits, we offer of what is most alive in us.

So, what are the first-fruits of your life?

Is it the early morning, when the world is still quiet and your heart is most open? Is it late at night, when the noise fades and honesty comes easier? Is it that first moment after coffee, when your mind is sharp and your spirit ready? Is it when you are at your best—patient, generous, attentive? Or even in the middle of the chaos, the pressure, the deadline—when what you offer costs you something?

Too often, I feel what we give to God, and others, is what’s left over. The scraps of our time, the remnants of our energy, the parts of ourselves we don’t mind parting with.

I feel Mary Magdalene was only able to offer scraps when she arrived depleted and despairing in the garden that morning… The world as she knew it has ended. Hope has been buried. And even when she sees Jesus, she does not recognize him—until he speaks her name.

“Mary.”

And in that moment, grief gives way to recognition. Loss gives way to life. The world opens again.

Resurrection, for Mary, does not fully happen until she hears her name spoken by the risen Christ. “My sheep hear my voice,” Jesus says, “I know them, and they follow me.”

And here is the good news: that same voice still calls. Still names. Still leads.

Not just in some distant heaven—but right here, right now.

Today we celebrate the first-fruits of the harvest, Christ Jesus, but we are also living in that harvest. Resurrection is not only about what comes after death; it is about the life that breaks in now.

It means that no failure has the final word. It means that no sin has the final claim. It means that no grief is beyond redemption.

And so we offer our first fruits… Not just what we give to God, but whom we invite to share in the same. Because I don’t think resurrection is private.

Mary hears her name, and immediately she is sent: “Go and tell.” The first witness of the resurrection becomes the first messenger of it.

So the offering of our first-fruits is not only inward, it is outward.

It looks like offering our best attention to someone who feels unseen. It looks like offering our presence to someone who is struggling. It looks like offering our table, our time, our welcome—so that others might hear their own name spoken by Christ. It looks like inviting those around us to worship and bible study, to fellowship, and servant hood.

Not just giving what we have left… but inviting others into what we have been given.

The feast has begun. The harvest is underway. And there is more than enough.

Some will come early. Some will come late. Some will come with confidence; others with doubt. Some with A’s, some with F’s. And still, the Lord gathers them all.

And so we offer what we can—not scraps, but first-fruits. Not out of obligation, but out of joy. Because Christ has gone ahead of us, and the harvest has begun.

“Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Alleluia, Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!