\u201cMixed emotions,\u201d we call it\u2014that confused response
\nwhen something so stupendous happens to us that we feel both negative
\nand positive reactions at the same time. That\u2019s what captured my
\nattention in our Matthew text for today. The mixed emotions of the two
\nwomen who came to visit the tomb of Jesus early on the first day of the
\nweek\u2014that Sunday we call Easter.<\/p>\n
However, there seemed to me to be something more here than just understandable
\nmixed emotions, and it finally dawned on me that these specific emotions
\nhad been mentioned earlier in the life of Jesus, and it was with an angel
\nthen, too. Remember? Luke tells that other story, \u201cThere were shepherds\u2026keeping
\nwatch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the lord stood before
\nthem, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
\nBut the angel said to them, \u2018Do not be afraid; for see\u2014I
\nam bringing you good news of great joy for all the people\u2026.\u2019\u201d Fear
\nand great joy\u2014those emotions were present at the announcement of
\nthe birth of Jesus by the angel, and fear and great joy were the emotions
\nof the women who heard the announcement of the resurrection of Jesus
\nby the angel at the tomb.<\/p>\n
Angels reported on in the Bible seem always to be saying, \u201cDo
\nnot be afraid.\u201d That\u2019s understandable. For any of us the
\nunmistakable sight of a heavenly being would be at least discomforting,
\nif not totally terrifying. If that appearance were accompanied by an
\nearthquake and an opening grave, you and I might not even survive the
\nexperience. \u201cDo not be afraid.\u201d Those would be welcome words
\nindeed, but fear we would in spite of the comforting words. We don\u2019t
\nwalk through our days expecting a visit from heavenly beings. In fact,
\nthe world around us and the world inside us leads us not to believe that
\nsuch a visit would even be possible. At times we are likely to contrast
\nour \u201cmodern, scientific\u201d understanding of reality with that
\nof the people portrayed in the Bible; but they were terrified by this
\nappearance\u2014both the shepherds at the time of Jesus\u2019 birth
\nand the women at the tomb\u2014they were terrified by the angel. That
\nmeans that they were no more expecting such an experience in their time
\nthan we are today.<\/p>\n
So the angel startled and frightened the women, but what about the joy?
\nThe important aspect of the text is not the appearance of an angel but
\nthe message of that angel: \u201cI know that you are looking for Jesus
\nwho was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.\u201d Now
\nas they leave the tomb they do so \u201cwith fear and great joy.\u201d That
\nwas mixed emotions of the best kind. Joy overwhelms fear, but does not
\nobliterate it. Around the edges there lie those fears that perhaps we
\nare imagining the whole thing. Maybe it isn\u2019t true. We want to
\nbelieve, but there are always those nagging doubts. And who else will
\nbelieve it? The women were instructed to tell the other disciples of
\nJesus. Would they believe it? So they ran on with mixed emotions.<\/p>\n
And then the ultimate experience happened. The resurrected Jesus himself
\nwas suddenly there. And what does he say to them? \u201cDo not be afraid\u2026.\u201d They
\nhad seen him crucified. They had watched him die. They had observed his
\nburial in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. And here he was talking to
\nthem, telling them not to fear. They still had plenty to fear, but that\u2019s
\nanother story. For now joy could banish fear. He is alive\u2014their
\nTeacher, their Savior, their Lord! He has an assignment for them. These
\nfearful women\u2014people whose testimony was discounted by the law\u2014these
\nwomen were to announce what the angel had told them and what they had
\nexperienced for themselves, that Jesus has been raised from the dead
\nand will meet the assembled disciples in Galilee.<\/p>\n
Is this the weak link in the story of the resurrection? Did God run
\nan awful risk here? Entrusting fearful women with such a momentous message
\nwas taking a chance, wasn\u2019t it? If they had convinced themselves
\nthat it was a hallucination\u2014that they were just imagining the whole
\nthing\u2014you and I might never have heard about Jesus of Nazareth.
\nThe Lord might have found another way if the women had let fear win out
\nover joy, but we don\u2019t know that there was a \u201cPlan B.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christians throughout the ages of the church have stood in the footprints
\nof those two women. They have wrestled with the mixed emotions of fear
\nand great joy, and time and again, the joy has defeated the fear and
\nthey have stood up and proclaimed that Jesus has been raised from the
\ndead. Many times they have had good reason to let fear win out. Many
\nhave made that proclamation in the presence of their executioners. They
\ncould have lived on by letting fear win, but they considered it joy to
\nsuffer for the Lord who had suffered for them.<\/p>\n
And here we are. Most of us need not fear physical harm for our faith,
\nbut we live in a world that discourages us from running and telling a
\nstory of a resurrected Savior. And so we fear. We fear rejection by our
\nfriends. We fear being branded \u201cfanatics.\u201d We fear that we
\nare going overboard with this religion thing. Fear paralyzes; and so
\nwe stand in the footprints of those two women who had to be told by the
\nangel exactly what to do. Then Jesus himself gave them the same instructions, \u201cGo
\nand tell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do we hear those instructions for us? It wasn\u2019t the first time
\nJesus gave such a commission, and it wasn\u2019t the last time either.
\nGo and preach. Go and teach. Go and heal. Go and make disciples. Such
\ninstructions are found in all the gospels. They appear again and again.
\nThey are certainly meant not just as references to history, but as expectations
\nof Christians in every age, in every nation, in all circumstances.<\/p>\n
The reality of the resurrected Lord we experience each time we gather
\nwith God\u2019s people and celebrate the mystery of the Lord\u2019s
\nSupper. The commission of Christ we hear each time we are dismissed with
\nwords like, \u201cGo in peace; serve the Lord.\u201d Only one question
\nremains: Does fear conquer joy or is our joy the \u201cgreat joy\u201d that
\nobliterated fear and impels us into our world with the most awesome message
\never heard: Jesus is not dead; he has been raised from the dead?<\/p>\n
May our story reflect the story of the shepherds, who went and \u201cmade
\nknown what was told them,\u201d and the story of the women, who \u201cleft
\nthe tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.\u201d<\/p>\n
Go in peace and serve the Lord by telling the story.<\/p>\n