1 April 2018
Text: Mark
16:1-8 (Job 19:23-27, 1 Cor 15:51-57)
In the name of +
Jesus. Amen.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Our
Gospel reading for Easter Sunday, the holiest and most glorious day of the
church year, the feast in which we celebrate the victory of our crucified,
dead, and buried Lord Jesus Christ who has risen from the dead – our Gospel
reading actually ends with the word “afraid.”
The
very first people on the planet to get this greatest of all good news in the
history of mankind were “afraid.”
This
goes to show you how real, how authentic, our Gospel is. This natural reaction of the Marys and Salome
to this mind-blowing experience wasn’t doctored up. Their very real human weakness in reacting to
the supernatural with “trembling and astonishment” and not speaking to anyone because
“they were afraid” truly captures the moment.
The fact that the Evangelist reports the first witnesses of this
momentous change in the fabric of the universe being women is also something
that a fiction writer would not make up.
For in those days, the testimony of women was considered unreliable.
But
God has broken all the rules. More
accurately, He has thrown out the rulebook.
He mocks the rulebook (the rulebook being the way things are supposed to
work in this fallen world). Oh, that’s
all done for now. Death’s reign of
terror has ended. Satan’s tyranny has
been abruptly shattered. Hell’s
frightening jaws have been snapped shut.
And starting now, the world is going to be turned upside down. We are never going back to the way things
were.
In
the span of a few minutes, everything changed.
Think
about what the women experienced that Easter morning at the tomb. As the gloom of night begins to give way to the
initial rays of daylight, they sadly trudged their way to the grave of the one
Man in whom they had placed all their hope.
They watched Him perform Godlike miracles for three years. They watched prophecy after prophecy
fulfilled. They saw Him heal the sick,
expel the demon, and even raise the dead.
They listened to Him destroy the arguments of the chief priests and
scribes and Pharisees. They watched Him
raise up the downcast, forgive the penitent, and preach about the Kingdom of
God with authority never before seen, not even in the days of Abraham and
Moses.
They
watched Him cheered as King, riding into the Holy City to inaugurate the
Kingdom so long awaited by the people.
It was actually happening!
And
then they watched Him arrested on false charges. They watched Him caged like an animal and
chained like a slave. They watched Him
being beaten and tortured like an enemy of the state, and condemned to death
like a terrorist. It seemed as if His
powers had left Him. It had all
unraveled so quickly. He was betrayed by
one of his disciples. The rest of them
fled. The one appointed for leadership
denied even knowing Him. His followers
were nowhere to be seen. And His poor
mother, living this nightmare in real time!
Then they all watched Him die, nailed to a Roman cross, His body
bloodied and misshapen, a monstrous sight as He heaved in agony for each
breath. They could do nothing. He was finally pierced by a soldier’s spear
as blood and cardiac fluid gushed from His side. His lifeless body was hurried into a tomb so
that the people could enjoy the feast of Passover, celebrating lustily with festal
roast lamb, with bread and wine and fellowship around a table. They watched life go on for the evil, while
their Lord’s corpse lay in infamy and shame, without even a proper burial.
Not
knowing why or how all of this happened, perhaps questioning the reality of the
events of the past three years, the women nevertheless did their feminine duty,
motivated by love and custom to provide the last dignity to their Master’s body
– bringing “spices, so that they might anoint Him.” Of course, He needed no anointing, as the
title “Christ” means Anointed One. Jesus
is already ahead of them, having already risen and begun the First Day of a new
and greater week, a new era, the inauguration of eternity. Even as they are walking and weeping, He is
working.
The
stone had already been rolled back, and the tomb has already been transformed
from being a sad sepulcher of decay and death into being the epicenter of the good
news of life and vibrancy. At this
moment, this is the center of the universe.
The women saw the curious sight of a tomb without a dead body, but with
a living creature who appears to be a “young man… dressed in a white robe.”
His
job is to be part comforter and part news reporter. He encourages them not to be alarmed (easy
for him to say…). And then He reports
the news, just the facts: “You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here.” And to drive the point home, our angelic
reporter invites them to examine the tomb for themselves: “See the place where
they laid Him.”
And
now, our councilor and journalist also becomes a dispatcher. For there is no time to waste. The world must hear of this greatest news of
all. “Go” he tells them. “Go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is
going before you to Galilee. There you
will see Him, just as He told you.”
Our
angelic friend cannot help himself but to seemingly inject a little bit of “He
told you so” at the very end.
Mary,
Mary, and Salome went from mourning, to puzzling, to being tasked with the most
important job in the history of the universe in a matter of minutes. There will indeed be time for rejoicing, but
not yet. They are still playing catch
up. Their heads are still spinning. They are still trying to make sense of what
is happening. But how natural and how
honest is St. Mark’s Gospel in describing the women as being afraid.
Through
their fear, they will faithfully carry this Good News to the men who will carry
this same Good News to the ends of the earth. The testimony of these women will be believed –
even by you and me, even by people on every corner of the globe, even by people
spanning two millennia. Joy will replace
their fear, as they will see the risen Lord Jesus Christ, even as they will see
the spread of this good news of His death and resurrection – as the miracles of
Jesus will continue wherever His Word is preached and wherever His sacraments
are celebrated.
The
fear of the women is not a bad reaction.
Indeed, as we ponder the First Commandment, we are reminded that “we
should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” The Psalmist teaches us that the “fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” And in
their fear, they obey. They become “apostles to the apostles.” The testimony of these Holy Women will be
believed to this very day.
The
world has never been the same since that moment when our Lord rose again, nor
since that moment when the first of our human race were told what had happened:
one little word changed everything for our human race: ἠγέρθη – which requires three words in
English: “He has risen.”
“He
has risen,” dear brothers and sisters!
He
has risen, and death has been destroyed.
He has risen, and He continues to deliver His Word to us. He has risen, and Satan’s counterfeit kingdom
has been exposed and derailed. He has
risen, and we are justified by the forgiveness that He won for us at the
cross. He has risen, and so we have
hope, and joy, and meaning in our lives.
He has risen, and there is a world in need of this greatest of all good
news.
He
has risen, and so shall we! Amen.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In the name of the Father
and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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