An Idle Tale

This morning, our Passage. Is a very familiar Passage. In fact, it's a passage. We read each year at Easter. It's the resurrection passage. And so though it is that familiar. We're going to look at it again because through this summer, we've been looking at those minor characters in the New Testament. Those lesser-known individuals. Not the major league characters, Peter and Paul James, and John maybe Timothy in there as well. But rather those names that we read over quickly those names, we may struggle, even to pronounce those supporting characters that we quickly forget. And yet, they have so much to teach us about our own faith Journey, so much to give. And so, we've been looking upon them and learning and we're going to do so again, by looking at a familiar passage the passage of the Resurrection. Now, You allow me just one other thought before we read. And that is, if you've been paying attention.

You may have noticed that our characters, our minor characters, have largely been lopsided in the gender category. That we've been talking about all men. Well, with one exception, we can say that when we talked about Aquila and Priscilla that husband-wife team and really, maybe we should say, wife husband team of Priscilla and Aquila cuz that's the way they're listed four out of the six times in the New Testament. We could check the box and say we talked about a woman we've done that. But there's probably at least 50% of us here, who know that well, we've been kind of light in the area of women and that's not to say that women have not had an enormously important place in the scriptures. They have. I mean, just last week we mentioned ever so briefly Lydia the dealer in purple cloth, who was in Philippi who helped Paul start the church in Philippi. Consistory our leadership body in the church met this past week and our own devotions concerned, Tabitha also known as Dorcas depending on whether you want to know her Hebrew or Greek name and we discussed her ministry as well. So, who are we going to discuss today? But none other than the women who were their first at the tomb. So join with me won't you in hearing God's word in Luke chapter 24. Let's ask that the spirit would open his word Lord. You are gracious and good to us.

You overwhelm us with your love. And yet. Oh Lord. We have a tendency to race on in life. Be concerned about the next event. The next task that needs to be completed. Such that our minds and our hearts race foreword, and we forget what you are all about, the gift that you've given us, the tremendous love, in which we now live.

And so, we pray.

Pray that your Spirit

Would open your Word. Open your word to us. That we might hear anew

We pray this Jesus, in your precious name. Amen.

Luke chapter 24. The first 12 verses. But on the first day of the week. At early Dawn. They went to the tomb. Taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. But when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this behold, two men, stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them. Why do you seek the living among the Dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee that the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful, man, and be crucified and on the third day, rise.

And they remembered his words and returning from the tomb. They told all these things to the 11 and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, And Mary the mother of James and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.

But, these words seemed to them. An idle Tale. And they did not believe them.

But Peter Rose and ran to the tomb stooping and looking in, he saw the linen clothes by themselves, and he went home marveling at what had happened. This. Is the word of the Lord? Thanks be to God.

Now. The first thing I'd invite you to observe is that our passage begins with this, but on the first day of the week at early Dawn, they went to the tomb. They. The description begins with this, generic, they, not even the women. And I want you to know that that's not Luke's intention. That this is a problem with what developed centuries later and when chapter and verse were applied to the scriptures. Centuries later, chapter and verse were applied to make it easier for all of us to find the same location when we're talking about some part of Holy Scripture. This practice happens with a number of Major Works. If you read Shakespeare, you'll find that all the lines of Shakespeare are numbered. So that Scholars and others and students can refer to the proper place and everyone can be at the same location.

It serves us well, often. Except for times such as this where Luke, who really began this passage a few versus earlier. is broken up in such a manner that when we read on a Sunday morning on Easter, we hear they

rather than what Luke gave us descriptor wise. A few verses earlier in which he said.

Well, I don't have it in front of me, but I'm going to paraphrase it in which he said that the women. The women. Stayed with Jesus the whole time. They went, to watch where the body was laid and what tomb? They even looked in and saw, where in the Tomb, the body was laid. In other words, the women were the ones who stayed through the full event.

Didn't depart, they didn't run off, they stay the whole time.

And they stayed to the last and most bitter moment. The finality.

