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Easter Sunday, Resurrection of our Lord, 04/24/2011
Sermon on Matthew 28:1-10, by David M. Wendel
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. [2] And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. [3] His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. [4] For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. [5] But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. [6] He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. [7] Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you." [8] So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. [9] Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. [10] Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Easter: Earth-Shaking and Earth-Shattering
"After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly, there was a great earthquake..."
The recent occurrence of a 9+ magnitude earthquake in Japan, reminds us of the world-shattering, life-changing effects of such a seismic eruption. And it also causes us to consider the fact that St. Matthew in his gospel, alone, records not one, but two earthquakes related to the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first is described in chapter 27, where John writes, upon Jesus' death, "And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, "Truly, this was the Son of God!"
The second earthquake is described for us in less dramatic fashion in our lesson for today, as John says simply, "and suddenly, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone..." While some scholars suggest these may be two accounts of the same earthquake, it does seem here that there is a second quake, related to the coming of the angel of the Lord, the rolling back of the stone, and the opening of the tomb. Nevertheless, it is clear that in both the death and resurrection of Jesus, God is doing something that will shake up the world, change the course of history, and turn our lives inside out. For how can one describe Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection from death, if not as "earth-shaking"!? And why? Because the dead don't come back to life! Because apart from Jesus, no one has ever been resurrected! Oh sure, people are brought back to life for a time, every day, in most every hospital, as doctors and nurses lube up the paddles, place them on a body, shout clear, and shock life back into a person who's heart has stopped. But this is not a resurrection--only a restoration. These persons will die again, and remain dead. Not so for Jesus, as His resurrection was a rebirth unto eternal life, such that He will never die again, and will live forever. And what's more, this is what Jesus promises you and me! That after death, we will be raised, to live with Him, eternally! And this is earth-shaking, and maybe earth-shattering, because it so contrary to our experience of death, and life.
Resurrection is Difficult, if not Impossible for us to Believe
Martin Luther wrote, "this article of the resurrection of our Lord, has suffered and still suffers the most opposition and is the most difficult to believe...because nothing so contradicts experience as this does. For our eyes see that all the world is swept away by death and dies. Emperors and kings, high and low, young and old, and in a word, all the children of men, one after the other are laid in the grave and buried. Hence it is difficult to believe that man, who dies and perishes, is to live again--that his body, reduced to dust and ashes in fire, water and soil, are to be gathered again--and that his soul is again to live in the same body in which it lived before, and that he is to have the same eyes, ears, hands and feet, except that the body, together with its members, is to have a different manner of existence. That," says Dr. Luther, "is difficult to believe." (What Luther Says; A Practical In-Home Anthology for the Active Christian, Concordia: St. Louis, 1959, p. 1217)
We might say it is not just difficult to believe, but nearly impossible to believe, in resurrection--Jesus', our loved ones', or ours'! And that's what shakes and shatters our existence--the possibility that life can continue-- beyond death!
Yet, that is the message of the Scriptures, and the message of the angel of the Lord to those first witnesses at the tomb. He calls Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, saying, "Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed, He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him.' " And the angel ends by saying, "This is my message for you." And Matthew tells us they went "quickly, with fear and great joy", and ran to tell the disciples. And doesn't that tell the tale. The women went quickly, as the angel commanded, but with fear, and great joy.
They Went with Fear, but Great Joy?
How do you go, with fear, but also with great joy? They go joyfully, in spite of their fear, because their world had been turned upside down, and they believed, while still struggling with belief. Jesus had been dead, but now the angel says He's alive?! Thank God Jesus then met them himself, and bid them not be afraid, for that must've helped them to come to grips with the reality of His resurrection. And after grabbing hold of his physical, fleshly feet, and worshiping Him, they went and told the disciples that Jesus had been raised.
