by Fr. Bill Garrison
Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.
Mark 16:1-8 (NRSV)
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. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he 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. But 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.” So 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.
Good morning. Hallelujah, Christ has risen!
This morning I have a couple of things I would like to chat about. The first is, do we think folks were surprised when Jesus rose from the dead? And the second is do we see clearly what is right there in front of us? Here is a little humor to start things off on those topics.
A police captain was interrogating three guys who were training to become detectives. To test their skills in recognizing a suspect, he showed the first guys a picture for 5 seconds and then hid it. "This is your suspect. How would you recognize him of you see him?"
The first guy answered, "That's easy, we'll catch him fast because he only has one eye!"
The captain said, "Well...uh...that's because the picture I showed is his side profile."
Slightly flustered by this ridiculous response, he flashed the picture for 5 seconds at the second guy and asked him, "This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?"
The second guy smiled and then gave an equally ridiculous answer. "Ha! He'd be easy to catch because he only has one ear!"
The captain angrily responded, "What's the matter with you two?!!? Of course, only one eye and one ear are showing because it's a picture of his side profile! Is that the best answer you can come up with?"
Extremely frustrated at this point, he showed the picture to the third guy and in a very testy voice asked, "This is your suspect, how would you recognize him?
The third guy looked at the picture intently for a moment and said, "The suspect wears contact lenses."
The captain was surprised and speechless because he really didn’t know himself if the suspect wore contacts or not. "Well, that's an interesting answer. Wait here for a few minutes while I check his file and I'll get back to you on that."
He left the room and went to his office, checked the suspect's file on his computer and came back with a beaming smile on his face. "Wow! I can't believe it. It's TRUE! The suspect does, in fact, wear contact lenses. Good work! How were you able to make such an astute observation?"
"That's easy..." the third guy replied. "He can't wear regular glasses because he only has one eye and one ear."
Ok, let’s look at the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the vantage point of the first century and then from our vantage point a couple of millennium later.
To see through the eyes of those in the First Century we look, not to the gospels, but to the Apostle Paul. You see we are privy to letters he wrote that he never meant for us to see. But we do get to see them and it’s as if we are looking through a window into the history of the first century.
Today I am speaking specifically about our second lesson from the first letter to the Corinthians. As an attestation to an historical event this passage is incredibly important. Let me quote a portion of it for you. I remove one word, “that”, in order to make it clearer for us.
“Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and ----- he was buried, and ----- he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and ----- 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 one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”
Ok let’s think about what we just heard. How do you think those folks felt seeing Jesus alive again? Can you get your head around it? Can you stand in their sandals? Take a minute. How does it feel to you?
It’s mind blowing isn’t it? If he has risen from the dead then his life takes on new meaning doesn’t it? We think back over everything he said and did in a different light. Now here is the big one. It changes our lives immeasurably too. If he conquered death, then so can we. He said it was going to be so, that we will have eternal life after he rose from the dead. He would make a way for us. Now I believe it. I have seen him with my own eyes.
Now, let’s fast forward to today, twenty centuries later. Life is certainly different. Society is loud, and in many ways, can be pretty obnoxious. We human beings think we have all the answers. The idea that someone can be resurrected from the dead is probably even stranger sounding now than it was then. And, to top it off, we don’t have anybody around that personally witnessed Jesus in the flesh after his death and resurrection. I wonder if anyone would believe them if we did.
If from time to time you wonder about the resurrection, whether it really happened or not, don’t be disappointed in yourself. We all have doubts occasionally. I know I do. Wanting to know more about Jesus Christ and the resurrection is a major reason I went to seminary. We all struggle from time to time.
And another thing, we aren’t all alike. One size doesn’t fit all. I suppose we could say that all of us are somewhere on a faith line between entirely head centered to entirely heart centered. For me I tend more towards the head. I envy those that are more heart oriented. They don’t seem to need to follow the same intellectual pursuits I do in order to keep their faith solid.
Sometimes in this modern world, especially for people like me, we have to go back to basics to assure ourselves of our faith. Thankfully we have Paul’s letters which in my view are the most important writings in the Christian scriptures. As I said a bit ago, they were never meant to be read by anyone other than the addressee. They had agendas for having been written. All letters do. But those agendas have nothing to do with the history they provide for us twenty centuries later.
Then we have the balance of the New Testament. We have secular writings about Jesus. We have Biblical and scientific scholarship. We have the history of Christianity. We have each other and our prayer lives, personal and corporate. And our church is based on the three-legged stool of scripture, reason, and tradition.
But, happily in the end, it really doesn’t matter. No matter where we are on the line between head and heart we wind up in the same place. What we believe is true. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He left behind a blueprint for living. He left behind an understanding of God. And the Holy Spirit, the advocate and comforter, is still with us helping us live our lives too. It’s all good news.
Hallelujah! Christ is risen. Have a great brunch, enjoy your loved ones and have a great rest of the day.