I’ll Be Seeing You

Introduction- It Is Better To Speak

And when the sun rises we are afraid

it might not remain

when the sun sets we are afraid

it might not rise in the morning

when our stomachs are full we are afraid

of indigestion

when our stomachs are empty we are afraid

we may never eat again

when we are loved we are afraid

love will vanish

when we are alone we are afraid

love will never return

and when we speak we are afraid

our words will not be heard

nor welcomed

but when we are silent

we are still afraid

So it is better to speak

remembering

we were never meant to survive.

These are the words from the 3rd and 4th stanzas of Audre Lorde’s poem titled “A Litany for Survival”, first published in 1978.

According to LitCharts.com,

This poem describes the constant fear that marginalized communities experience in a prejudiced society and the way such relentless fear can silence any dissenting voices.

The speaker in the poem thus encourages the marginalized, which included women, to speak up against a world they "were never meant to survive."

Audre Lorde would go on later in 1983 to state:

“Women are powerful and dangerous”

Stephanie Kaplun, Director of Leadership Development @ yesprep Public Schools said for International Women’s Day 2021:

“A woman’s voice is the most powerful part of her body!”

Illustration: And if you’ve been following the Women’s Basketball NCAA tournament, for even just a little bit, in the past 2 years, then you no doubt have heard about LSU’s team.

LSU women’s players have repeatedly said they feel as though people are rooting for them to lose, that people don't like them because they are unapologetically speaking their minds.

And that includes even their head coach Kim Mulkey

Speaking in response to a Los Angeles Times column story that portrayed her team's matchup against UCLA as a "reckoning" between good versus evil, calling it "sexist," "awful" and "wrong."

"I'm not going to let sexism continue," Mulkey said. "And if you don't think that's sexism, then you're in denial. How dare people attack kids like that. You don't have to like the way we play. You don't have to like the way we trash talk. You don't have to like any of that. We're good with that.

"But I can't sit up here as a mother and a grandmother and a leader of young people and allow somebody to say that. Because guys, that's wrong. I know sexism when I see it and I read it. That was awful."

And course I know you’ve heard of Sister Girl Angel Reese

Reese's gesture at the end of the 2023 NCAA Division I championship game and her dispute over Jill Biden's comments about inviting Iowa to the White House

Reese defending gesture to Caitlin Clark in NCAA final: ‘I don’t take disrespect lightly’

Angel Reese Talks Trash To UCLA Coach After Sweet 16 Win

Angel Reese claims UCLA assistant coach was 'talking a little crazy' in handshake line

The Athletic recently wrote:

Angel Reese doesn’t need to be liked, but she and LSU demand your respect

Angel Reese’s response to the LA times column was as follows:

"We're the good villains," forward Angel Reese said. "Everybody wants to beat LSU. Everybody wants to be LSU. You've got to realize like we're not any regular basketball team. We're just changing the game.

"We're doing the unknown. Me being able to be on the court but also off the court, I like to model and do other things. I can do both.

"Flau'jae [Johnson] can do both. Aneesah [Morrow] can do both. We can all do both. That's what people don't believe in. They don't think that we're focused, and we prove every single night when we get between those lines, we're focused."

But many of you in here today, on Resurrection Sunday 2024:

You don’t need Audrey Lorde, Stephanie Kaplun, Coach Kim Mulkey, and/or Angel Reese to tell you what you already know about women:

that women can be focused and many women prove every single day that when they get between those lines, they’re focused."

You on the court of life every single day focused

Even keeping us crazy husbands in line

Transition To Body- Women, Do Not Be Afraid, Go Testify (Witness)

The witness of women was considered unreliable in the cultural context of today’s text.

Women counted for little in both Jewish and Graeco-Roman circles in those days. They were nobodies: they were goods and chattels; they could in some circumstances be offered for sale; they could not bear witness in a court of law.

One of the most important perspectives on the women here in our text is that God uses them as witnesses not only to the central redemptive act of history, Jesus’ death on the cross, but also to his resurrection.

So Jesus goes against the culture by revealing himself first to the women and telling them to bear his message to the other disciples.

But this is not the first time that women feature prominently within the New Testament scripture

Woman Whose Faith Made Her Well

Matthew 9:20–22 ESV

20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

Faith of a Canaanite Women

Matthew 15:27–28 ESV

27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Prophetess Anna

Luke 2:36–38 ESV

36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Faith of Widow With 2 Copper Coins

Luke 21:1–4 ESV

1 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Witnessing Woman @ The Well

Old Testament Women

Sarah, Hagar, Tamar, Miriam,

Rahab , Deborah, Ruth, Jael

Hannah Samuel’s Mother, Abigail, Bathsheba,

Jehosheba, Sidonian widow, Shunammite mother

Esther

Virtuous Women in Proverbs 31

Women Who Provided For Jesus & His Disciples

Luke 8:1 ESV

1 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him,

Luke 8:2–3 ESV

2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

Mary Magdalene & the Other Mary Who Followed Jesus

Matthew 27:55–56 ESV

55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Matthew 27:61 ESV

61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Matthew 28:1 ESV

1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

Body- Provide Us A Model of How Post-Resurrection Discipleship Ought To Look…

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary Receive

Comforting Words Concerning Jesus’ Resurrection

Matthew 28:2–6 ESV

2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

{

We Receive

Comforting Words Concerning Jesus’ Resurrection

}

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary Become

Compelling Witnesses Of Jesus’ Resurrection

Matthew 28:7–8 ESV

7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

It is unlikely that any Jew would have created such a story as fiction. There was disagreement among some of the rabbis as to the acceptability of a woman giving testimony in a court of law. Some rabbis did not accept women as valid witnesses, for they were said to be liars by nature. However, this seems to be a minority opinion, for a number of others did allow women to give testimony. But because of that disagreement, it would seem unlikely that a Jew would fictionalize a woman’s testimony in the case of Jesus’ resurrection.

