Scripture: Acts 10: 39-43; Matthew 28:1-10
He is Risen. He is risen indeed! The message of Easter and resurrection is a time for excitement and celebration for Christians – yes, even UCC folks get excited and a little carried away. I love the story of the charismatic man who wandered into a UCC church in the Midwest. During the sermon, the visitor got so excited that whenever the preacher made a point, the man would shout out, “Praise God!,””Hallelujah!” or “Amen!”
The ushers were so distraught about the man’s behavior that one of them wentdown the aisle and whispered to him: “Sir, you’ll have to keep quiet! The pastor’s right in the middle of the sermon!” At which point the excited man shouted, “Keep quiet? How can I keep quiet? I’ve got the Holy Spirit!” to which the disgruntled usher replied, “Well, you didn’t catch it in this church!” Today above all days, I hope you catch the Spirit of Easter wherever you are.
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When our son was younger he would sometimes call out in the middle of the night
— “Dad! I heard something” or “I saw something.” I would go to his room, turn on the light, and together we would look around; under the bed, in the closet, behind the door. After a little while one of us would say, “There’s nothing here,” and hewould climb back into bed knowing all is well.
That is the Easter message. There’s nothing here! Do not be afraid. All is well! That story about my son is not just a story about a little boy. It’s the human story. It’s the story of life lived in fear of darkness and death. It is a story, I suspect, each of knows well – particularly today. We fear for ourselves and we fear for those we love
Two women, both named Mary, go to the tomb. They are expecting to find a dead body. They watched the crucifixion. They saw Jesus die. They saw Joseph takeJesus’ body, wrap it in a cloth, and put it in the tomb. They saw him roll a great stone to the door of the tomb. They were there, sitting opposite the tomb. They know what to expect as they go to the tomb. Death, fear, pain, loss, sorrow. A tortured body beginning to decay.
But a new sunrise and the big bang of a great earthquake signal the dawn of a new creation; one in which death no longer rules. God, not death, will have the first, the final, and every word in between. “Do not be afraid,” the angel announces. “He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.” The empty tomb proclaims that all is well. “Go quickly,” the angel tells them, “you will see Jesus.”
This is the Church’s story. It is the same story told every year. Most of you have heard this story many times. The story never changes. Instead, it changes us. Each year we gather to hear this story for only one reason: So that we can leave the darkness and tombs of our lives and live.
We want to be reminded, “There is nothing in the tomb here. Do not be afraid. All is well.” Too often we think resurrection is about what happens to us after we die. Perhaps we should worry less about whether there is life after death and more about whether there is life before death.
The joy of Easter is not only that God has raised Christ from the dead. Easter joy is also about the possibility and the promise that, regardless of what our lives are like now, new life is available to each one of us here and now.
As I write this, we are in the middle of a pandemic, the likes of which none of us have ever seen in our lifetime. We’re not even able to worship in our sanctuary. We’re not able to be with our beloved church family due to the shelter in place. Some people might people might say Easter is a cruel hoax this year. I’ve evenheard of some churches and pastors talking about postponing Easter until they can all be together in June or July.
But I would propose this: Isn’t this the time we need Easter more then ever? Righthere, right now? Isn’t this the very situation the two Marys, the other women and the disciples found themselves in – in the midst of death, darkness and despair?
They world as they knew it had come to an end. All hope was lost. Sounds a lot like today. Everyone knows someone, or knows someone’s family who has been touched by the virus. But the angels are saying to us what they said to the women on the first Easter morning – “Do not be afraid.”
Today Christ himself is standing at a patient’s bedside, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am with you.” He is with the patients hooked up to ventilators who are scared and can’t even see their families. He is with the healthcare workers who are giving their all, often without regard to their own safety.
Today the risen Christ is with the worried families who wonder if they will ever see their loved ones again. Today, the risen Christ is with you. Today, even those who lose their lives to the corona virus will find it in him, as he gently takes them in his arms and carries them home.
Someone once asked the Dali Lama what he thought death was like. He said, “It’s like changing your clothes. Like changing your clothes.” They are the clothes of glory. Death is not the end. It is a threshold through which we pass to a new beginning. As the Apostle Paul writes, “In a moment, we will all be changed.”
We are changed from death to life, whether it is on this side of the veil, or the next, whether it is on earth, or in heaven. And if I can say so today, God cannot make the corona virus go away, but can transform and change a person laying in a hospital bed, or a person recovering from the illness at home.
Even the virus will not have the final word. God can touch the heart of a healthcare worker, who understands that he or she is a surrogate family member as a patient takes the last breath, because their loved ones cannot be present, and in doing so, a nurse’s hands can become an extension of God’s hands.
Death is not the enemy. There is life – new life in Christ – even after the last breathis taken. It’s not the end. Proclaim it in the halls of hospitals everywhere. Proclaim it to grieving families around the world. And take it to heart, dear friends, when you are afraid. God has raised Christ from the dead, and we are now free to claim that life as our own.
What matters most about Easter is not just the empty tomb, but what we do tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that. How will you now live differently? Where would your feet take you if you were not afraid? What would you do if you were not worried? What would you run toward if you had peace? Hope? Courage? To the point, how would your life be different if you ran towards Easter and embraced it?
It’s an exciting thought. The real life experience of the resurrection and hope for the future is what allowed my wife and I to step out on a limb two years ago, and realize our dream of moving from New Jersey to California, with only one part time job between us, because we knew God would lead the way. Without that belief, we would have probably stayed put in the tomb of doubt and regret. The resurrection has the power to transform—not just on Easter day, but every day.
Is there something you have been putting off? Is there a new venture to undertake, a goal to achieve, or a habit to break? What’s holding you back? The tomb has become the womb of a new creation. That new creation is your life. Don’t run for your life in fear. Run toward your life because of Easter. He has risen, and today, so have you. We will never forget this Easter, and you can be sure, the Risen One will never forget us. Amen