The first reading is from Isaiah 25:6-9.
The second reading is from Acts 10:34-43.
The holy gospel according to Mark (16:1-8).
When
the sabbath was over,
Mary
Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices,
so
that they might go and anoint Jesus.
2And
very early on the first day of the week,
when the sun had risen,
they
went to the tomb.
3They
had been saying to one another,
“Who
will roll away the stone for us
from the entrance to the tomb?”
4When
they looked up,
they
saw that the stone,
which
was very large,
had
already been rolled back.
5As
they entered the tomb,
they
saw a youth,
dressed
in a white robe,
sitting
on the right side;
and
they were alarmed.
6But
the youth said to them,
“Do
not be alarmed;
you
are looking for Jesus of Nazareth,
who
was crucified.
He has been raised;
he
is not here.
Look,
there is the place they laid him.
7But go,
tell
his disciples and Peter
that
he is going ahead of you to Galilee;
there
you will see him,
just
as he told you.”
8So
they went out and fled from the tomb,
for
terror and amazement had seized them;
and
they said nothing to anyone,
for
they were afraid.
The gospel of the Lord.
-----
Alleluia!
Christ is risen! -- Christ
is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Today is our day of celebration! The greatest day—the Highest Holy Day of the church
year. The battle is over, the
victory won—or so the old hymn goes.
Today is a day to celebrate and give thanks—and we are doing just
that! Our alleluias have returned,
our decorations are in full splendor—even our liturgy is new as we give thanks
for our baptism and return to our hymn of praise. Easter is here!
And yet…the world is not perfect. It is not all Easter lilies, sunshine, eggs and
bunnies. God’s love is for
everybody, but not everyone knows that God loves them as they are. People are still sick, suffering, neglected,
and alone.
This is the crux of Christianity. We are people of the resurrection—Easter people living in a
Good Friday world. Even as we
rejoice in the resurrection, our risen lord bears the marks of his
execution. Jesus’ followers come
to the tomb in the midst of their mourning, seeking some consolation and
perhaps even closure on the death of the man they have been following. And what they find is anything but
that. They encounter a youth who
tells them that “Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified…has been raised”
Into
the midst of their sorrow and pain this stranger breaks in with news that
doesn’t make sense. They come to
the tomb looking for, expecting, death.
They expect to find a body broken by the world, executed,
crucified. The world around them
is in shambles and yet they find this youth, telling them that it’s not the
end?
The
tomb around them echoes of the cries of Good Friday; the space feels so
forgotten and so alone, reverberating its desolation around them. Or is it another sound
reverberating. Are those the cries
of crucify him or are they the beginning chirps of the birds, the start of hesitant
alleluias? The dull morning grays
that have been covering their world and have accompanied them to the tomb begin
to give way to the bright colors of morning. The world taking shape around them is a different world, a
different shape than the one they were expecting. And the women, squinting in the light, hear “Jesus has been raised; he is not here.”
How
is this new life possible? Just
days ago everyone was scattering, afraid for their lives and the women watched,
weeping as Jesus hung on that tree.
The one who was supposed to save them all, dying, even as darkness
covered the earth and the Roman centurion confessed that “truly this man was
God’s son” (Mark 15:39). Yet the
world is shattered, as if the floor has fallen out from under us. This agony and pain at seeing Jesus on
the cross must be the bottom, we can’t possibly fall any further. All hope is lost. What is left to do, but to anoint the
body that by now must be long-dead?
We go to say our final goodbyes, to give up our last ounce of hope.
And
then—the tomb is empty! Jesus is
gone?! And this youth thinks Jesus
is risen?!
Go,
share this good news? I don’t
think so! High-tail it out of
there in terror and amazement, saying “nothing to anyone for they were
afraid”? Sounds like a good plan! I’m in. The empty tomb is never expected. The tomb is always supposed to be there, full of death and
sorrow. What place does an empty
tomb have in this world? What
nerve to bring resurrection and new life into the midst of our sorrow and
pain! How could this be?
Terror
and amazement are powerful things.
God calls us into this new life—this resurrection promise, even as the
world around us, ourselves included, is still reeling from Good Friday. New life in the midst of death? New hope for a life I don’t yet know is
terrifying, even when the alternative is a deathly life I do know. Are we really supposed to drop
everything and just believe? Just
trust?
If
Jesus’ followers are any indicator, then no. Throughout Mark, Jesus’ followers have been messing up,
misunderstanding, and losing faith—losing courage. They have misguided and rebuked, denied and betrayed both Jesus
and others. But maybe it’s not
their fault. It’s not like they
sought Jesus out. They were
minding their own business.
Fishing, living life, and he came to them. Jesus searched
and found them! He
called them by name and claimed them!
And
even with all their mess ups and missteps, their inaction from terror and
amazement, Jesus comes to them.
Jesus keeps coming back. He
even comes back from the grave to meet them in Galilee! He goes to rock bottom, diving down to
the deepest depths, deeper than we ever thought our rock bottom could be, and
joins us.
Jesus
comes to our rock bottoms, comes to be with us. And even as we go “out and flea from the tomb, for terror
and amazement have seized us; and we
say nothing to anyone, for we are afraid,” Jesus meets us where we’re
going.
The
movie The Salt of the Earth is about a Mexican American mineworkers
strike in New Mexico. In a fight with her husband, who is a striking worker,
the protagonist, Esperanza, says that Ramón wants to improve his own life so he
can have someone under him to boss around, so that he can feel superior. But
Esperanza says, “I don't want anything lower than I am. I'm low enough
already. I want to rise. And push everything up with me as I go."
Jesus
comes to rock bottom to be with us, but not to leave us there. Jesus is in the business of pushing
everyone up. Jesus comes to rock
bottom so that he can push up to new life with everyone. Jesus comes today with signs of new
life from our decorations and lilies to the signs of new life and new people in
our community of faith (to the new life of community organizations caring for
those in need in our community).
Jesus
is always coming to us, whether we recognize it or not, whether we’re ready or
not, whether our reaction is terror, amazement, both or something else
entirely. Jesus comes to us, Jesus
sits with us, and Jesus waits for us.
The Persistent One is ever patient with our terror and amazement. Sitting with our complex emotions, our
fear and doubt and our joy and laughter.
No matter what is going on with us, Jesus brings new life, new chances, pushing up with everyone and everything that he has. He comes with second, third, even hundredth chances! Why? Because the power of death no longer rules our world. Because sin doesn’t have the last word. Because Jesus has been to rock bottom and rock bottom doesn’t win. Life does!
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
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