Rejoice and remember

Why do you look for the living among the dead?  Why are you so reluctant to believe?  Don’t you remember what Jesus told you...?

To be fair, a lot has happened in the last three days.  And the gospels are insistent that ‘believing’ was not the strong suit of those who were closest to Jesus.  Oh, the men believed alright.  They believed that Jesus was going to bring back the glory days - out with Rome and up with an independent Israel!  Frankly in those days it would have been easier to believe in resurrection than in the sudden and complete collapse of Roman rule.  But that doesn’t matter now because by Friday, the dream was in tatters.  Jesus body had been sealed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.  

The men, their belief long since gone, hide in fear.  The women, on the other hand…

The women stay - the women mourn - the women rise before the sun and return to the tomb to do what is required.

The women - all of whom had come with Jesus from Galilee, but none of whom expected history to remember them - meet the impossible.  A stone shifted; Jesus body gone.  Typical that even his burial would not go as they had imagined...nothing else had worked ‘according to plan’ in the last several days.

They are met by messengers.  Two dazzling individuals with impossible news - terrifying figures that offer hope and help.  “He is not here, but has risen.  Remember...”

Oh they remember. Long conversations about the way the world is and Jesus offering an alternative vision; the world as God intended described in parable and demonstrated for them by Jesus interaction with everyone they met; his compassion for the outsiders - his challenges to the self-assured.  

They remember hearing Jesus talk about trial and betrayal and death and resurrection - rebuilding temples and all that - at the time it must have seemed like a metaphor for the new social order that they were hoping for - working for - longing for.

There is a miracle in this moment.  Yes, the tomb is empty, and yes, Jesus is risen - released from the prison of death by God's (creative grace).  And that is a miracle because dead is dead and everyone knows it.  But if resurrection is the only miracle here, then we too are guilty of not remembering what Jesus said...

Some of us spend our whole careers searching for the perfect Easter sermon.

It is foolish to imagine that somewhere out there lies the perfect Easter sermon.  I’ve only been searching to produce one for about twenty years and I know the folly of my pursuit.  You see, in some quarters, the ‘perfect Easter sermon’ reaches out to those whose faith is founded on the rhythms of the calendar - Easter to Christmas and back again.  Some imagine that on these holy feasts we of the pulpit brigade have the perfect opportunity to fix what ails the institution - to offer up the lovely logic of faith to all those whose questions have overwhelmed their desire to be part of the communion of saints.  

It’s not possible.  There’s no such thing as the perfect Easter sermon - or ‘convincing’ worship - nor is there a faith community on the planet that serves the needs of the larger community to perfection.  Our challenge is to keep the joy, the wonder, the miracle alive from Sunday to Sunday - twenty four seven 3-6-5.   

The witness of Jesus offers a relentless series of miracles - healings and forgiveness; lives changed against all odds; authority challenged and love expressed for “even the least of these…”  There is no way to ‘explain’ these things to anyone’s satisfaction, but in truth, no explanation is necessary.  Jesus is offering his witness to the reality of God - immortal, invisible, God only wise - He offers no proof except what we can see if we are willing to alter our perspective.  Jesus life, death and resurrection ask us to consider “what if…?”

What if God cared?  What if mercy were limitless?. What if love conquered all?  And in his every action Jesus tries to show us what life would be like in those circumstances.

In this morning’s gospel, the women are met with questions; Why do you seek the living among the dead?  Don’t you remember what he told you…?

Those questions are ours to consider this morning as we stand before an empty tomb.  In a world full of the reality of death - even this morning we are met with the terrible news out of Sir Lanka; worshippers once again murdered in their Holy places - in defiance of that reality, the messengers of God ask us “Don’t you remember what he told you…?  

Our churches are important places, but they threaten to become museums to a time that was and will never be again.  They should instead represent empty tombs - the starting point for lives changed by the reality of God.  The life Jesus modelled and the life God offers is out there, waiting for us.  The Lord whose death on a cross brought us to the brink of despair is not here; he is risen - out and about in a world that is weeping and waiting for mercy, compassion and love.  

The miracle is that our invitation to look and see - to listen and remember - to live into that love - has never been withdrawn.  The tomb is still empty.  God’s messengers still send us out searching.  And Christ will meet us in this miracle.

We will be met here in worship. In bread and wine at the table.  And then, in the street, at the mall, around our dinner tables.  The Easter miracle is waiting for us.  In the world - in the fabric of our lives.  In the pain and fear of our constant human misunderstandings. 
Remember what he said.  Seek the Lord among the living.  Easter is waiting for us all.

Amen