The Freedom to Move Forward

Luke 24:1-12, NRSVue

1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5 The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.” 8 Then they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

Intro

This morning, we kick off our new worship series, The Cup of Freedom. Throughout the Easter Season, we will explore the ways in which the resurrection of our Lord calls us to respond by moving into a culture of freedom as we are liberated by the cross.. In this culture of freedom, we are empowered to live as Christ calls us to live. Throughout the season of Lent, we entered the passion of Jesus as we slowed down and examined each day of Holy Week one week at a time. Each week, we asked ourselves, “What will you risk for the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ?” As we approached the end of our Lenten journey, we also asked ourselves, “What are we holding back from Jesus?” What area of our lives do we need to give over to our Savior? In Easter, we are freed to step into Christ’s resurrection and live as resurrection people. Throughout the season of Easter, we will dive deeper into the ways in which we accept the freedom and power God gives us to live as Easter people.

While we sit here this morning in the comfort of our church sanctuary, with lights, air-conditioning, sound systems, musical instruments, wearing our “Easter best,” the drama unfolding within our gospel lesson this morning seems like just another story, and this morning, we reach the climax of the story! Christ is Risen! Our ordered worship, well-rehearsed liturgical routines, our professions of “Christ has Risen, He has Risen Indeed! Alleluia!” move us into a story that seems all too familiar. But, at the end of this service, we leave our pews unchanged by the Gospel’s message because we’ve heard it a thousand times before. Sure, we might get a little emotional…after all, a good story can play on one’s emotions, and we might be awed by the sanctuary's beauty. Yet, we are untransformed, we are awed, but we are not moved to faith. I have to wonder if this lack of transformation is because, in the moment, our lives are “put together.” Many of us have food waiting at home, family is in town, and all seems to be going well.” At this moment, we do not really feel the need for the hope of the resurrection.

The disciples, women, and all who are gathered in the upper room that first Easter morning are in a different space than we are. Those found within the gospel narrative do not have their lives together; they are grieving, scared, hurt, and longing desperately for hope; they certainly aren’t sitting in comfort. In fact, our gospel lesson begins with women who, in their love for Jesus, get up early in the morning with spices that had been prepared in order to give their loved one a proper burial. In their dedication, the women set out towards the tomb knowing there would be challenges to their task of anointing Jesus’ body.  They knew a stone covered the tomb's entrance, which was too large for them to move on their own. Interestingly, in Mark’s Gospel, the women even raise this question among one another …“who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” They knew that this obstacle stood in the way of their final act of respect and adoration to Jesus, and yet they continued to head towards the tomb anyway. Their lives are so scattered and routines are so disrupted that they have no plans; they’re doing all they can to just make it by. 

 Yet, this willingness to act, to do something, to go towards the tomb without a game plan ought to cause us to pause for a moment and ask ourselves some questions. How often have we failed to initiate or start things that our heart tells us to do, when our “heads” step in and remind us of all the obstacles that stand in the way of accomplishing the task that God has set before us? How often have we taken a step forward and two steps backwards? How often do we have a vision for ministries and things that can be and are possible when we rely on God, only to see all the things before us that stand in the way, the obstacles? The women in our gospel lesson had the faith to act even without having all the answers as they head to the tomb of their beloved lord. 

When they arrive at the tomb, they see that the stone has been rolled away. As they enter, they are perplexed to find it empty. While they are standing in the empty tomb, two men appear. The women are terrified, and look down as the men, dazzled in white, proclaim, almost scoldingly, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen.” So often, our temptation is to stop here at the quote. We think that these two men, these two angels, tell the women that Jesus is risen, and then the women run back to where the disciples are staying and tell the men a great story. 

In this moment of temptation, we must remember that the Bible is poetic. Our calling as those who sit comfortably in our pews is to learn something from those whose lives aren’t together. It’s to learn something from those who need some kind of hope, those who need the stone rolled away, and to hear that Christ has claimed victory over the Powers that perpetrate violence and injustice. If we do not pause and take in the whole story, if we fall into that temptation to stop listening, the temptation to hear this only as the climax of just another story, then we miss something important in the text. 

After the two men proclaim that Christ has risen, they say something else. “Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.” The two angles remind the women of the story. Don’t you remember what Jesus said? Jesus said that this was going to happen. Now it happened. As they process what the angels say, they draw on the memory of Christ's life and teaching. They remember and are moved to run back to the disciples and faithfully proclaim to them that Christ has, in fact, risen from the dead.  When reminded of the story, the women are freed and empowered to move forward and proclaim the gospel message, the resurrection message.

So, the women go and run to the disciples. They proclaim the resurrection story to the disciples and to the rest of Jesus’ followers. Most of the disciples and followers did not believe. As Luke says, “But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” The good news is met with cynicism, the church begins in toxic worry, where one reverts back to their “muscle” memory…and that memory is one that follows the whim of the culture to be dismissive of women and thus dismissive of the Good news. 