And though our lives are still, to this day, shaken by Jesus' death and resurrection; though we and our fellows continue to wrestle with the fact of resurrection, Jesus comes to us today, and bids us, "Do not be afraid--but go, and tell others that I am alive, and they will see me!" And that, most of us haven't bargained for, on Easter Day. We get up on Easter morning, excited about the day, happy to be getting dressed and ready for such a fine church festival. There's no better day in the church year, than Easter! No wonder so many folks show up on Easter. If you're only going to go one Sunday a year, surely it's got to be Easter! There's a great procession, and all the beautiful lilies, and brass and choir, and hand-bells, and an Easter Egg hunt, and refreshments--what's not to like about Easter Sunday services? Well, we don't like the preacher telling us to go, and tell others! Why lay that burden on us, on Easter Sunday, pastor? Why? Because the Scriptures tell us that it is the natural response to Jesus' crucifixion and miraculous resurrection: we are to go and tell others! First the angel of the Lord says "go and tell...", and then Jesus Himself says, "go and tell..." And preachers who preach that today, are just repeating the message, that all who have witnessed Jesus risen from death, are to go, and spread the good news, that Jesus Christ is risen today!
"We Are Witnesses"
St. Peter himself is one of the first to affirm that, as he preaches a sermon to Gentiles in our first lesson, telling them, "we are witnesses to all that Jesus did both in Judea and in Jerusalem; they put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear...and He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one..." And similarly, this Easter Sunday, we are being called to be witnesses, as well. You and I are being called, today, not to leave church the same as we came in--ready for a belly-full of brunch and a pleasant nap later on--we are here to be changed, by the risen presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ--changed to live new lives, raised with Christ to set our minds, now, not on earthly things, but on the things of the kingdom of God--not the least of which is living in the power of the resurrection, being new beings, in Christ--living, not hesitantly, or fearfully, living not less than God has created us to be--but living boldly, and courageously, living Christ-like lives, living lives full of the hope that is in us, because Jesus lives--and yes, ready to be His witnesses, to Jerusalem and Judea and to the ends of the earth, going, and telling others, that Jesus, who was crucified, dead and buried, is alive--so that we have been raised with Him to live new lives, here and now, in this moment, today!
Resurrection Exposes our "Nuclear Core"
And how does this happen? How are we transformed? How can we humble, shy Lutherans ever hope to be like our Ethiopian brothers and sisters, returning home from all day worship services on fire for telling others in our villages that life can be new, in Jesus Christ? As we began by thinking about the recent earthquakes in Japan, I would like to continue by considering what was, and still is the greatest consequence of those earthquakes--the possibility that affected power plants would have their nuclear cores exposed, and radiation would spread throughout the land. And while no one wants that, and I'm not at all suggesting that would be a good thing, I do think its an image of how it is that the earthquake that is the death and resurrection of Jesus, can break through our hard external shell, releasing the power that's contained in our inner core, so that radiating out from us, is the good news that Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! I believe that Jesus' risen presence abides in us, in each of us who have been baptized into His death and resurrection; in each of us who have received the gift of His presence in Word and Sacrament. His powerful presence is in the core of our being--but it is contained and controlled, by our exterior being--by our fear, our embarrassment, our hesitation to let His presence change our lives, and change us, so that we go and tell, go and share Him, with others! But the after-shocks of His death and resurrection continue to shake us, and pound on our hard-external shell. The earth still quakes beneath us, as we run to the tomb this Easter Sunday, and fall down before the Risen Jesus, and worship Him. And changed by His presence, transformed by His resurrection, shaken to the core of our being by Jesus Christ alive again, and alive still--the power that is Christ in us, is leaking out--getting out--radiating out, that we will spread the good news, that we will be His witnesses, that we will preach to the people and testify, that we will go and tell, that Jesus has been raised from the dead--and that all can see and believe in Him, all can receive forgiveness of sins through His name, all can be raised with Him, who is Lord of life and death!
"Go, Therefore..."
In the very next verses of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Himself sends us forth, giving us the whole Church's mission statement: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, even to the close of the age!" The Risen Lord is with you! The Risen Lord is with us--go, therefore and be His witnesses!