If we are honest, those apostles on that first Easter were really not much different from us, are they?
We know what’s real, don’t we?
Like the apostles, like those women early in the morning on that first Easter,
we usually fail to recognize the living Lord and his restoring power for our lives,
because we look in the wrong places.
After some 2000 years, we still come to hear the story told once more.
While we may not comprehend the actual story – and the events the stories recall –
we have a hunch that it is an important story
and so we come to hear it again,
to sing the festive music,
to take in the colorful flowers,
to see who else is here,
and, maybe, to be inspired somewhat.
The Easter story is central to each of the Gospels. Each of the Gospels has a little different slant on the story, but each one is very clear about the significance of what happened that day.
Mark lets us know that it was the women who were there first early in the morning.
[It seems like the women are always there first, doesn’t it?]
And Mark names the women.
When they got to the tomb they became frightened. What they saw was not what they were expecting to see.
It is very clear that none of those early followers of Jesus expected Easter.
Although the signs may have pointed to it, it was not expected.
[At this point, they were no different from you and me, were they?]
Resurrection was not a part of their daily experience.
They actually thought their movement was over. They were afraid for their lives.
They took to hiding, lest the authorities would find them and kill them too.
So, while the men hid, the women went to the tomb carrying spices they had prepared, presumably for a ritual cleansing of the body of their friend Jesus.
Just two days before they were there as the body of Jesus was placed in the unused tomb that had been dug out of solid rock.
And so, they were surprised to find the stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb rolled away from the doorway.
And, then they saw this man – and then they were frightened.
Why was this stranger there?
And why is he in the tomb of their friend?
What did he want?
Who was he?
Who did he work for?
Of course, they were too scared to ask these questions out loud.
They had witnessed the way the authorities and the crowds treated their friend a couple of days before, and they must of feared for their lives now.
They bowed downed to the ground.
They cowed.
They turned their heads.
They averted their eyes.
As if to say, “I didn’t see you.
Spare me and I won’t tell anyone you were here.”
But then, the unusual happens – the real surprise of the story.
The man in his bright shining clothes spoke to the women.
He said, “So, Why are you looking among the dead for the one who is alive?”
Those women must wondered what that meant as much as we do.
Then the man said, “He is not here!”
What do you mean, “He’s not here?
What have you done with him?”
“He has been raised. Remember what he said?”
“Well, yeah, but . . . .”
Mark says that then they remembered.
Then it began to dawn on them.
It must be true.
All that he said before.
It must be true.
Blessed are the peacemakers --
the last shall be first --
love your neighbor as yourself --
a place is prepared for you at the table in the Kingdom --
worry not about the cares of the world, God will take care of you.
It all must be true!
They immediately returned to where the apostles were hiding and told them what had happened.
“It all must be true, don’t you see?”
But, the apostles thought the women were a little touched in the head
– they thought they were crazy
– they thought the women were nuts
– they didn’t believe them.
Jesus’s closest friends and disciples didn’t believe the women.
Because the story was too far fetched –
even for them –
especially for them.
They had seen their leader totally defeated,
mocked even,
tortured,
ridiculed,
killed,
dead to the max.
And no one helped him.
He died alone –
apparently despised and rejected by all who may have been able to help him –
apparently even abandoned by his God.
The authorities had won.
If they had thought of it, they would have said, “The devil was victorious.”
Clearly, their lives as they had known them, were over.
Things had changed now.
And, they weren’t sure just how it was all going to be sorted out.
So the women must be hallucinating.
If we are honest, those apostles on that first Easter were really not much different from us, are they?
We know what’s real, don’t we?
We know the limits of the physical universe.
We experience the reality of life within boundaries of space and time, right? – we are born, we live, and we die.
And so we hear the Easter account as those disciples did on that morning – except . . . .
Except, we know the rest of the story.
The disciples came to believe only after they experienced the Risen Christ –
the disciples came to believe only after they met the Risen Christ --
the disciples came to believe only after the encountered the Risen Christ.
And so it is with us.
The real miracle of Easter is not that the tomb was empty.
The real miracle of Easter is not that Jesus was raised as the two men announced to the women that morning.
But, the real miracle of Easter is that Jesus continues to be alive and continues to come to us and continues to empower us –
just as he came to those apostles, and just as he empowered them.
They came to find and experience the presence of Christ wherever they went.
Wherever they went, whatever they did, he was already there – ahead of them.
Like the apostles, like those women early in the morning on that first Easter,
we usually fail to recognize the living Lord and his restoring power for our lives,
because we look in the wrong places.
[Why do you look among the dead, for the one who lives?]
When we seek the living Lord among the dead, as they did, what we do here and what we celebrate is little more than a history lesson.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, what Easter proclaims is that Jesus refuses to stay buried,
refuses to stay undercover,
refuses to stay entombed,
refuses to stay in the container.
He keeps getting out of the tombs in which we keep trying to bury him.
It would be much more comfortable if we didn’t have this to deal with, wouldn’t it?
We keep trying to put Jesus in a box, don’t we? – a tomb –
like the Jews tried to keep their God in a box.
But, it didn’t work for them.
And it doesn’t work for us.
That’s why we celebrate Easter each year at this time.
That’s why we celebrate Easter each and every Sunday when we gather in here in worship.
Easter is a conviction that says that something extraordinary is loose in our world, and compels us to live our lives into glory.
Christ is alive!
Christ is present today.
We see it again and again. If we only look.
If we only use the senses that have been given to us.
We encounter the presence of Christ through people who are ready to help one another through difficult times.
We encounter the presence of Christ through those who care for one another.
We encounter the presence of Christ through those who work for justice and are willing to protect the sacred rights of every person.
We encounter the presence of Christ among people who seek peace with a fervent desire to live in a world that is transformed by human action and divine love.
We encounter the presence of Christ with people who joyfully share the gift of love no matter the circumstance or cost.
And the kicker is, friends, you and I are called to be those people –
each and every one of us, is called to be –
helpers,
caregivers,
protectors of justice,
pursuers of peace
and witnesses to God’s love at work in the world.
You can look all you want among the dead for the one who lives.
But, you’ll never find the Christ there.
The direction was given to those women on that first Easter morning –
and the direction is given to you and me –
“He is not here.
He has been raised.
Go back to where you came from.
Go back to the communities, to the streets and byways where you live your lives.
That’s where you will find him.”
It’s a new world now.
It’s a new day!
There are new rules to play by!
Joy to the world!
Joy to you this Easter day!
Amen.
This a part of the Easter sermon at The Connecting Place: Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, April 4, 2010.
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