So often, we lump Peter in with this group. We think that Peter doesn’t believe either. Yet notice what the NRSVue does in this text. “But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. BUT Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.” But! This simple contraction shows us that Peter at least thought something was going on. He believed enough that he went to the tomb to look for himself. He saw the empty tomb. He saw the linen cloths. He was amazed at what happened, but he went home. 

God uses the women at the tomb to show us that God is committed and works outside the bounds of those things which are socially acceptable. God values all and welcomes all people who hear, respond, and remember the Gospel story to be leaders in the church. What is the difference between Peter, the disciples/followers, and the women at the tomb? The women are the first to preach and proclaim the resurrection. They hear the story, remember Christ’s words, and are moved to kingdom-building action. The disciples/followers forget the story, dismiss the proclamation, and stay put. Peter hears the proclamation, goes and sees for himself, and is amazed at the work of God, but does not remember the story; he is not quite yet moved to action. 

You see, these different characters in the gospel lesson, the women, the disciples, and Peter, embody the different responses that the Church of Jesus Christ has to the Easter proclamation. We have folks who have been here for a while and know the story well. They hear the story proclaimed again and are moved to action. Some aren’t so sure. They need to know more. Others are curious and willing to come and see. Maybe they are amazed, but they need a little more clarity. Our call is not to dismiss any of them. We know that in the post-resurrection narratives, all these groups, with their different reactions, are moved to faith and action. It just takes time.  

As we sit here on Easter Sunday, may we be reminded of this story. The story of Jesus Christ, his crucifixion, and resurrection is told to us again and again so that we might commit it into our muscle memory. The resurrection story gives us the power and freedom to move forward. In moments of doubt and uncertainty, the story of Jesus reminds us that we are not alone. In moments of loss and death, we are reminded in the story of Jesus’ resurrection that death has been defeated. When we look around the sanctuary and see fewer people than we would like, the story of Jesus’ resurrection reminds us that we are still called to go and proclaim this story to the world, to tell the world that Jesus Christ is risen. When we encounter people who aren’t so sure after they hear the story, this story of Jesus’ resurrection reminds us to be humble, to keep loving them, and to keep telling the story. For this is the exact reason we slowed down this Lenten season. We slowed down to hear the story again, reminding ourselves of Jesus’ passion and what this story means for us and the world. Now, as we hear the rest of the story, we have the freedom to move forward into the resurrection.

Beloved Church, may we go beyond just hearing the story of Christ as just another story; may we instead let this story be internalized and embodied. Might we call to mind all the times in which God has shown up. May it remind us of all the times the church has shown up in our time of need. May we remember the spaces of pain where God moved among us. May we commit it to memory so that in those moments when we are just going through the motions, when in our grief, we are living minute by minute, those moments when our lives aren’t together, we might remember the power of God and be transformed. We come here week after week to hear the story, to be reminded, to be called from doubt into belief, and to embody that belief, as we gather to fellowship with God and those saints who gather. Sure, all of us are in different spaces in that journey, but our prayer is that we might experience new beginnings and seek the power of the Holy Spirit to move us from bystanders to witnesses of God’s great love. 

In just a few minutes, we will turn to the table. At Christ’s table, we will do the same things the disciples did on that early Easter Morning. We will hear the story, we will remember Christ’s words. We will encounter the risen Lord. The question becomes, how do we respond to this encounter with the risen Lord? Will we believe, come to the table, and go out into the world doing God’s work? Will we linger at the table, amazed at God’s work? Or will we see the table as just another “climax of a story…leaving us untransformed? Our call is to come, taste, and see that the Lord is good, remember the story, and be strengthened and empowered for our work in the world. We are, after all, the body of Christ in the world. 

In the prayer after receiving, we will pray, “Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us.” This is our reminder of the story. We have heard the story, we have recognized Christ’s words, and we name it in that moment. Then we continue, “Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” Recognizing the story, like the women at the tomb, we respond to all God has done by sharing the story with others.

You see, Easter isn’t just a Sunday when we all gather together with extended family. It isn’t the same story we have heard over and over again. Easter reminds us that we are a part of God’s ongoing story in the world. The story doesn’t end at the end of the Gospels. The story doesn’t end with the book of Acts. The story doesn’t end with Paul’s churches or even with Revelation. God’s story is ongoing and unfolding all around us. Resurrection happens over and over again. The Freedom to move forward is a freedom to move into God’s ongoing story. It is the space where, like the women at the tomb, we are called to remember. Our remembrance bears in mind all the spaces where God has shown up and in our lives, it reminds us that in life and in death, we belong to God. This realization is an act of freedom, a call that beckons us to participate in God's kingdom-building work, freely doing God's work in the world. It calls us into action as we share the goodness of God’s love with those around us. As we continue this Easter journey together, we will continue participating in the Easter Story. We will continue to embrace God’s ongoing story in the world around us and work to free ourselves and others to come along on the journey, too. It begins by stretching our muscle memory…so that when we aren’t expecting the resurrection, we might connect that resurrection hope with our present reality and in that hope we’ll find the freedom and power to keep on going, to keep on proclaiming, to keep on loving, to keep on moving forward.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.