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Christ the Lord is Risen! Let all the earth proclaim
the good news—who once was dead is now alive. The
first Easter surprised many people, caught them off
guard. Even though Jesus repeatedly told his disciples
what would happen, obviously they never fully
comprehended what Jesus was saying about dying and
rising again.
We
are here this morning and every Sunday because Jesus is
alive! We serve a Risen Savior. We leave our sins, our
disappointments, our failings, and whatever else, at the
foot of the cross knowing that Jesus died for our sins.
He died so that we will live and experience new life.
We come desiring that new life.
At
the break of day “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary”
made their slow trek to the tomb. That morning there was
no question in their minds whatsoever that Jesus was
dead. From a distance they watched as Jesus’ lifeless
body was taken down from the cross. Perhaps seeing the
place where Jesus’ body rested would give the women a
sense of peace. I picture the women walking in silence,
thinking about the events of the previous week, wishing
that somehow things had turned out differently for
Jesus. On Friday afternoon all their hopes were
extinguished when Jesus died. Their solitude would be
interrupted by an earthquake. As they were walking the
ground rattled and shook. The earthquake served to
reorient their thoughts. Earthquakes have a way of
doing that—of immediately changing priorities and
direction. Our problem is that we want to celebrate
Easter and still have our world intact, the same,
unrocked by the resurrection. Everything had changed,
nothing would ever be the same again, Jesus is alive!
At
that moment the women looked up to see an angel
“descending from heaven.” The angel rolled away the
stone that covered the entrance of the tomb and sat on
it. Sitting on top of the stone made a mockery of the
evil plot that led to Jesus’ death. Earlier the
religious officials pleaded with Pilate to place guards
at the tomb. Guards were instructed to make the tomb
“as secure as you can”. Those in power thought they had
forever silenced Jesus. They thought that the tomb
would be his final resting place—end of story! But hold
on--God would have the last word. God has the last word
for each one of us. God raised Jesus to new life. The
focus of Easter is God. It was God’s action that
brought Jesus back from the dead. Easter is God’s
comment on the events of Good Friday. An added touch
those guarding the tomb fainted, strong seemingly
invincible Roman guards, “became like dead men.” The
body they thought they were guarding is alive.
As
you might expect the women were frightened at the sight
of the angel. “Do not be afraid,” the angel told them.
The women had good reason to be afraid. However as they
would soon discover there was no reason for them to be
fearful. Instead, there was cause for great
rejoicing—Jesus was alive! “He is not here; for he has
been raised, as he said,” the angel explained and then
issued the invitation, “Come, see the place where he
lay.” The women were not allowed to linger too long in
that place of death. They were instructed to “go
quickly and tell his disciples,” the good news that
Jesus is alive and that Jesus would meet them back home
in Galilee. Galilee was the place where Jesus’ ministry
began and would be the place where he would meet them
again. God had acted by raising Jesus to new life.
The women left that place of death “quickly with fear
and great joy.” Fear and great joy seem to be opposite
emotions. The fear of the unknown suddenly turned to
great joy believing that Jesus is alive. The women
believed what the angel told them that Jesus is alive!
While it is a tremendous joy knowing that Jesus is alive
there is also the lingering fear of not knowing what
will come next. With Jesus alive there is no reason to
fear, everything would be all right. The Risen Lord is
with us and will not leave us.
Their sense of fear quickly evaporated when the women
encountered the risen Lord. They did not get too far
before they personally encountered the living Christ.
“Greetings!” he says to the women. The word translated
as “greetings” could also be rendered “rejoice.” There
is cause for great rejoicing, Jesus is alive. The evil
scheming of those in power could not and would not stop
God’s plan of salvation. There was nothing to be afraid
of but every reason to rejoice. The women took hold of
his feet and worshiped him. They worshiped him knowing
beyond the shadow of doubt that he is alive and is the
Son of God.
At the beginning of Matthew’s
gospel the Wise Men bowed in worship of the newborn
Jesus. At the triumphant conclusion, the women also
worship the Lord and at the end of the chapter the
disciples turned apostles will do the same. Jesus is
worthy of our worship!
The Risen Lord further instructs the women, “go and tell
my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
The angel instructed the women to go tell the
“disciples.” Here Jesus says tell “my brothers.” In
calling the disciples, “my brothers,” Jesus was saying
that he forgave them for deserting and denying him. All
was forgiven. Jesus would need their help now more than
ever. He would meet the disciples back home in Galilee
where they would have an opportunity for a fresh start
and new beginning. Eventually the Risen Lord Jesus
meets with the disciples and sends them out into all the
world to proclaim the good news of faith.
The same is true for us we are forgiven. God forgives
us. God takes our wrong doings, our sin, our evil
doing, the things we should not have done, the terrible,
ugly, cruel things we do to one another and not only
forgives us but is able to turn our lives around to
allow something good to come from our sin. It is
incredible. God is able to redeem our lives, to turn
evil into good.
It
no longer matters how much we have messed up our lives
because God is determined to redeem our lives. God does
not stop pursuing us until we discover that we are
daughters and sons of God and begin to act that way!
Through the grace of God we are given a fresh start, a
new beginning. Easter is about new beginnings and fresh
starts. Last Easter Sunday the congregation at Willow
Creek Community Church was given the opportunity to come
forward at the conclusion of the service to walk through
open doors. The idea came as the church was planning its
Easter celebration. Dozens of doors in a variety of
colors and styles were set up on stage. The pastors
were not sure if anyone would come forward or not.
When the invitation was given,
hundreds of people came forwarded after the service.
People stood in line, some for over an hour, for a
chance to walk through an open door, signifying their
desire for new life in Christ. In the weeks following
Easter people told of being at a turning point in their
lives, others of going through painful times, all of
them seeking new life in Christ. Others simply came
desiring a fresh start, a new beginning as our Easter
faith demonstrates. Some walked through the door alone
while others went through as couples or as families. It
was a moving experience for those who participated.
Easter is about new life, new beginnings, and fresh
starts. We come this morning seeking that new
beginning. We come rejoicing that Jesus is alive and is
in our midst and is in our lives. He Lives!
Amen.
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