They stayed for an act of love. How to best care and cherish and take care of one who'd been so dear to them. They invested everything. And Luke is purposeful in sharing this. Not just to emphasize The Human Side of how great and wonderful and caring these women were. But also to emphasize the point that they knew exactly. Precisely. Where Jesus body was laid. There was no mistake to be made that perhaps we're at the wrong tomb, have you ever gone and driven using Google, or MapQuest, or maybe even your GPS and you finally get to the location. And it tells you the store is there and you're looking at a cornfield.

We're often dependent on other people to tell us where, no, they were there. Not only did they know the tomb. They knew where in the Tomb, his body had been laid. Luke wants everyone who is hearing and reading his gospel to understand that they are the identifiers. They know where the body has been laid.

And after seeing the body laid, after bringing sure of where the body is. They then raced home. Because the Sabbath day was almost upon them and the Sabbath day was a day and their culture where they could do. No work. There was not enough time to do all the preparation that need to be done and come back and prepare the body. There was not enough time. However, They could go home and have just enough time to prepare all the proper spices. You know what this is like. When you stay up late the night before and try to get all those last-minute details, so you're ready to run out the next day. I was with someone recently who has a little side business in which they go to shows on the weekend and sell their soap, their goat soap. And so the day before, the house was all a bustle with multiple bread-making machines, help me make this soap, the counters were full with six or seven bread making machines. And then, when I just before, I toddled off to bed, I saw in the living room, stacks and crates and everything ready for the next day. So that the next day, it could all just be thrown in the minivan and off to the show. The women in full grief. In every manner of suffering, seen it to the very end. Had now gone home and made preparations with a spices.

This is what Luke tells us before what we read today. so, Early on the first day. The Sabbath day now passed. Their first task is to get out and get to that tomb and prepare the body. Only when they get there, they discover the stone rolled away and that the body is not there. They know the tomb, they know the location in the Tomb and the body is not there.

On Easter this is where we get all excited, right? We all know what it's like for something, not to be where it is supposed to be. We all know what it's like to come back to a community decades later and find things changed. Maybe the place where you grew up. Maybe you've gone back and found things to be different.

Maybe your childhood home is no longer there. I know that's the case for me. I actually as a baby lived here on Lafayette. Ask my parents to show me the house. It's not there.

I feel like a part of me has been wiped away. Imagine how people feel who haven't been here for a decade or two who drive back here and suddenly find a Costco on the corner. We're it used to be trees.

You find yourself kind of trying to reorient. Wait a minute. Where it? Where is it? Am I in the right place? Did we take a wrong turn? Do I have? No, this is got to be all done that. And they are no different. They know the tomb, they know the place Luke is emphasizing this point to us and they are in this point of trying to make sense of that moment. The wheels are beginning to turn that the stone has been rolled away. And in the process of trying to bring and make sense. We find a miraculous moment in that two men who were dazzling. Pure before them.

2, angels.

and they say, He's not here. He's risen. Just like we say on Easter Christ is Risen.

You did it. But I think you can do it better. Let that little child in you come out Christ is risen.

Oh there some of you who are still sitting there saying I'm not going to do it. I don't follow directions like that. That's okay. I'm not going to burden you.

but,

Each and every Sunday is a mini Easter, worship used to take place on Saturday. It takes place on Sunday now because the early, Christians decide they would gather once a week to honor. And remember what had happened on Easter. So every Sunday is a mini Easter, so there's a part in which, you know, I always question the Christmas in July. But there's a part, which is totally appropriate to read this passage every Sunday cuz it's Easter again. He's risen. He's risen, indeed.

And there they are taking in that message. And I want you to think about this. This is so powerful and we really stop and take a moment and take this in. We need to realize. That all of Heaven. Who's been watching the work of God throughout the generations, working with a Humanity, that's turned its back on God, that turns back and kind of runs away runs this way and watch it. And you can see Heaven almost like a a watch, a ping pong match or a tennis match, going back and forth between what God will do and what the people will do, between God, do and what the people do, wondering, what's going to happen. When will this break forth? And then they get to see, they get to see in the same way that the narrator sometimes reveals to us ahead of time in the story or the way in which we're watching a movie. We kind of know something that the main character doesn't know the all of heaven knows what God now is doing with his son, Jesus Christ that they have that God has raised his son from the dead. All of Heaven is sitting there holding its breath waiting for the moment when when will all of humanity know what God has just done, they're waiting there. The celebration is about ready to burst forth. You can just see it every eye. Every heart everything focused on this moment, Who and how will God reveal this and what does God do?

