When I do a Bible study, one of the best bits of advice I can give is this: keep your eyes on the “buts” in the Bible. What I'm talking about is, of course, the word “but,” the so-called “adversative conjunction.” (What did you think I meant?)

And I'm serious! When doing Bible study, the single best bit of advice is to keep your eyes on the word “but” in the Bible. Why? Because “but” represents a change of direction or thought. A story or a passage is going along and then, all of a sudden, here comes the word “but,” and the story or the passage changes direction. And, quite frankly, it's by paying attention to these changes of direction that we get the clearest indication of what an author is trying to say to us.

So, let’s do it with the story we just heard. In the twelve verses of Luke's account of Jesus' resurrection, there are an astounding six instances of the word “but.” To give you some idea of how unusual that is, in the much longer story of Jesus’ birth at Christmas--twenty-one verses as opposed to our measly twelve--the word “but” only occurs twice. Here, we’ve got six in just twelve verses!

What that means is that, in the account of Jesus' resurrection, there is a lot of direction-changing going on. The story is going in one direction and then it hits a “but” and changes direction. Then it does it again. And again. And again! Six times in twelve verses it changes direction! And it is by keeping our eyes on these direction-changes--these “buts”--that we can best grasp what the gospel writer is trying to say to us about Jesus’ resurrection.

The story actually begins with a change of direction. In between Jesus' death on Friday and the beginning of the work week on Sunday, Jews in Jerusalem were celebrating--not simply Passover--but a Passover that coincided with the Sabbath itself. That made each holiday especially significant. But it also meant that work unfinished on Friday could only be resumed again today.

And so, our story begins with a “but:” “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared."

The women needed to finish the work they had hastily begun on Friday. Jesus had died on Friday, only a few hours before sunset and the beginning of the holiday. The women had only had time to wrap Jesus’ corpse and set it in a tomb. A stone had been temporarily rolled in place to safeguard Jesus’ body. And now the women were returning to finish anointing and wrapping Jesus’ body before permanently sealing the tomb.

Except that--change of direction #1--the stone was already rolled away from the tomb. Had someone gotten there even earlier to help them?

They entered the tomb and that leads us, not only to the second “but” in our story, but, in rapid succession, also to the third and the fourth. (Easter evidently brings with it a lot of direction-changing! A lot more direction-changing, in fact, than even Christmas!)

"They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body."

People say the only certainties in life are death and taxes. When the women placed Jesus’ corpse in the tomb on Friday, they most certainly expected to find it there on Sunday. But it wasn’t! What had happened?

The story rapidly picks up pace. “While [the women] were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”

Earlier this week, I was on my way to conduct a service at a funeral home I had never been to before. Even though I knew where it was, I entered its address in my GPS just to be safe. (Or, at least, I thought I entered its address in my GPS!)

“Recalculating!” At first I thought we were simply disputing which route was the quickest to get there. “Recalculating!” Then--“Recalculating!”--on one stretch of Bristol Road--“Recalculating!”--it kept urging to turn around--“Recalculating!”--at every driveway--“Recalculating!”

Note to self: there is a difference--at least to your GPS--between looking for an address in Warrington (where you really want to go) and Newtown (where you incorrectly said you wanted to go)!

We’re talking about the sudden twists and turns--the “recalculations”--that the story of Jesus’ resurrection takes in the Gospel of Luke. We’ve just encountered three of them. The address the women have entered into their GPS, if you will, was Jesus’ corpse in the tomb. When they get there, the stone is rolled away, but when they go in, they do not find Jesus’ body.

While they’re perplexed about this, two men in dazzling apparel nearly scare them to death. But the men say to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen!”

Talk about recalculations! Talk about thinking you’ve entered the right address to go where you want to go but discovering that you haven’t! I’m convinced that what happened to those women long ago on Easter still happens to each and every one of us today.

I’m convinced that, if we pay attention, God is constantly giving us messages--some loud, some soft--of “recalculations” to be made in our life. There are situations that we think are hopeless--broken relationships; failed or failing health; situations that just don’t seem promising--but (there’s that word again!) God sees them as hopeful.

“Recalculating!” For the women, it was as they were reminded of the promises that Jesus had made them while he was with them. For us, it may be as we learn more--or learn more deeply--about those same promises that Jesus extends to us.

We could learn about them by participating in worship, or by reading, or by group or individual study. Different ways work for different people. But there is a way that will work for you and churches like ours are dedicated to helping you find that and learn and go deep.

When the women were reminded of what Jesus had promised them--when they realized the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection for them and for others--they stepped into action. And this leads us to our final two instances of the word, “but.”

The women rushed to tell the others what they had found and come to realize, “but,” quoting the account, “these words seemed to [the others] an idle tale, and they did not believe them.”

Properly understood, Easter should be shocking. And it should be difficult to believe! Properly understood, Easter is saying that everything that we’ve come to expect--everything the life and common sense has come to teach us--is wrong! Life does not end in death; life comes from death! What we see with our eyes and reason with our minds is not all there is; faith and trust open us to a world of possibilities beyond sight or thought.

No wonder the others didn’t believe the women! And that leads us to our concluding “but.”

The words of the women seemed to the others an idle tale, and they did not believe them. “But,” scripture says, “Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.”

Right now, you might not be in the place of the women. You might not be ready or able to believe as they did. The story of Easter understands that and includes you, too!

But maybe you can be like Peter! Peter went exploring. He went looking. He searched. And so can you! The resurrection of our Lord turns the world--and its expectations--upside down.

It prompts us all of us to “recalculate” and reevaluate the direction and meaning of our lives. There are a lot of twists and turns but, I can promise you this: you’ll have the ride of your life! In Jesus’ name. Amen!