Preached at Baldwin Presbyterian Church, Easter Sunday 2010
On this Easter Day I would like to think about Luke's account of the Resurrection.
"They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
but when they went in, they did not find the body.
While they were perplexed about this,
suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them".
(Luke 24: 2-4)
I wonder if any of you enjoy a good mystery story? a "Whodunit?" Or even a game of Cleudo? I have a mystery for you. It happened one Sunday morning.
A man went to bed on Saturday night, set his alarm to go off at the normal time and went to sleep. Sunday morning BRINNNGGGG, off it went as usual and (as usual), he stretched, he yawned, he dressed, had a bowl of cereal, a piece of toast and a glass of Fresh Orange for breakfast, then wandered down to the corner store to get a Sunday Newspaper.
On the way to the store (Which was the other side of the railway tracks) he watched for the 8:55 train to go past. But the crossing barriers were up and no train was in sight. He wandered across to the corner store and found it was closed. He thought about hammering on the door, but hesitated in case the owner had been taken sick or even died! So home he went, with no paper.
He drove down to church for the service at 10:00 and arrived twenty minutes early. He waited and waited and nobody came. He waited till twenty minutes after ten and then got back into his car, turned on the radio and solved the mystery.
(The solution: It was October and time to put the clocks back an hour. He only realized he had neglected to do so, when the radio announcer gave out the time.)
Have you ever been in a situation where things just didn't add up? When it's almost like, everyone else knew a secret, but nobody told you? It was a bit like that for the women on the first Easter morning. They had seen Jesus cruelly murdered and went to His tomb, hoping in some way to persuade the soldiers to move the great big stone that blocked the entrance, so that they could prepare the body with spices, as was the custom in those times.
When they get there - no soldiers - and the stone had moved.
This wasn't the way things were meant to be. Luke tells us "They found the stone rolled away from the entrance." It was a big stone. Bigger and much heavier than, let's say our communion table.
Now imagine if last night we had locked the doors, prepared the church for this morning’s service and then come back this morning and found the table had been moved into the narthex. Where’s the bread and wine? Who would do something like that? What does it mean?
You'd walk in here, look around, walk out again, scratch your head, hum and hurr and be totally puzzled. It's always a mystery when things get moved or go missing. Luke tells us of the women who discovered the stone rolled away, "They went in; but they couldn't find the body of Jesus".
Many moons ago I was playing in a band, and before we could play anywhere we had to set up all our gear. Amplifiers, P.A. system, Drums, all that stuff. It was messy work getting it out of the van. So I used to carry around an old sweater that it didn't matter much if it got messed. This sweater was one of those hand me down things. My sister (Who is 8 years older than me) had it first, then it got passed to my brother, and eventually, years down the line, it came to me.
After one concert we were putting all the equipment away and loading it up, but there was one thing missing. Was it my flashy guitar? The drummers expensive new 'Paiste' Cymbal? A microphone? No....my mangy old sweater! We looked high and low for it and could only reach the conclusion that some one had taken a shine to it and decided to add it to their wardrobe.
You can understand somebody stealing something of value, but it would be strange for some one to steal some thing that would be of little use.
Like a dead body for instance.
The woman on the first Easter Sunday looked around the tomb, but they couldn't find the dead body. You can imagine them, going in, looking around, going out, "Are you sure this is the place?" Luke records, "They stood there puzzled about this".
Puzzled they would be. Matthew tells us that it was because the authorities were worried about something like this happening that the tomb was being guarded by soldiers. And the women knew the disciples hadn't stolen the body, because they were all back home, hiding up together, afraid to go out unless the same fate awaited them as had befallen Jesus.
Remember our little mystery at the beginning? How it was only when the man switched on the radio he found out that time had changed?
At the first Easter, the women found out that the ‘times they were a changing’ when they were confronted by messengers of God who told them Jesus had been raised. "Why are you looking amongst the dead for one who is alive? He is not here. He has been raised! Remember… what He said to you... The Son of Man must be crucified and three days later rise to life"
And the women DID remember! And everything started to make sense again. What a glorious moment in time that was. At the moment in time the message grasped them and for the rest of their lives they would tell all who would listen:
“Christ is Risen; He is Risen indeed!”
Around fourteen years ago, not long before we departed from the shores of Great Britain to move to the United States, Yvonne's family threw a party for Yvonne's now passed into glory mother. They got all the relatives from all over to come to a particular hotel, and Yvonne’s mum knew nothing about it. Well, when she walked into that room, saw a few faces she recognized, then a few more and then everybody, well her face was a picture of joy! Something we’ll always treasure and remember. A truly delightful, joyful, moment.
On British television they used to have a Television show called "Surprise, Surprise". It should of won a prize for some of the worst lyrics of a theme song I've ever come across, having a line that went:-
"Surprise, Surprise,
The unexpected hits you -
between the eyes"
The program was all about reuniting people, making their dreams come true and it was very much one of those programs you needed a box of tissues nearby, because invariably it brought a lump to your throat.. full of moments of… well… surprise.
But nothing can compare with the joy that Easter declares. The joy that greeted the women as the realization of the resurrection gripped their hearts. The realization of all that the resurrection represents;
- That love can conquer hate,
- That life can overcome death,
- That light can triumph over darkness.
life is never and can never be the same again!
Of course there will always be those, who like the first disciples at first did, dismiss the whole thing as nonsense. There will be others, who, though amazed, will struggle with their doubts before they let that joy get a grip of them.
For ourselves, let us allow the message of new-life to transform our lives - at this moment in time - in this place. As we gather around a table laid with bread and wine that represent the sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ let us recognize that this is a table bathed in resurrection light, that this is a feast to remember… not a dead hero…. but a living savior, not a tragic defeat but a glorious new beginning! Let us pray that resurrection joy will grip our hearts today!
“Christ is Risen - He is risen indeed”
AMEN!
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