God Reveals His glorious, most glorious action in all of creation.

To the women. Who come to the tomb.

You can imagine those two angels who've been given the assignment, just sitting there ready to burst forth to them.

To them. They get to deliver the news. We see this again. And again, in Scripture, that God is about the outcast, the one on the margins, those who are on the outside of society. We know that Jesus' very birth, was proclaimed to the Shepherds. Those out, keeping watch over the Sheep. Those who kind of were on the margins in society and now we go a level lower cuz women did not have status.

Didn't have status.

I know some of you are thinking We still don't have status today.

God Reveals His glory. To these women.

So that all the world might know. All of heaven burst forth into these women who are gathered there. Is it amazing moment. Absolutely astounding. And what I want you now to see. Is what these women do with, what they've been told.

This is why we're reading. This passage is why we cannot take away from God's glory. We cannot take away from God's greatest gift in Jesus Christ that he's been raised from the dead. The hope that we have for all eternity. We're not taking away from any of that. But we're reminding ourselves that God's message of divine and gracious love is consistent with whom he delivers it. That His love is for all people and he shows up by delivering to those who are considered on the outside and have no status in humanity.

So, what do they do?

Well it's really interesting.

We're reading from the Gospel of Luke. There are four gospels that record this event, each of them recorded differently. That creates all sorts of problems for those of us who want to be precise. For those of us who don't want there to be contradiction in the scriptures that makes us uneasy and makes a little uncomfortable with sharing because people can point out the differences and say, well, what do you do about that?

One of the chief differences is the women that are listed at the tomb. Different gospels list. The list differently. Luke lists Mary Magdalene. Mary, the mother of James and Joanna. And some other women. That varies from Mark and Matthew and even John some include the same name, some are slightly different and you know what?

There's a Believer, a detective. Who once was an atheist. And when they explored the Gospels, What are the things you found? That was overwhelming to him, is how much they follow witness accounts? You see in the police world, When you go to interview Witnesses, you get highly suspicious. When everybody's story is exactly the same. When all the witness's story is exactly the same, you get very suspicious because one of two things have happened. One. They've gotten together and conspired to create a story. Or two, they've gotten together and they smooth over unintentionally the rough edges and the differences of their story. The multiple stories have become one story and it's conflated and we lose some of the detail.

And Walter Warren this. Now believing Christian who once was an atheist. This was one of the points. He looked at in the gospels and said, this is amazing. It follows just like witness accounts where there are accounts that very and yet the central item about the resurrection is consistent. And bring that much more veracity truthfulness to the gospel stories. That the early Believers did not work to smooth it out, but left each witness account as they were believing that God was at work. Throughout the centuries. It has not been smoothed over.

So we have these varying names and I challenge you to go forward and look at that. But there's one more account about the women. That is remarkable.

And that is what they do with what they've been told.

In Luke, we read that they go forward and they tell the apostles. In Mark You will read. That they didn't tell anyone because they were afraid.

It gives you their motive. It tells you they're action that they didn't tell anyone because they were full of fear. This is the gospel of Mark. If you go home and read your gospel, Mark, you will find a footnote there. That will add that. Now, there's a section afterwards. That's literally how Mark's gospel closes that they went. They were so afraid. They didn't tell anyone. But if you read your mark, you'll see that there's more after that that there's some of our ancient manuscripts have additional information where they eventually did tell people. And you'll see a footnote, there saying the scholars debate, whether Mark ends with them not telling anyone, or whether that additional material is genuine or not.

Either way, it doesn't matter because all the gospels share that they were afraid.

They were worried. They were scared. And the truth of the matter is they told someone because guess what? You're sitting here.

There's a consistency even in the inconsistency.

And here's where we get to the heart of the matter about these women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, other women, one gospel lists Salome. Each of these women. Here's where we get to the heart of it for all of us.

First. They were willing to tell. They had two major obstacles. The first was willing to tell somebody else when they knew that people would doubt them wouldn't believe them. Just because the story is that outlandish, how many people have you told about someone raising from the dead?

