But - A Sermon for Easter Sunday March 31 2024

GOSPEL: Mark 16:1-8

The holy gospel according to Mark.

Glory to you, O Lord.

The resurrection of Jesus is announced, and the response is one of terror and amazement.

1When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint [Jesus’ body]. 2And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” 8So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Christ is Risen!

Christ is Risen, indeed! Alleluia!

It is not just any one who is risen.

It is not just any anointed one,

not just any apocalyptic preacher who is risen,

it is Jesus of Nazareth - the crucified Christ,

fully human,

fully God.

God has been on trial.  

Many of us have participated in the Lenten Drama:

The State vs. The King of the Jews,

We have been the jury,

rigged or not,

we have decided Jesus Christ is guilty.

It was not just the human Jesus who was on trial.

It was not just the human Jesus

who hung on that cross, suffocating, dying.

It was God that we put on trial,

It was God that we hung on the cross.

On that Good Friday - God died.

But death cannot hold our God down.

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!

This is no ordinary resuscitation.

This is not just any resurrection -

this is the resurrection of the crucified Jesus.

By all social and religious standards,

Jesus should not have been raised from the dead,

he should have been eternally damned.

But instead God -

the same God who died on the cross

at the hands of humans,

raised Jesus from the dead -

for those same humans - for us.

Jesus was not supposed to rise

because he is the one who affirmed

the worth of sinners, outcasts,

prostitutes, tax collectors -

outsiders.

Jesus is the one who affirms our worth.

Jesus was not supposed to rise

because he is the one who brings forth

challenge and assault on our systems

that exploit others.

Jesus stands in judgement of our achievements,

Jesus destroys our ideologies.

Jesus was not supposed to rise

because Rome and religious alike said so with their verdict.

But this crucified Jesus

is the one God raised from the dead.

Christ is Risen!  (Christ is risen indeed - alleluia!)

The empty tomb,

The resurrection is God’s comment on Good Friday.

Jesus was as dead as any mortal being who dies -

and this crucified Jesus is the one that God raised.

If Jesus did not rise,

then his death was justified.

He would have been wrong.

God would have been wrong.

In the resurrection,

it is confirmed for us that Jesus is indeed

the way, the truth, and the life.

Jesus is the only one worth following,

the only one who can be our Rock and our Salvation.

In the resurrection

it is confirmed that the words from the clouds are true:

This is my Son, the beloved. Listen to him.

In the resurrection,

it is confirmed for us that we are

of immeasurable worth -

that our lives are worth living

and worth redeeming.

In the resurrection,

it is confirmed for us that Jesus has in store for us

a resurrection like his.

Christ is Risen! (Christ is risen indeed - alleluia!)

A question was posed in our Tuesday morning bible study,

from the ELCA’s Daily Discipleship:

What one word would you use

to describe the meaning of Easter Sunday?

We thought of some words:

hope, resurrection, life, grace.

Perhaps you have your own word that comes to mind.

The authors of the bible study,

John & Robin McCullough-Bade suggest this word:

But.

The women wondered who will remove the stone for them

but the stone had already been rolled away.

The women are frightened,

but the angelic messenger calms their fears.

They came to find Jesus’ body,

but they hear instead that Christ is risen!

(Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!)

They are alarmed,

filled with terror and amazement and fear

and they are told

“But go, tell Jesus’ disciples and Peter

that he is going ahead of you.”

There is power in that little word - but.

There is a saying:

everything before the word “but” doesn’t count.

For example, one might say

“Thank you for taking out the garbage,

but you forgot to close the lid”

Arguably that thank you doesn’t really matter,

they’re really just saying

“why didn't you close the lid?”

With Jesus’ resurrection,

what happens before the but matters,

it counts,

but - it is not the end of the story.

Jesus of Nazareth was found guilty,

but still went to the cross, willingly.

Jesus was scorned by the ones he was sent to save,

even the criminals hung beside,

but Jesus proclaims

“truly I tell you,

today you will be with me in paradise.”

They put Jesus to death, hanging him on a tree,

For three long days the grave did its worst,

but up from the grave Christ arose, victorious.

We are dead in our sins,

but Christ died for our sins.

Our world is broken,

but the risen Christ is at work in our world.

The women left the tomb in fear and terror,

but we know Jesus appeared to many;

more than 500 at one time.

The cross of Christ is foolishness to those who are perishing,

but to us who are being saved,

it is the power of God.

Death cannot hold down our God,

so we can look around and expect to see

the resurrected Jesus still impacting us,

encountering us,

at work in us.

Jesus is alive and at work in the world,

raising us - raising all creation

from that which keeps us bound.

There was a woman who I visited with in Saskatoon

while I was completing

my clinical pastoral education,

let’s call her Jill.

Jill was in her early 90’s,

she was widowed,

had various health concerns.

Jill had trouble reading.

But she was sharp,

she was faithful.

“Why wont Jesus take me?” she would ask me.

She kept telling me that she was ready to die.

While she was relatively comfortable in that care home,

she kept telling me

“I am not afraid to die, I am ready to be with Jesus.”

We spent some time in prayer one day,

and as I led our prayer,

I felt compelled to pray

“God, where there is fear in Jill’s heart,

give her hope,

help her to trust in your love and grace.”

and Jill teared up -

much more than normal.

after some silence,

she took a deep breath,

and she said “I believe, but I am afraid to die.”

There was a different power in her word “but”

Her mantra - Why wont Jesus take me?

might have come from a place of faith

and possibly also from a place of fear.

There was power in her admission of her truth,

that she was afraid to die,

even with her trust in life everlasting,

and that fear of death

had kept her from truly living.

We are all afraid to die - it’s in our nature.

Sometimes we are afraid to live too.

Jill spent 22 hours of her day in her room -

the other two hours spent at the dining hall for meals,

and the odd session of physiotherapy and bath time.

it was not the life she had previously known,

But she could walk reasonably well,

she had friends in that building,

but she just could not leave her room.

There might as well have been a large stone

rolled in front of her door,

keeping her entombed in fear

She was afraid to die

and she was afraid to live.

Fear was holding her back

from experiencing the freedom of both life and death,

freedom that is ours because of Jesus.

Jesus knows everything in Jill’s life before the word “but”

Jesus knows her fears,

and they matter,

they count,

but with Christ risen,

they need not hold her back any longer.

Jesus knows you,

and all the things in life that have led you to this moment,

and they matter,

they count,

but Christ is risen and we shall arise.

What might be holding you back

from really living?

Jesus’ resurrection is faithful resistance to death,

to disintegration

to the false narratives we’ve been told about ourselves.

Jesus’ resurrection resists fear,

and frees us to live the life that really is life.

Christ is risen, Christ is risen, indeed. Alleluia.

What happens next is up to you:

we can stay in the tomb of fear

we can just wait for God to take us

we can coil into self-protection,

we can leave this gathering

and say nothing to no one

yet God has overturned all expectations in our world;

by the Spirit of the resurrected Christ,

we can choose life.

Like Jill, whether you’re 15 or 51 or 101,

Whatever is holding you back from living your life

is defeated on that cross.

whatever is holding you back

from being a person of faith,

whatever is holding you back

from forgiving the unforgivable,

whatever is holding you back

from caring for those in need,

Whatever keeps you bound before the word ‘but’

it matters,

it counts,

but it is not the end of your story.

For Christ is Risen!

Christ is Risen indeed!  Alleluia!

Thanks be to God. Alleluia!