Matthew 28.1-10
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| Holy Women at the Tomb of Christ Annibale Carracci, 1585 |
With Fear and Great Joy!
“Alleluia, Christ is Risen!” is an expression of great joy. It permeates the music, the ceremony, and everything about this day. In contrast to the dark and dreary season of Lent, the silence and solemn Holy Week, Easter is a bright new beginning. Even though Easter is quite late in the calendar this year, it always seems to sneak up on me.
For many of us, Easter marks the beginning of spring. My earliest memories of Easter morning are of the crystal clear air, the bright sun, the smell of lilies and the gorgeous colors of flowers and green grass (I am not saying my memory is perfect, I am an optimist). For some reason, I believe that the sun exuded more heat on Easter and everything was very good.
My earliest Easter memory was an ill-fated visit from the much-awaited Easter Bunny. I witnessed the beautiful display of candies spread out in a grand display at the foot of the coffee table and marveled in anticipation of many mini celebrations as each of those sweet confections touched my tongue. But that would have to wait until we returned from Easter morning services. When we did, all that remained were candy wrappers strewn around the room and the dog, guiltily, lying among them. Thankfully that Easter memory only occurred once, the Easter bunny learned to deliver the candies out of range of the four-legged members of the family. For a child, the joy of Easter is in the sweet celebrations and the hunt for colored eggs. It is in hearing the bells ringing and wearing the new bright clothes that mark the grandest of celebrations.
Easter is a day that we wear our finest, pat each other on the back, and greet each other with giant grins and joy-filled salutations of “Happy Easter!” Each of our traditional celebrations point to rebirth, making anew, and being thankful for great gifts. Easter reeks of joy.
But fear?
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (there were just way too many Marys) came to hold a vigil at the tomb of Jesus, the tomb hewn in the rock quarry within sight of Golgotha, where these same women wept as they watched Jesus’ hang from the cross. They had watched his lifeless body carried to the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea just before the sabbath began. Now as the sun rose on a new week, they returned to that closed tomb to pay respect to their Lord, their Rabbi, and their friend. They weren’t alone. Guards were assigned to watch the tomb so that nothing politically dangerous might happen. As these two unlikely, yet devoted, women approached, there was an earthquake, the stone rolled away, and an angel of the Lord appeared saying, “Do not be afraid.” The angel then told them joyful news and asked them to share it with the others. The news was incredibly joyous and yet Matthew reports that the women fled with “fear and great joy.”
Matthew leaves it up to us to figure out what instilled fear in that moment. Where did Jesus’ body go? Was it stolen? Who would be blamed? Who else would lose their life because of this calamity? Would the authorities accuse them? Was this the fear instilled in the hearts of these two women, the first to witness the resurrection?
With the joy that I just described in our services and in our traditional celebrations of this grandest of all holidays, how many of us feel fear on a day like Easter? Should we? Consider for a moment what Easter meant for those original followers of Jesus. They had given up what most people call normal in order to travel the countryside to challenge people to throw away the comfortable for a life of service and sacrifice. They were asked to sell everything and give completely to God. They risked their lives for a man who served as a lightening rod of controversy. Jesus inspired them, he was their rabbi, their Lord, and their friend, but he also called them to be risk takers for a new kind of action, inspired by faith.
As much as they loved the man named Jesus, did they see, in his death, a return to normal? Was that the fear? Did they say, “Alleluia, Christ is risen!” and then think to themselves “Oh, no! Now I have more changing to do in my life?”
Was the fear they felt at the site of the resurrection on that first Easter morning because they feared what kind of responsibility would result from such a return? Of course, we will never know what was happening in the hearts of those Marys. But could it be a fear we might have when our subconscious tells us that things aren’t over, there is still much to do. That there is no rest for the weary.
I challenge this parish to express great joy on this Easter morning, but to acknowledge some fear for what lies ahead as a result of this celebration. Easter does not guarantee us an easy path, but resurrects in us the will to change the world.
I wrote to you this past week about the Lenten disciplines that we took on, some forty days ago. If we chose wisely, those disciplines challenged us to do something to change our lives. I wrote and laughed with you about my experiences with yoga. There were times when I wanted to give it up, because it was too much for me. I certainly felt that when the instructor leaned down to make sure I was alive. In the end, I found something about that discipline that formed me as a stronger, more spiritually centered person. Some of that was the act of not giving up, but there is something about letting old habits die by taking on something new.
If we come to this Easter thinking that we can return to the ways of the past, then we are missing something about the resurrection. It is more than a demonstration of God’s gift of eternal life, it is a call to continue to grow and change in an effort to reform the world in which we live. Experiencing the resurrection through celebrations of joy and wonder is a brief respite from the difficult, challenging, and risky work that lies ahead. We, like those women, must wrestle with the emotions of fear and joy and find how each informs the other.
I hope that this Easter season, we can discover new ways to serve and grow through both innovative and tried and true initiatives. I hope that we can find truth and life in the ministry of this parish and that the ministry will continue to fulfill God’s mission. We can’t do this alone. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, Gather and there I will see you.”
Let us pray…
Resurrected God, Savior of the world and teacher of all nations. Inspire us through your resurrection to set our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, so that we can more fully respond to your call to risk our lives for the good of the world; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Easter A
April 24, 2011
Kurt what a thoughtful ahd inspiring sermon for this most glorius of Easter days. I am always inspired when I read your sermons and proud to remember that I have known you as a young boy who has grown into a remarkable young man. Continue your calling of spreading the LORD'S word.
ReplyDeleteWith great admiration and affection, JOANNE STANEK