I mean, you're not likely to do that. Why? Because it doesn't happen in our experience. It's not part of our day-to-day life. Those we have grieved Through The Years here. We don't expect to see them back here with us. It's not the way life works. And so we're not eager to run out and talk with others about something that they simply know. That's not the way things work. Think about it. How many of us are willing to admit, we have an as seen on TV product in our home? You might have one but you're not necessarily putting your hands up. When someone comes to me and tells me you've got to get this. This is great. It's one of those As Seen On TV products. There's a thought that comes to my mind.

Maybe you had the same thought. Oh, yeah, if it's so great. How come everyone doesn't have one?

It's got to be wonderful if that'd be great. Yeah, but why doesn't everyone have one? We are full of doubting that which doesn't really work isn't part of reality. And so, there is a part that they have to battle right at the start. And that is they have to go out with a message that God has given them clearly. That they know, people simply won't believe As Christians as followers today, we struggle with the same problem knowing that going outside of those doors and talking to family or friends, neighbors, acquaintances about the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. We know people simply don't want to hear it. And have no interest in becoming a fool like us.

but these women, we're prepared and ready. To be fools.

Which brings us to their second obstacle?

A second obstacle for which the women here? How far greater understanding than the men? And that obstacle is the Obstacle of being dismissed.

Dismissed.

When they told they were told that it was an idle Tale.

Dismissed.

You know, I mentioned earlier. That all consistory our leadership body. As part of its meeting had devotions at the start. And we talked about this woman Tabitha also known as Dorcas. And how she was an enormous.

Gracious. Caring individual for the widows in her Society.

We know of her because she dies and Peter goes is called and brought to her and prays over her and she's raised. That's why we know her name. But as the consistory we took time to look at her and see all that she had done and how much meaning she had to those in her community.

We were amazed. And then we took one final look because there was one last descriptor that we had missed. It was a description. They actually came at the very start of our introduction to Tabitha also known as Dorcas. And it was a descriptor that she was a disciple.

It is the only time in the all new testament. That the word disciple is used in relationship to a woman. The Greek puts it in the feminine, no longer in the masculine. And it is the only time. That is used in that way. Luke is the one who does that. That's not to say other women weren't disciples. They were. Absolutely, Priscilla was. Lydia was, a whole host of others were unnamed disciples because to be a disciple, is to follow Jesus Christ, but I want to tell you in our consistory meeting in that leadership meeting the women were visibly moved.

On our Zoom call and believe me when you can see people moved on Zoom. You're seeing something.

I was relaying this encounter to my wife Suzanne. and as I shared this story with her, she held out her arm to me and showed me all the Goosebumps on her arm.

Because our women know what it is to be dismissed.

We all know what it is, like to be dismissed to go to a doctor and tell of an ailment and then here that the tests don't show it. To express something to someone else and because we don't have the proper title or credentials to not be valued.

We all can share in the relationship of what it is to be dismissed. These women it did not matter. The number that there were they did not counter, no matter how great their number, they did not count as a witness. In their day and time.

You had to have a certain number of men to have witness.

And yet our God. Chose purposefully. To Bear witness to the resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ through those who can bear. No witness. But you can't carry all the witness of God's gracious love. And they new. Mary and Mary and Joanna and Salome and the many others that aren't even named. They knew that They carried in the same way that Mary carried the very child of God. They knew. That they carry God's love to all of humanity. And so they could not be silenced.

So, why should we?

Why should we be the ones to be silenced? When God is placed upon each of us, the task that others may know. You see because there's a grandmother out there. Is making sure that her grandchildren Get the, get the church in hopes that our grandchildren will hear the word of God.

There's a mother out there who is worked herself tirelessly and endlessly throughout the long day. And then she kisses our children, goodnight and makes time to pray with them and to share the love of God with them as our last and greatest effort of work to the whole day with her children.

There's an ant out there who watches over each and every one of her nieces and nephews praying for them diligently.

My friends. In the whole witness of scripture. God saw fit to reset our misunderstanding. When others are out there proclaiming that the fall happened because a woman named Eve. She was the first to succumb and she let us down the wrong path. Our God took that misperception. And boldly declared his love to us. To women. Women. First and foremost. To set the path right again.

Does we close out this series of minor characters? May, we remember that they are major. Major. And that because of them, we know this is no idle Tale. To God, be the glory. Let us pray.