Easter Sunday 2011
Matthew 28: 1-10
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 worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
In case you’ve missed it, the world is coming to an end. Apparently, it is very soon.
According to what we read on the sides of New Jersey Transit buses, the world is ending on May 11, 2011. Cars have bumper stickers touting this newfound date of destruction.
Last week I was asked to drive some friends to LaGuardia at 7:30 in the morning. It had been a while since I had driven into the city at that time of the morning, and I forgot just how difficult navigating routes 4 and 95 can be. I was running low on time and high on anxiety; the car in front of me changed lanes back and forth numerous times; first in front of me, and then slightly over, and then back in front and then straddling two lanes, only to end up blocking two EZPass lanes. To make matters worse, there it was in full view on the bumper:
”Jesus is coming, soon.”
I said out loud, “Not if he’s riding with you!”
Every generation hears the words that the world is ending on a specific date and time. But it seldom seems that the world is coming to an end when things are good. In times like these, economic instability, war, violence, there seems to be an increase. During the Civil War, and the two World Wars there were stern warnings of the endtimes.
Anxiety is obviously the catalyst for such predictions. The Mayan calendar is scheduled to run out in 2012. However, their calendar is written on a wheel in a circle, and I remember from when I took geometry, circles don’t end. They just keep running around.
The World has come to an end.
The World has come to an end in a way that surprised the followers of Jesus, confounded the religious and political leaders, and set in motion a judgment of God that once and for all time has announced to the world that the presuppositions and old ways of doing things are over.
It is widely known that the Gospels’ accounts vary in their perspective and their theology. Just as the last words of Jesus at the crucifixion scene are different, the Resurrection accounts also differ. But there are two points that all four Gospels agree on:
- What they found was an empty tomb.
- Women were the first people at the tomb.
And this is how the old world came to an end.
- The Empty Tomb
Mark’s gospel ends just at this point; John has angels inside. Matthew has the stone still in front of the tomb, blocking the entrance (or exit, depending on your perspective.) The women are concerned about who will roll the heavy boulder away. It is at this point that a shift in the earth occurs and the tomb is opened. It is widely assumed (wrongly) that Jesus than walks out of the tomb in front of everyone like Ed McMahon had announced “Heeeeeeeere’s Jesus!” Jesus could have used a theme song.
If I was Jesus and had just come out of the tomb, the first thing I would have done would be to march myself over to Pontius Pilate’s house for a little chat (as we say in the south, a “Come to Jesus” meeting). This does not happen…
Even more so, Peter and the rest of the disciples would not get off so easy; Peter, remember how he lied and denied Jesus?
Does Jesus stride out of the tomb and demand an apology?
Does he condemn Peter for running and hiding?
Do James and John and Andrew and the rest get the once-over for falling asleep when Jesus asked them to stay with him and keep him company in the last dreadful hours?
Do they appear and say, “You know, Lord, we had a little bit too much Passover wine and just couldn’t stay awake. We are so sorry”?
No. The world of revenge is ended.
The world of condemnation is DONE.
The age of payback is GONE.
- The Women at the Tomb
It must be understood that first-century women had no legal rights. They could not be called as witnesses in court. They were unreliable. They could not be trusted to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. These were the people that Jesus showed himself to. He didn’t march into the Praetorium or the Temple, didn’t get his face on the front page of the Jerusalem Times. He chose to reveal himself to those that everyone else would have rejected.
In doing this, Jesus declared the world of inequality, of misogyny, of racism, of homophobia, of class-ism is not tolerated by God. The Resurrection signals once and for all that the world as we know it has come to an end.
The story of Easter is Jesus finding us as we continue to return to the graveyards and tombs of our past. Jesus saves us from the sepulchers and deathtraps of the false gods greed and power and money.
The story of Easter is the story of the world coming to an end.
The world of fear, the world where death reigns is dead.
The new world is a world where God walks with us, talks with us, watches over us, even when we fear, even when we stray, even when the dead old world tries to pull us back.
That old world is dead. Jesus is alive!
The Rev. Gary C. LeCroy, Pastor, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Teaneck