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THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD, 04/16/2017
Sermon on Matthew 28:1-10, by Samuel Zumwalt
1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you." 8So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."
AMEN!!!
In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
If a preacher in a Lutheran church said, “Can I get an Amen,” in most places there would be dead silence and a lot of stares, as in, “No, we don’t do that sort of thing!”
Most Lutherans don’t say, “Ayy-men,” we say, “Ahh-men.” And we don’t drag it out. None of this highly emotional holding on to the vowels. We say, “Amen,” short and to the point. We don’t want people to think we’re a hot bed of emotions over here on College Road. Yes, some of us may clap after a particularly moving song or anthem, but there are plenty of us that really don’t approve of that sort of thing.
There is a time to say “Amen” in the Lutheran church. You say it at the end of prayers, at the end of the doxology, at the end of the service, and, if you are old enough, you still remember when we use to sing it at the end of every hymn. Why did they change that? Some of us older Lutherans are still wondering.
Forty-five years ago vocal professor Charles Nelson, the brother of professional golfer Byron Nelson, was doing a workshop for our high school choir. Dr. Nelson said that the words of the song tell a story, and our faces should reflect the words that we are singing. If we are singing “Alleluia,” our faces ought to look joyful.
Now it’s a good thing he was leading a music clinic for a high school choir and not talking to Lutherans. Most of us would have listened politely and then kept on doing what we’ve always done. Church is serious stuff. We like our joy more restrained unless we’re at a ballgame. If you start smiling in church when you sing “Alleluia” and “Jesus Christ is risen today,” it’s a slippery slope. Next thing you know, people will be shouting “Ayy-men.” We just don’t do that sort of thing. Thank you.
Now, lest you think I’m wasting too much time talking about frivolous things, I want to call your attention to the Matthew 28 text. At the end of chapter 27, after the Lord Jesus’ death on the cross and His burial, some of His religious enemies asked the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to place a guard at Jesus’ tomb, to make sure He stayed in the tomb. They didn’t want anyone stealing His body and then telling everyone that Jesus had been raised from the dead.
So…when we get to chapter 28, there has been an around the clock team of guards at Jesus’ tomb. Jesus’ friends and disciples have either run away or gone away to celebrate the Sabbath. But now, as we begin chapter 28, the Sabbath is over, and Mary Magdalene and the other Mary are coming to visit Jesus’ tomb.
That’s when it happens. An earthquake!
Methodist bishop Will Willimon tells about the time he was the guest preacher at a church in Alaska. During the sermon, there was an earthquake. The people there were used to that sort of thing, and they sat through the whole quake without blinking an eye. Bishop Willimon says it was such an unnerving experience for a Carolina boy that he could hardly finish the sermon. He said to the local pastor afterwards: “I would hate to preach to these people every week. I mean, what would it take to get their attention?”
Matthew tells us that God sent an angel and earthquake that first Easter morning. And Jesus’ tomb was opened, not to let Jesus out because He was already gone! No, the quake was to get everybody’s attention. And the angel rolled back that great stone to let everyone know that Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!
OK, with a lot of practice, we Lutherans have learned almost to shout “He is risen indeed, alleluia!” But it’s only one Sunday out of the year, and we can make a few allowances for Easter Sunday. But it does seem kind of silly to us when pastors keep on saying it for a few more Sundays after Easter. After all, we’re not that kind of church.
Now, back to Matthew 28…you will notice that God has a sense of humor…because the team of guards that were sent to keep Jesus in the tomb are now responding appropriately not only to an earthquake but to the lightening-like appearance of an angel. They are so terrified they become…very funny stuff here…like dead men! Of course, this is a Lutheran church, so please no outward displays of emotion.
Again I wonder why it is that every time an angel of the Lord or the Lord himself appears unexpectedly the first thing said is always: “Don’t be afraid.” Of course, we Lutherans have a lot in common with those Alaskans who sat stone-faced through an earthquake. Our response after the fact might well be: “He really didn’t have to operate that way. A note or phone call beforehand, to let us get ready, would have been nicer.”
Nevertheless, God seems intent on telling us that Easter is shocking stuff. First, an earthquake, and then an angel shows up flashing like lightning. The guards are like dead men. The Lutheran women apparently are still showing no emotion. Then the angel says: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
And then the most amazing thing happens. These Lutheran women are suddenly filled with fear and great joy! It only took an earthquake, an angel flashing like lightning, and the resurrection of God’s Crucified Son Jesus! And they began to run!
Where were the men?
And then the women saw for themselves that Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!
They ran into the Lord Jesus. In perhaps the most understated moment in Scripture, He says to them: “Greetings!” And they fell down at His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” End of scene. End of Easter Sunday Gospel lesson.
Now if that were the end of the sermon, I might get a polite Lutheran “Amen,” although I’ve noticed it becomes a bit more enthusiastic at the end of a longer sermon.
But there’s a little more that needs saying in the way of application, because my intent today is not to try to do bad stand-up comedy. That’s not preaching. That’s entertainment.
The preacher’s job on Easter Sunday is to get you and me to the “So what?” So what does it mean for us to hear this Easter Gospel? And what is it that the Holy Spirit wants to do with us through this text?
Throughout the midweek services of Lent and the three days prior to Easter, we have been looking at the Lord’s Prayer and Martin Luther’s explanation of it in his Small Catechism. Throughout Lent, many of us have been reading daily devotions based on the Lord’s Prayer.
By design, we have arrived today simultaneously at the “Amen” of Lent and the “Amen” of the Lord’s Prayer. To say “Amen” is to say: “Yes, yes, it shall be so.”
Our heavenly Father has commanded us to pray and has promised to hear us, says Martin Luther. Our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask, and so He provides His Son our Savior to suffer and die with us and for us on the cross. He raises His Son Jesus from the dead and declares to us in Holy Baptism that we have the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Death cannot hold God’s Son, and it can no longer hold us either. For Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
Easter is earth-shaking stuff, because the Risen Christ is still in our midst in Word and in Sacrament. He is still in our midst calling us, “Come, follow me. Be my hands and my feet, be my witnesses, yes, and be my body in the world. Go, tell your friends the Good News that sin, death, and evil (wherever in this world they may claim to be victorious...even in Egypt, even in Dortmund, and even in Syria)...they can never have the last word again!” For Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
So, you see, it’s not the preacher that’s asking you for an “Amen,” it’s the Lord Jesus saying: “Can I get an Amen?”
So what the Holy Spirit wants to do with you and me this Easter and every day thereafter is to get us to shout “Amen” not only with our lips but with our lives!
In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!!!