|
First
Reading
|
Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
| Isaiah
65:17-25
|
|
Acts 10:34-43 |
Luke 24:1–12 |
Terror! Disbelief! Surprise! Amazement! These are really the first four words of Easter. Absolutely nothing happened as expected. Pilate and Herod thought that Jesus was done for. Their edict of execution was supposed to be the final word. Their overwhelming power was to have completely smothered all truth of the Gospel.
The disciples thought that they too had been beaten into the ground. While they would always remember the lessons of Jesus’ teaching and try to live by them, the cross seemed to have bled the life out of the Gospel. The disciples set out to the cemetery to offer their beloved rabbi the only gift they could give him now — a decent and respectful burial. Then they would go their separate ways, returning to their villages around the Sea of Galilee, and try to heal their wounds of disillusionment and despair.
But Easter confounded them all. To the authorities it involved exasperated denials, like attempting to put out a raging brush fire with a home fire extinguisher. Attempts to subjugate the news of Easter still persist, but people of faith know that such attempts will ultimately fail despite all the brutal coercion and subtle deception that may be brought to bear.
To the disciples Easter became like the discovery of a new land, or a dramatic opening of a passage into another world. Traditional boundaries no longer apply. The unjust oppressive power of the world is overthrown. Its claim as the absolute arbitrator of truth is exposed as a fraud. The social gravity and control of the world becomes suspended by resurrection power. The worldly course of human history is not like an inevitable flow over Niagara Falls. The living Christ reveals over and over again the potential to profoundly change courses. Even death will not defeat the Gospel.
The resurrection opened such a wide door of hope that the writers of the Gospel accounts did not know how to end the story, for whenever they seemed to have come near to a conclusion, a period was replaced with a semicolon. Wait, there’s more, much, much more, the Gospel writers hasten to add.
Terror, disbelief, surprise, and amazement: they are difficult words for disciples of any age to live with. The resurrection affirms that in Christ, our story up to now is never the whole story. Easter won’t end tonight, or next week, or next decade. This morning we proclaim that Easter begins, and God will be calling, leading, sustaining us on to something greater. With God, possibilities are never exhausted. The resurrection is about new transformation, not resuscitation of the decaying dead.
I would like to leave you with a picture of a panoramic view of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. Imagine you are suspended in the sky and looking down about a mile above the summit. You can see both Crawford and Pinkham Notch and the major ravines on both sides of the mountain. The ridge trails to Mt. Clay, Jefferson, and Adams are clearly visible. It is a sunny summer day and dozens of groups are hiking up the mountain. They are taking various trails, on both sides of the mountain, trails of varying difficulty. Some have made it to the headwall; others are below the tree line and have stopped to pick some blueberries. Some carrying heavy packs have come over the trails that led across the other peaks in the Presidential chain. Half way up, a few, perhaps the tenor section of a church choir, have climbed aboard the Cogwheel railroad as it chugs its way up. All the groups of hikers go at different speeds, varying directions and routes and will not arrive all at the same time. Nonetheless they are all ascending and will get to the summit.
Easter gives us precisely such a view. It cuts through the clouds and fog. It expands our horizons and let us see the big picture the world can never comprehend on its own and usually fears to admit. Easter reveals that we are connected, that whether we live or die in this world, we are the Lord’s.
We are all at so different places in our life’s journey on this particular day. Being here like this together is truly a moment of grace. It won’t happen exactly like this ever again. Yet leave here knowing that in Christ, our trails are all connected and lead to the summit. Jesus won’t lose track of us. Jesus believes our humanity is worth it. Remember the first words of Easter: terror, disbelief, surprise, amazement: for they all lead us to the last words of Easter: Alleluia, Christ is risen.
And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
