"The Resurrection of Jesus is God' wake-up call to this world. It startles both believers and doubters out of their old humdrum ways. Death is no longer the final word. There is more to come. There is a place for us in God's future. When we place ourselves in the hands of the living God, we discover that the empty tomb is our own. It has become an open door." (George Anderson, Synthesis, 3/30/97, p. 2)
Easter startles all of us. We have walked the walk…through Jesus' teachings, the road to Jerusalem, the triumphal entry, the final meal, his arrest, trial, crucifixion and the discovery of the empty tomb. Despite the Mel Gibson's of the world, no one of these events stands alone! They are all of a piece – leading to a resurrected, not resuscitated, Jesus Christ, the final story of his life and ministry. That resurrected Jesus appeared in a new form to Mary and the disciples and appears to us, seeking and encountering us in our world of 2007.
It is important to note that when Mary and the disciples found the tomb empty they believed Jesus' body to have been stolen. When we hear that the beloved disciple finally entered the tomb and "believed" the belief was that the body was missing, not that Jesus had been raised. It was not until they encountered the risen Christ did they believe in his resurrection, were transformed and spread that belief to the very ends of the then known world.
Crossan and Borg, in their recent book "The Last Week." Contend that "the meaning of Easter is threefold: Jesus lives, God has vindicated Jesus and Jesus is Lord. Jesus lives, not in human flesh, but is present in a new way defying time and space. God has vindicated Jesus by saying 'yes' to Jesus and his message of love, and 'no' to those who executed him, those who supposedly were upholding the law. Jesus is Lord, not the powers of the earth. The love demonstrated in his life and ministry has triumphed over the all of the forces of the world, including the final enemy, death." (Marcus Borg & John Dominic Crossan, The Last Week, Harper, San Francisco, 2006, pp. 204-216)
It can be confusing to focus on the resurrection stories…all four gospels differ as to Jesus' appearances. Only Mary Magdalene is presence in all four, hence she has been called the "Apostle to the Apostles." This must drive the literalists crazy! However, this is not about literal history, but about the mystery of the encounter of individuals and the community with the risen Christ. Each gospel writer is writing to a different community, each of which encounter Jesus in a different way. What was true then, however, is true today: The empty tomb says nothing in and of itself; it only has meaning when Mary is called by name by Jesus and she recognizes him as the risen Christ.
The story of Jesus is difficult, especially the events leading up to the Resurrection. Let's face it, we all fear death. We live in a culture that is consumed with youth and the promotion of a long life. You may have heard the story told by Isaac Asimov of "…a visitor to a fire and brimstone church. The preacher looked sternly at the congregation saying, 'What a fearful thought it is that every member of this congregation is going to die.' All in the gathering looked somber and somewhat distressed with one exception. A man in the front pew had a disbelieving smile on his face. The preacher's face grew red as he looked squarely at the man and repeated his words. Again the man smiled. Finally, the preacher addressed the man directly and said: 'May I ask you what you find so amusing in my statement that everyone in this congregation is going to die? The man replied, 'I am not amused. I am relieved. You see, I am not a member of this congregation.'"
Despite that man's optimism, we will all die. However, the death of Jesus says to each of us that we don't die to nothingness. There is a power beyond death that lives on, and it is the power of love. That power of love originated in our creation by our Creator, is shown in God's gift of self incarnate in Jesus, and will triumph at the death of each of us when we return to God.
Easter is not just about that story over 2000 years ago. Jesus lives today as a result of the Resurrection! We are called to death and new life now, in our daily living. This is difficult, as none of us like to change; it makes us vulnerable. We find it far easier to conform to the mores of the world rather than contend with them as did Jesus. Despite our natural reluctance, we are called to challenge the ways of the world, we are called to choose to walk and live in another way. It is fearful to do so, for we worry that we will be alone and isolated. It is far easier to put Easter as a joyous event that happened years ago in Israel, rather than to understand that it happens now, daily, in our lives.
Easter presents two challenges to each of us and to ignore them is to miss the point of our celebration this morning. First, we are called to roll away the stones of our lives that block us from our relationships…with God, with ourselves and with others. Those stones of anxiety, fear, anger, envy, hurt, despair and others can inhibit our ability to be who we are called to be. They keep us from returning to our true selves, from being able to hear Jesus say our own names. When we roll those stones away God will meet us there, to reassure and support us. God knows it is not easy to change, for to change is to die and rise again.
Second, just as Jesus did in his ministry, we are to see the face of God in all creation and creatures, most particularly in the faces of the poor, the outcast , the sick, the lonely, the imprisoned and the despised. It has been said that "we seek Jesus in them so that they can find Jesus in us." (copied)
The Easter promise is simple: We are loved, you are loved, beyond all measure. As Robert Capon has said: "For us it is simply Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…It is a love affair with an unlosable lover!" (Robert Capon, Between Noon and Three: Romance, Law and the Outrage of Grace, Eerdmans, 1007) We are called to welcome, to embrace that love and share it with the rest of the world. As Oemig has said: "…the worst thing that can happen is never the last thing. Easter proclaims that the final thing, the last act, belongs to the Lord of love, who refuses not to love. It means that cancer and terrorism and oppression and starvation and slavery and finally death itself do not reign in their penultimate natures."
The truth is that, no matter how much we desire to be who God calls us to be, to be our true selves, we fall short over and over again. In each of our lives Christ is crucified over and over again. But love has the last word, love will triumph, for there is no power in earth that ultimately can stand against it. For that reason we shout today and every day "Alleluia, Christ is risen, thank you God!" AMEN