by Fr. Bill Garrison
Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.
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; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. 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.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
—Matthew 28:1-10 (NRSV)
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
We proclaim this every year at Easter and then we get together with family and friends and have a celebration. Here is a cute little story about a grandfather and his granddaughter at an Easter get together.
The little girl was sitting on her grandfather’s lap. She loved doing that and he loved having her there. After a bit she began to gently touch his face. She followed the outline of some of the lines on his face and forehead. And then she asked a question.
“Grandpa did God make you?”
“Yes, sweetheart he did”, he replied.
“Did God make me too?”
“Yes God did”, he said.
She thought about it for a minute then said, “God is getting a lot better at it isn’t he?”
I have told that joke before. It’s one of my favorites.
Christ is Risen! Every Easter we make a new commitment to ourselves and God. Each year we decide we will do a better job of keeping our eyes on Jesus. And every year the cares of the world take over don’t they? Our commitment is drowned in daily living. You know what these issues are as well as I do.
This year we are especially challenged. We not only have the usual culprits that assail us, we are dealing with a pandemic. We are confined to home. We are afraid of catching the virus. People are sick and dying. We can’t go to the places we are accustomed and unbelievably we can’t go to church this Easter. What a mess.
And yet we know we will go on. We always do in spite of everything going on around us.
Those in the Holy Land at the time of the life of Jesus have a similar story. They spent time with him. They grew to love him. Their expectations of him were immense. He was their way out from under the thumb of the Roman Empire, or so it was commonly thought.
And then their hopes were dashed. Jesus was crucified. Everything had come to an end. Their sadness was deep and painful. Their sense of loss was overwhelming. For two days the world was dark and meaningless. But then God did something incredible, something unheard of. Jesus was resurrected from the dead. He was with them for several weeks afterwards.
And then he was gone again, returning to eternity.
Those that had known him closely or peripherally had a choice to make. They could choose faith, hope, and love, or turn to disbelief. They chose to believe. They chose faith, hope, and love. Why, we wonder?
They made that choice because it was true. Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. They were certain of that fact. They understood by that event everything had changed in an incredible way.
The foundation of my personal understanding of the resurrection is found in the writings of St. Paul. This is because they are historical documents, never meant to be part of some holy tome. They were letters written to communities he had founded speaking to certain issues that had arisen. We were never meant to see or hear them. And it is this fact that allows us to look through the window of history into the first century with great certainty.
My personal faith cornerstone is the First Letter from Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 3 through 8. I quote it now.
“For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me.”
Cephas, by the way, was Peter’s nickname and James was Jesus’ brother. This passage is a very clear statement of fact. Jesus had risen from the dead and a lot of people experienced that fact. If you hadn’t seen him yourself you knew someone who had. It’s clear and concise. Jesus rose from the dead. The case is closed and the prosecution rests.
Life today is currently tough. This pandemic is taking a toll in so many ways. People are sick and dying. We are stuck at home and don’t know when we will be able to get out. People are going broke, as are businesses. Life is a mess. I won’t sugarcoat it. We don’t know what the future looks like. We can guess, but we only know a few things for sure.
But here is one of thing we do know. Easter will keep showing up. Babies will be born for us to love. Music will fill the air and we will be touched by it. People will laugh and be relieved for a little. Old love will flourish and new love will blossom. The sun will shine. The stars will come out. Plants will grow and flowers will come forth from them. New life will be evident once again. And all these will be Easter moments, evidence that God is still here, the author of all beauty and life. God will continue to love us, and be there right alongside us no matter what we encounter.
And for each of us worshiping today we will continue to discover Jesus. We will find him in scripture. We will feel his presence in worship. We will see his face in each other’s countenances.
And whatever faith you have will be enough. Don’t beat yourself up over the doubts that all of us carry. No matter if it is only the faith of a mustard seed. God will use it and nourish it. God loves us too much to lose any of us.
And finally today I have a personal Easter story. It began on Good Friday during the seven pm service. Now Good Friday is miserable for me. Experiencing the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is horrible. Nothing could be darker. But at exactly nine minutes after seven I got a text from my daughter. Please forgive me for having looked at it. Had I been in church I would not have.
You see she was texting to tell me about an Easter event that had just happened in the middle of the darkness. The event’s name is Andrew, a seven pound, five ounce baby boy. Our family has a new member. My first great-grandson, had just been born.
God had caused light to shine in the darkness once again. Alleluia! He is Risen!