Easter Sunday
Acts 10:34-43 Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 Colossians 3:1-4 Matthew 28:1-10 Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you from the risen one. Amen Christ is Risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia! Today we celebrate the empty tomb, God’s victory over death that changed the world forever. We usually celebrate with fanfares and lilies and lots of singing, we celebrate at the table with two thousand years of saints whose lives were changed by the good news of Jesus Christ and who changed the world as they lived out that good news. We celebrate with signs of new life adopted from other cultural celebrations of spring, and we will do some of this today but not all of it, some of the celebration will have to wait until we are physically present together when our voices can once again mingle together and we can gather around the table as a community and then oh what a celebration it will be. But not yet, and we’re not sure when and because of this, I think this Easter feels more like the first Easter morning, the Marys going to mourn at Jesus’ tomb as soon as they possibly can at daybreak after the Sabbath, where they are met with an angel, who moves the stone away and shows them an empty tomb, who tells them not to be afraid even as the earth shakes under their feet then sends them on their way with a message for the disciples, into a future they could not predict or imagine but one which was full of hope. Matthew in his telling of the story of Jesus wants to convey just how tremendous and unsettling Jesus is to the world and he does that in the story with earthquakes, the ground literally shaking under the characters’ feet. I grew up in earthquake country out in Oregon, instead of tornado drills in school we had earthquake drills and learned to duck and cover under our desks then quickly leave the building lest it collapse around us. At home we learned to never hang anything heavy over our bed that could be shaken off a wall and fall on top of us, by code the water heaters are secured to walls and the thing is, as much as you can drill and prepare with common sense measures you are never truly ready for that moment when the earth moves under your feet. You go along with your life and even though you know earthquakes can happen it is still startling and unsettling when what is supposed to be solid starts moving. As he journeyed toward Jerusalem Jesus tried to prepare his disciples for what would happen, that he would be crucified die and on the third day rise from the dead. But as many time as Jesus told them that this would happen they were still unprepared, unprepared for the city in turmoil as Jesus entered on Palm Sunday, unprepared for the earthquake at the moment of Jesus’ death that tore the curtain in the temple in two, and the Marys going to mourn the one thing that cannot be changed, death, were not prepared to feel the earth shake under their feet as an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone and showed them that the tomb was empty. Matthew tells us that the guards that had been placed at the tomb were so afraid that they shook and became like dead men. But not the women, they manage to stay standing and the angel greets them “do not be afraid” a phrase used in response to visible fear. “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He had been raised from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee, there you will see him.” And having seen, and been given a task, Matthew tells us that the Marys “left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.” They left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy. The earth has shaken under their feet, the only thing they know about the future is the next immediate step, to go and tell the disciples, after that it remains a mystery. The women are still afraid, and added to that fear they are filled with great joy. These two emotions are not contradictory, both are true for the women. This Easter, we like the Marys are filled with multiple emotions as we come to the tomb to find it empty. We are filled with great joy at the news announced to us, but there is also perhaps some fear for the uncertainty of the future and sadness that we cannot be together at the place that Jesus has promised to meet us. But we rest secure in the fact that Jesus keeps the promises he makes, even the ones that seem impossible to us. The Marys go to tell the disciples the message of the angel, that Jesus has been raised from the dead and promises to meet them in Galilee, to gather them around him again like a shepherd gathers their sheep, to forgive them and renew their sense of mission in a shaken and changed world. And Jesus will keep that promise but as the women are running suddenly Jesus meets them, greetings he says, now in the Greek, the word used for greeting is literally “rejoice!” and the women do they take hold of Jesus and worship him, and after a brief interval Jesus sends them on their way “do not be afraid” he repeats, “go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” I like this moment, because it seems like Jesus just couldn’t wait to see some of his disciples. He has promised to meet them, the angel has delivered his message and the women are on their way but he just couldn’t help himself, he had to go see the Marys so he shows up suddenly and he will also be in Galilee just like he promised. Jesus promises to be in the midst of us as we worship as a community, and present in the bread and wine, his body and blood, and Jesus keeps those promises which is why we long to gather as a community to be with Jesus and one another. And Jesus can’t wait to see us, as we go through our lives with fear and great joy on the way to where Jesus has promised to be Jesus also appears for us suddenly along the way, saying greetings, rejoice, and offering times for worship in unexpected places, the middle of the road, a worship service done online, a funny picture or story that makes us laugh and aware that Jesus is right in front of us reassuring us, do not be afraid, and sending us on the way with our appointed mission. Jesus is with us because nothing stands in Jesus’ way, not even death. The tomb is empty. Alleluia, Christ is Risen. Christ is Risen Indeed, Alleluia.
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AboutPastor Emily Johnson preaches weekly at Christ Lutheran. These are manuscripts of her sermons given at Christ Lutheran. Feel free to engage with them in the comments section of the blog. Archives
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