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“Getting Ready to Make an Old
Story New” |
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“Do not be alarmed; you are looking for
Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.”
(Mark 16:6) “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.” (Matthew 28:5-6) “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” (Luke 24:5) “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher).” (John 20:15-16) Who are you looking for? Why are you here? Did you come to hear the Easter story again? Matthew, Mark, Luke or John: we retell one version or another of the resurrection story every year, and quite frankly, this morning, it is the same old story. The tomb is empty. He has risen as he said. Is that enough to be said on this Easter morning? Do those words mean anything to those who have never heard the story before – or have heard the story so many times that it’s just old news? When our son, Stephen, was little, one of his favorite bedtime stories was “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” He requested that same story nightly for weeks at a time. When we would go to visit my parents, or my parents came to see us, the request was always the same. He wanted Granddad to do the bedtime story – and it was always “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” My dad told the story with a number of embellishments that changed every time he told it. The bonus “add-ons” made it more fun to hear – but – at its heart – no matter how my dad told it – it was the same old story. This morning, I guess I could embellish the story of Jesus’ resurrection a little or a lot, but no matter how I tell it, it’s the same old story: The tomb is empty. He has risen as he said. Our lectionary reading today is another biblical version of the story of Jesus’ resurrection. In the early days of Christianity, Simon Peter had a vision that eventually led him to visit the house of a Roman centurion named Cornelius. While he was there he told Cornelius’ household about Jesus. Luke (the writer of both Luke and Acts) wrote this account of Peter’s sermon. It is “the most complete statement of the Christian message about Jesus to be found in the Acts speeches.” (M. Eugene Boring and Fred B. Craddock, The People’s New Testament Commentary, 2004, p.403) Luke said that Peter said this: Jesus was sent to the people of Israel preaching a message of peace. Jesus, the Galilean from Nazareth, was baptized by John. God then anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power. After his anointing, Jesus went about doing good acts and healing people. Jesus was put to death “by hanging him on a tree” (a euphemism for crucifixion). On the third day after Jesus’ death, God raised him from the dead. There are those, including Peter himself, who saw Jesus after the resurrection – and even ate and drank with him. Jesus then commanded the witnesses to tell others who he is, and that “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:36-43) It’s same old story – right? The only difference in this reading from Acts is the audience. Peter is preaching to Cornelius’ household. For the first time, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus was preaching to non-Jews (Gentiles). It’s the same old story but a new audience: The tomb is empty. He has risen as he said! On this day, of all days, we need to ask ourselves some questions. First: is resurrection “good news?” Secondly: what is the meaning of it for us? And third: do we need to tell this ancient story in a new way? Is the resurrection “good news?” Is your present life so filled with suffering that you can hardly endure it? Would you like some reassurance that your suffering fulfills a purpose? We celebrate Easter because Jesus, in spite of arrest, mockery, torture, and an excruciating death, received the ultimate healing of new life. In the early church, when people were imprisoned, tortured, and even martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ, resurrection was good news. When American slaves of the 18th and 19th centuries heard the passion and resurrection stories of Jesus, it gave a context to their own suffering at the hands of their owners, and they embraced Christianity because the resurrection was “good news.” Are you afraid of death? We celebrate Easter because death was not the end of Jesus’ story. Because God, through the resurrection of Jesus, conquered death, the story invites Christians to take risks, to lay down their lives to save another, and to courageously face fatal diseases. We believe – we know – that death is not the end of life, but only a physical ending and a spiritual transformation bringing us into the embrace of God. For us, resurrection is good news. For these reasons, this old story is still an important one for the world to hear. Are any of the meanings of resurrection relevant to your life? Only you can answer that question. Is the resurrection of Jesus a reassurance for you that no matter how bad things get in your current life, someday, the suffering will be over and better things are to come? Is the resurrection of Jesus a model for you to follow, knowing that God has the final say in all things – even in death – and what comes after death? Even if resurrection has meaning for you and for me, is it relevant to a culture that does not think that a crucified Nazarene rose from the dead – that it is a myth that comes from “long-dead Biblical authors” who lived “in a corner of a long-dead empire?” (Jon Meacham, “Is God Real?” Newsweek, April 9, 2007, P.56) To believe that a carpenter from the backwater village of Nazareth challenged the oppressive political and religious systems of his time and was executed as a revolutionary by the Roman governor isn’t hard at all. That’s logical. To believe that, three days later, his tomb was empty is less logical, but not quite astounding because there are various rational explanations for its vacancy. But – to ask someone to believe that the tomb was empty because Jesus had risen as he said asks us to suspend all reason. It cannot be proved that what the gospels say happened really did. To proclaim the resurrection of Jesus asks us to simply believe. For Christians, the resurrection of Jesus is a divine endorsement that what Jesus taught was – and is – true. Let’s be clear: the climax of the Christian gospel is Jesus’ resurrection (not his death – or even how he died). If only Jesus’ embarrassing death by crucifixion had happened, and there had been no resurrection, that would have been the end of what the world saw as a three-year old Jewish reform movement. There would be no Christianity. So – what about the rest of the world? How do we tell the ancient story to someone who is not a Christian? What is your version of the Easter story? Can you distill it into a few sentences so that you can tell it to others? I’ve struggled with this question all week long. What I have come up with is this: “The tomb is empty. Jesus has risen as he said.” That’s it. Two short sentences. It is an ancient story, but I am convinced that this statement says it all. It’s the old story – and it is also the new one – because truth – spiritual truth never ages: the tomb is empty. Jesus has risen as he said. Will you say the words with me? “The tomb is empty. Jesus has risen as he said!” You can tell that story to someone, can’t you? Let us pray. God, could it really be that simple? Could this really be your response to the evil that men did in the execution of your Son? Teach us to take this old story, and proclaim the words with our voices and our actions. In Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen. |