Easter Sunday/The Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord ---- 5 April 2015

Mark 16:1-8

1 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.

• The event of Easter is something hard to understand. Why did Jesus have to die and why did he have to die in such a fashion? What happened after he died? What happened when he rose from the dead? If he died to save us from our sins, what was this Resurrection all about? Is it a reward for his obedience? Or is there more?
• Some of those questions cannot be answered and I don't think that any of them can be answered in the fullness that the questions deserve, especially in the brief time we have together here today. I'm going to take a brief look at one of the questions.
• If Jesus died for our sins, why did he rise from the dead? Yes, he foretold this a number of time when he was with his disciples. He said he'd destroy “this temple” and rebuild it in three days, referring to his body as the temple.
• His rising can be seen as a validation of his mission to bring the Good News of salvation. It could be seen as a reward for obedience to the Father's will. It could be seen as something given particularly to Jesus because of his special place in God's plan.
• I really think there is more to it than that. Since we can't wrap our heads around this nor can we fully understand what has gone on, it's guaranteed that something more is going on here.
• If Jesus died for our sins, then he rose for our lives. If we are freed from our sins, we are freed to live a different type of life. It is not simple a declaration of each of us having a clean slate, as it were. We are not simply free to start over, but we are free to become more – more like Jesus, more like the children of God that we are called to be. And if we fail, we can be forgiven and find grace anew.
• No, Jesus' resurrection frees us for a new and different life. As one of the ancients of the Church, Irenaeus, said "[T]he Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself."
• By grace has this been done and by grace, this is being done in our own place and time.
• Jesus Christ rose for us just as he lived his life for us and his mission to us and the entire world. This mission continued in and through his own resurrection.
• His resurrection was not simply a reward for a job well done, but it is a revelation of what is to come for all of us. Whether we understand it or not, this is where our lives are bound.
• Resurrection is the promise for each of us. In this, Jesus has led the way just as he has led the way in how to live according to the love of God.
• So then Easter is the festival of the Resurrection, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the coming resurrection of all the faithful, just as say in our creeds. We have it as our continued hope, both for ourselves and for those who have fallen asleep in the Lord. This time of celebration of the resurrection of Jesus is very much a time of the celebration of the promise of the resurrection for each of us.
• So we have more reasons to rejoice today. Our Lord has risen from the tomb and the world could no longer see him and can no longer see him as they had seen him. Our Savior has risen from the grave and is no longer to be found in a memorial of stone or wood, but can be known in the living memorial that his followers are. Our God has shown power and might in the strangest of ways, turning death into life and defeat into triumph, making the cross a throne. Jesus, who was dead, is truly alive and is not limited to a certain place or time only, but can be found where-ever faith can look. Christ is risen and Christians rejoice, for nothing of this world or any other can entomb him again. Christ is risen and nothing of this world or any other can take us from his embrace.
• As we have been washed in the waters of Baptism, so many are being baptized at this festival. We can rejoice with them at the new life we all share because you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.
• Do not be alarmed; Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed!)