Women witnesses. One of the most important perspectives on the women here is that God uses them as witnesses not only to the central redemptive act of history, Jesus’ death on the cross, but also to his resurrection.

Since the women were present for Jesus’ death on the cross and his burial by Joseph of Arimathea (cf. 27:55–56, 61), they can verify that he was truly dead, not just unconscious. Several of them witnessed the sealing of the tomb (27:60–61; Mark 15:46–47; Luke 23:55), and they are the first witnesses of the empty tomb and the resurrected Jesus (Matt. 28:1–6; Mark 16:1–6; Luke 24:1–8; John 20:1–16). They are designated by both the angel and Jesus to carry their witness to the other disciples as the first to testify of the reality of the resurrection (Matt. 28:10; Mark 16:7; John 20:17).

Jesus’ resurrection restores men and women to equality of discipleship. The crucifixion and resurrection accounts tell us a number of things about God’s purposes for women in the life and ministry of Jesus.

Several attendant points are important to note:

(a) God is bestowing a special honor on these women. They are exemplary of true discipleship to Jesus, and because of their faithfulness and courage, they are given the special honor of being first witnesses to the empty tomb and the postresurrection appearances of Jesus.

(b) Women are restored in Jesus’ community of faith to their original status as equal with men because both were created in God’s image (Gen. 1:26–28).

Genesis 1:27 ESV

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

(c) Women are validated as worthy of the most privileged service in the community of faith, bearing witness to the reality of the risen Lord Jesus.

{

We Receive

Comforting Words Concerning Jesus’ Resurrection

We ought Become

Compelling Witnesses Of Jesus’ Resurrection

}

To Be

Commissioned Worshipers After Jesus’ Resurrection

Matthew 28:9–10 ESV

9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The presence of the risen Jesus turns their fear into worship

By mentioning that they “clasped his feet,” Matthew subtly emphasizes that this is no mere spiritual vision but a physical resurrection.

Worship- to express by attitude and possibly by position one’s allegiance to and regard for deity—

The reality of Jesus’ resurrection tells the women something about him that evokes their profound adoration. The word for “worship” (proskyneo) in Matthew can either indicate kneeling before an esteemed religious figure (e.g., 8:2) or, when linked with the action of grasping of feet, worship.

Worship God Only

Acts 10:25–26 ESV

25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”

Acts 14:11–15 ESV

11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

Revelation 22:8 ESV

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me,

Revelation 22:9 ESV

9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

Jesus accepts the acknowledgment of his deity. Only God is to be worshiped (cf. Matt. 4:9–10; 14:33; Rev. 22:9), and these women now prostrate themselves before the Risen One, who is rightly to be accorded that honor.

Matthew 4:9–10 ESV

9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ”

Matthew 14:33 ESV

33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

{

We Receive

Comforting Words Concerning Jesus’ Resurrection

We ought Become

Compelling Witnesses Of Jesus’ Resurrection

We should Be

Commissioned Worshipers After Jesus’ Resurrection

}

Transition To Close- Pastor/Rev/Preacher why you named today’s message “I’ll Be Seeing You”?

"I'll Be Seeing You" is a popular song about missing a loved one, with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Irving Kaha

I'll be seeing you

In all the old familiar places

That this heart of mine embraces

All day through

I'll find you in the morning sun

And when the night is new

I'll be looking at the moon

But I'll be seeing you

I'll be seeing you

In every lovely summer's day

In everything that's light and gay

I'll always think of you that way

Billie Holiday's 1944 recording of the song was the final transmission sent by NASA to the Opportunity rover on Mars when its mission ended in February 2019.

Due to the planetary 2018 dust storm on Mars, Opportunity ceased communications on June 10 and entered hibernation on June 12, 2018. It was hoped it would reboot once the weather cleared, but it did not, suggesting either a catastrophic failure or that a layer of dust had covered its solar panels. NASA hoped to re-establish contact with the rover, citing a recurring windy period which was forecast for November 2018 to January 2019, that could potentially clean off its solar panels.[14] On February 13, 2019, NASA officials declared that the Opportunity mission was complete, after the spacecraft had failed to respond to over 1,000 signals sent since August 2018.

Close- Go & Tell

Matthew 28:10 ESV

10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

And the Women Completed Their Mission

How do I know?

Matthew 28:16–20 ESV

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus is with you always, to the end of the age…

Jesus The Crucified One

Matthew 28:5 ESV

5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

Yes Jesus Died!

Indeed Died!

He was in Joseph Arimathea’s borrowed tomb!

He Has Risen, As He Said

Matthew 28:6 ESV

6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

Jesus Will Resurrect Our Dead Bodies!

Romans 8:10 ESV

10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Romans 8:11 ESV

11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Blessed be the God & Father of our LORD Jesus Christ!

1 Peter 1:3–5 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.