April 9, 2023

Easter Morning (Year A)
April 9, 2023
Steve Keeler

O God, a prophet spoke on your behalf to an exiled people about a day when they would dance in a spirit of joy, while an apostle by the name of Paul gives us good reason to believe that the day to dance has come. Help us to hear what you say to us on this Easter morning as we walk with two women by the name of Mary to see the tomb where Jesus was buried. May we experience their sense of awe and joy as we try to understand the meaning and implications of an empty tomb and a personal encounter with the risen Christ. Amen. +

At first glance, the Bible contains some of the most unusual and mind-boggling narratives that chronicle human history. Time and again, the human response to God’s work in the world is seen in terms of doubt, denial, and spiritual rebellion. In the last few days, Judas Iscariot has left a table in an Upper Room and walked out the door for a few pieces of silver that would rob him of his dignity and self-respect. Juday would never recover from his mistake and embarrassment.

And then there is the strong-willed, impulsive, and flamboyant Peter who always believed he knew everything only to discover so many times his understanding was often shallow and superficial. Following the tragedy of Good Friday, Peter and his colleagues had scattered out of concern for their own safety, hid from public view, and huddled behind closed and locked doors because they were afraid that they would suffer the same fate of their friend Jesus.

The men who were the close friends and followers of Jesus were silent. Between Friday afternoon and sometime late on Sunday, their names are not mentioned in either of the four gospels. All day Saturday and most of the day Sunday, they draw a complete blank in the gospel record of the resurrection. Oddly, they are nowhere to be found.

And this is what is so intriguing and mysterious about the gospel accounts of Jesus. He chose imperfect people to be a part of his tight circle of disciples. He even helped a woman by the name of Mary Magdalene who had endured a troubled spirit of some sort. Emotionally unstable and ostracized by family and friends because of her unexplained difficulties, Jesus healed Mary Magdalene and made room for her among the men, which at the time was a radical thing to do.

Peter may have been the one on whose shoulders Jesus was going to build the church and he may have been looked at and respected as a rock, but sometimes rocks are subject to cracking. They are not always as strong and invincible as they may first appear. And so, it goes. It wasn’t Peter who was walking to the tomb where Jesus was buried, nor was it James and John, the sons of thunder, and it wasn’t Andrew or any of the others. Of all people, it was Mary Magdalene and the “other” Mary, and I believe this whole situation raises a very important question. How does the story of the empty tomb, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the part about Mary Magdalene say to me as a Christian or even a non-Christian?

First, I believe the resurrection faith is available to all people regardless of background, affiliations, or one’s outlook on life. Working with four young people the last two months and preparing them for confirmation, I tried to stress the point repeatedly that the very thing we did NOT want to do in our time together was to learn more ABOUT the person of Jesus.

This is not the purpose of a confirmation and catechism class, or that of a small study or discussion group, or attending and participating in a worship service, or being a part of a youth group. Knowing about Jesus offers no saving grace, no hope, no gift of eternal life. Knowing about Jesus is like driving in one direction down a one-way street to nowhere. You’re never going to arrive at your scheduled destination and your going to be tired and exasperated at the end of the day.

One of the most impressive documentaries I have ever watched was a segment on the Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who taught students in an underground and unapproved seminary in Nazi Germany as Europe prepared for war. Martyred because of his stance against Hitler and the Third Reich, each student who survived the war and consented to be interviewed shared that when Bonhoeffer lectured it was evident that he knew the person of Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary knew the person of Jesus Christ and that is what the ministry of this church is about. All agendas aside, we want to know the person of Jesus Christ.

Consider this, too. Jesus knew the person who carried the name of Mary Magdalene and appreciated her sincerity and her honesty. You learn a lot about a person when life takes an odd turn, when we hit a rough patch, when the ground we walk on – so to speak – starts to give. It appears that Mary Magdalene was the type of person who was able and willing to walk with Jesus all the way to the cross, who was able to manage the silence and questions of a Holy Saturday, and who was not afraid to walk to the tomb where Jesus was buried all which points to something very important and dramatic.

It is in the very times and places where we find ourselves in tight, dangerous, and untenable spots in life that we learn the meaning and value of an Easter faith. Easter faith is about hope. It is about life and redemption, and it is about trusting the triune God with our future.

In consideration of the Easter story, whether we realize it or not, we have the potential – every one of us – to make a positive difference in the world for the sake of Christ. The pages of history might not make a record of our names or what we accomplished, but Jesus will always know.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were just two people, and women at that. Two women walked by themselves to the tomb of Jesus on the first Easter and encountered the risen Christ in a nearby garden;

Two women scurried to share the news about the resurrection of Christ with the disciples;

And it was the same two women who passed on the words of the risen Christ to the disciples that he would meet them in Galilee.

Jesus used the faithful witness of two women about the resurrection to unfold the greatest story ever told. Every decision we make and every step we take makes a lasting mark and I believe that to be a powerful message of the gospel. May you abide in the joy of Easter and the risen Christ today and all your tomorrows. Amen. +