Luke
24:1-12
1 But on the first day of the week, at early
dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2 They
found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did
not find the body. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in
dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5 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. 6 Remember how he told
you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over
to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." 8 Then
they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb, they told all this to
the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the
mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.
11 But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
12 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.
"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not
here, but has risen. Remember…”
· I had a conversation
a short time ago with an especially thoughtful Christian and we agreed that
preaching at this season of the Church year is not easy because “everything’s been said.” That is true;
whatever I might say about Christ’s Resurrection and the festival of Easter has
been said and probably been said by others far better than I could say it. So
why do I go on with this exercise in futility?
· The reason is simple:
I forget what Easter means to me. I dare say that all of us might forget as
well. We all need to remember.
· In the busy lives we
all lead, we forget. We forget what we were created for. We forget what God
wants for all of us. We even forget what we received in Jesus. Faced with the real issues of the world, like the bombings in Sri Lanka and the fire at the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, we forget or we can forget the meaning of Easter.
· Faced with tragedy,
loss, fear, uncertainty, sickness, and death, we forget what we’re about. We
search for meaning, direction, and even salvation in our own efforts, in our
own ideas, and in so many things that will eventually fail us.
· Simply put, we search
for life in death. We look for the living among the dead. This celebration
reminds us and tells us again and again that the tomb is empty, that hope
beyond hope is fulfilled, that what appeared impossible is already done.
· Have we faced loss –
of loved ones, of beloved places, of dreams and hopes that will never be
fulfilled? Then we can remember that the loss attached to the cross of Christ
is held close to the heart of our God. The empty tomb tells us that such losses
are given life in Christ.
· Have we faced our own
brokenness and sinfulness and felt the shame of that realization? Then we can
remember that grace and forgiveness releases us from our sins, whether we feel
it or not. None of these things are beyond the healing touch of God and the
embrace of God’s love. Resurrection is new life.
· Have we felt or been
told that we are not enough, that we’ll never be enough, that we are “unclean”
or less than somebody else or some other group. Then we can remember that Jesus
endured the cross for us, each of us, as poor as we might be, and rose that we
might be free.
· Have we faced who we
really are and recoiled from the person in the mirror? Than we can remember
that Jesus reached out to lepers and comforted grieving women as he walked the
Way of Sorrow to Golgotha. In the Resurrection, he always begins by saying
“Don’t be afraid!”
· This is why we hear
this story every year, because we all forget. Bills and pains and so much of
what we call reality turns us in ourselves, curling us up in a ball. The story
of Jesus’ passion and resurrection – the reality beyond our daily concerns – opens
us up and reminds us of what our God wishes for us. Many of us know the cross
and the way of the cross quite well. We know there is no escaping the cross in
our lives. And in hearing the whole story, we can remember where the way beyond
the cross leads us.
· The story leads us to
the empty tomb, to the confusion of the women and the skepticism of the
disciples. It leads us to Peter dashing head-long to see for himself and to his
amazement at what he finds there.
· Don’t be afraid! Over
the next few weeks, we’ll hear more of the story and I, for one, want to
listen! We hear this story time and again for one simple reason: we forget.
I’ll be happy to hear it again, because I’ll forget and I’ll want to be
reminded… reminded again and again until my life takes on the shape of this
story, until this story shapes my memory and my actions, until my entire life
resounds with one cry –
Christ is risen! (He is risen
indeed!)
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