4.5.26 Bethel

Easter Morn

Matthew 28:1–10 NRSV

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

It’s Easter Sunday! We see the sun just barely coming up over the horizon, a new day is upon us, and for us, it’s a day of joy and celebration. Kind of like in the gospel of Matthew. A day of joy, celebration, and fear?

Now, each Gospel depicts the first Easter in its own way. For the other three, the resurrection brings confusion, reunion, disbelief, and wonder. For the gospel of Matthew, we see primarily triumph - joy in the unleashed power of God! An angel, blinding in appearance, enters the scene. And the angel does more than just roll the stone away. He makes a chair out of it, mocking its great weight, the empire that rolled it there in the first place, and the finality of death that it represents.

What we see here is that no one and nothing will obstruct what God is doing. Death has been swallowed up in victory!

Hmmm… that sounds like a good sermon. And what a great first sermon to be shared. But who will share it first? The angel addresses Mary and Mary. And they both respond in at least three ways: joy, obedience, and fear. We get the joy, yes. But why fear? Well, fear is precisely how a good biblical character responds to angels and other divine manifestations. Fear is also how we humans respond when we are confronted with a new truth that will change our lives.

But how can one have both fear and joy? Well, think of when fear and joy hold hands: like when we fall in love, when a baby is on the way, when we start a new job, when sickness and death draw near, or when we draw in closer relationship with a friend.

And so, the combined experience of fear and joy propels the two Marys to run and tell the other disciples. Fear, on its own, provides poor motivation for obedience. But joy, properly guided, compels us run to tell the story.

Along the way, the two Marys encounter the risen Jesus, who commands them to do precisely what they are already about to do.

These two Marys, commissioned by Jesus himself, become the first apostles. With great joy, they obey Jesus’ command, bearing witness to the risen Christ.

The resurrection is the ultimately decisive event for human history, not merely something spectacular that happened to Jesus, nor just that a dead body came back to life, or that the tomb was empty on Easter morning. The resurrection is not merely the happy ending of an almost-tragic story of Jesus, a postscript at the end, or Jesus’ final accomplishment.

No, the resurrection is the act of God for Jesus who suffers a truly human death and enters into the realm of death as powerless as any other human being - on behalf of all of us, for you and for me.

The empty tomb is an invitation. Resurrection faith is a faithful call to obedience, worship and action for each of us.

As we go forth, like both Mary’s did that Easter morn, may we live into resurrection faith, and proclaim with great joy, even amidst fear, that Jesus Christ our Lord is risen indeed.

Let us pray: Risen Lord, we give thanks for you and the sacrifice you made. We are in awe of your wonder and might. Thank you for instilling the same Spirit in us that raised your Son and brought Him out of the tomb. May we live into the resurrection life you give us on earth as we trust that we will see you today and the life to come. Amen.