The reading
Luke 24:1-12
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn,
they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the
tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they 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. Remember how he told you, while he was still
in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be
handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise
again." Then they remembered his
words, and returning from the tomb, they
told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the
mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and
they did not believe them. But 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.
The message
I have missed some of the greatest moments in the
history of modern sports. Growing up, I would not watch until the end. At a certain point in a game, I would see one
team was doing terrible, down by 10 or 20 points with a few minutes left and
say to myself “well this one is over”. After that decision, I would stop
watching. Sometimes, a few minutes
later, I heard my brother yelling “you gotta get back here and see this”. I
would get a message from a friend, “did you see that” (and sadly think “no I
didn’t”). Other times, I would see the back sports page in the newspaper the
next morning that read something like “The won, the greatest comeback ever” . I
was always shocked, I couldn’t believe it. I stopped watching because I knew it
was impossible for the outcome of the game to change, there was just not enough
time, the losing team would need a miracle or four to come back.
That “well this one is over” feeling does not just apply
to sports. We see it after accidents as loved ones and care givers do
everything they can to prepare for the bad news. We see it with in people struggling with sickness
as test after test indicate there is not cure or even no hope. We see it with students and exams where the
questions are surprisingly difficult and afterwards, he or she is certain they
failed. We see it in our world as divides between rich and poor get deeper, for
profit environmental destruction places our future in jeopardy and political
and religious violence impacts more and more lives. We are tempted to go dig a
bunker, get some guns and buy a stash of non-perishable foods. We see it with
church as we hear more and more statistics about the decline of Christianity
and loss of faith in the organized church.
We see it in congregations looking back on the good old days, struggling,
or closing around us.
We see it on the First Easter. Jesus disciples knew
it was over when Jesus died on that cross. They spent 3 years with Jesus, watching him
get out of every situation, confront religious and secular authorities with
God’s authority, share miracles of healing, welcome, and restoration, and
perform great sings of power. Now, he was pronounced dead and buried. It was
over. Jesus disciples were scared. They were hiding, crippled by the very real
possibility that they would be next. They were disappointed with their own
behaviors. They had doubted Jesus when it mattered most, they failed to go with
Jesus to the end. They were frustrated, wondering if everything they heard and
saw with Jesus was for nothing. After
all, it was over, he was gone, Rome and the religious authorities won, there
was no other empire, there was no kingdom of God, at least not here and now. The
disciples knew “It was over”, they knew dead was dead.
When we think its over, everything that speaks
otherwise, sounds like an idle tale. Once we decide that there is nothing to be
done, very little can convince us otherwise. That’s why the first time people
tell other people “Christ is Risen from the dead”, does not go well. The first reports of Easter were dismissed as
an idle tale and the women who told it were written off as emotional and silly.
This group of women were not strangers or
newcomers. They were following Jesus for most of his ministry. Luke’s earliest
mention of them is in chapter 8 right after the Sermon on the Mount. At that time, they were already a significant
part of Jesus teaching, healing and proclaiming the kingdom of God. They worked closely with the disciples and
even provided financial support for the ministry. They had proven themselves
faithful, wise and trustworthy countless times. They should have been believed.
When the women first announced that
Christ is Risen from the dead, the disciples do not say what we often do
“Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia”. The
disciples hear, Christ is Risen from the dead, and they say, “eh i don't think so”, they
write off the words of God’s salvation for all people. They see them as an idle
tale, pure nonsense and wishful thinking.
So what happened, how did the good news of Easter,
that Christ was risen, come to be believed. For the women, that moment comes when they
remember Jesus words. Early in the
morning on the first day of the week, the women go to the tomb. They see the
stone rolled away but do not believe Christ is Risen. Instead they are confused
or perplexed. Then, they meet the 2 men in dazzling white but they do not
believe. Instead, they are scared. Then
they hear “He is not here, he has been raised” but they do not believe, Then
they are told “Remember how Jesus told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to
sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again” God’s word worked.
Only then after hearing God’s word and experiencing God’s presence, did they
believe Christ is Risen from the dead.
Jesus disciples hear the report of the women and
they do not believe. Most of them do not even bother going to look for
themselves. Luke reports that Peter is
the only one who got up and ran to the tomb. There, Peter sees Jesus burial clothes
sitting in the empty tomb and we hear that he was amazed at what had happened. We
do not hear that Peter believed Christ was Risen from the dead, only that he
was amazed. Peter and Jesus disciples will
come to believe after encountering the Risen Christ, after eating with him,
talking to him and receiving the Holy Spirit. For Thomas it will mean doubting
until he actually puts his hands in Jesus wounds. Only then, with hearing God’s
word and experiencing God’s presence, do they realize “it’s not over”. After this, they will face all those dangers
they hid from, they will tell people “Christ is Risen from the dead for the
forgiveness of our sins”, They will be told “yeah right” and be able to say “I
thought the same way before but I have seen and heard the Lord”.
I never had strange figures appear and tell me
Christ is Risen, I never saw the empty tomb or burial clothes, I never put my
hands in Jesus wounds or ate fish with him on the side of a lake in the weeks
after his resurrection. However, I have also come to know Christ is Risen in
hearing God’s word and experiencing God’s presence. I have heard God’s word from my mother, from
religious education teachers, priests and pastors, talking with people, in
beautiful songs and reading the bible in times of doubt. I have experienced God’s presence in seeing
and feeling prayer work, in the simple acts of helping others, welcoming
someone, sharing words of prayer, announcing Christ is Risen and you will arise
at times of death and mourning, hearing my sins are forgiven, telling you your
sins are forgiven, standing at this altar and gathering with you for worship. As we celebrate Easter here in this place for
the 149th time, (The first was April 12 1868) it is my hope that we
can continue to be a place for everyone, a place for people who think its over,
to come and hear God’s word and experience God’s presence, to be told “Christ
is Risen from dead” and to tell the others “Christ is Risen from the
dead”.
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