April 20, 2003; Easter, Year B

The cross was empty, a vivid reminder of what had taken place on Friday. Now the tomb was also empty, and the women fled in terror and amazement.

As horrible as the Good Friday story is, we have an easier time believing in it, than the Easter story. Why is that? The atrocities that are being exposed in Iraq are nothing new. We live in a world where people have been, and are being, killed because of their race, political affiliation, religious belief, . . . the list goes on and on. It is well documented that crucifixions took place during the reign of the Roman Empire almost two thousand years ago for some of the same reasons.

Are there reasons for believing in the Easter story of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ? Have you seen the B.C. cartoon in this morning’s Sunday paper? Let me describe it to you. In the first frame one man is saying to another, “Did you know Pontius Pilate wrote ‘ Jesus…the King of the Jews’ on the cross at Calvary, and the priests got really mad?” The response form the second man was, “So what did he do?” In the second frame the first man replied, “He said, ‘what I have written, I have written.’” To which the second man says, “I’ll be Shakespeare would kill for a line like that.” In the third frame are two ants looking at a cross. One ant says to the other ant named Jake, “Look, Jake, a note.’” The next five frames show Jake climbing up the cross, reading the note, and then coming back down the cross. In the next frame the first ant ask Jake, “What does it say?” To which Jake replies in the last frame, “To be continued.” I should also add that the last frame not only includes the cross, but a cave with the stone rolled back from the entrance.[i]

“To be continue.” That is the Easter Story. It did not end on Good Friday with the killing of Jesus. The story of Jesus Christ continued on Easter morning with the discovery of the empty tomb. The empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, what a surprise they were to the first witnesses.

Everyone’s expectation, from the disciples to the women who went to the tomb, from the Jewish authorities to the Roman authorities, was that Jesus was in the tomb. This is one of the most overlooked situations recorded in the Gospels about the resurrection. What the women saw was totally unexpected.

All of the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection admit the surprise of the women who were the first to go to the tomb in which Jesus had been laid. Their expectation was that the dead body of Jesus would be laying exactly where it had been placed on Friday. Mark tells us that it was Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome who went to the tomb early on Sunday morning to anoint the body of Jesus for burial. It was a job they would have done on Friday if there had been time before the Sabbath began, but Jesus’ body barely got into the tomb before sunset. When they discovered that Jesus was gone they fled in terror and amazement. Not a very appropriate reaction if they, as followers of Jesus had believed in what he said about his resurrection after three days.

The Gospel of John even records that Mary ran to Peter and exclaimed, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”[ii] “They,” must have referred to the Roman or Jewish authorities. She, and the disciples, were convinced that Jesus was dead for good and that someone had stolen his body.

Not even the message of the angel at the tomb that Jesus had risen from the dead and would appear to them and the disciples seemed to make a difference. All they knew was that Jesus was gone.

That seems to be all that the disciples could think about. It is clear from the Gospel stories that the disciples had not expected the Crucifixion, let alone the Resurrection. Their hopes were dashed. On the Sabbath and on Sunday the disciples were to be found hiding. They were not praying or waiting for Jesus to appear. They were afraid. They had lost their leader and did not know what to do next. Their only thoughts were to make sure that Jesus had a decent burial, with all of the ritual that went with it.

As we know, the disciples were an embarrassment. In the Garden of Gethsemane, they could not stay awake to pray with Jesus, and when the authorities came to arrest Jesus they all ran away. None of them stood alongside their leader from that night on. Shame runs through the Gospel record. Boasting, cowardice and betrayal scar the apostolic witness. Also, the women have to prominent of a roll in a story where men are supposed to have the central place. All of this adds credibility to the whole story. A made up story would have sanitized these shameful features.

Ever since the reality of the divine surprise of the Resurrection was fully revealed on that first Easter, it has been at the heart of the Christian faith.

Yet, we, like Mary, the other women and the disciples can come to this day with our own questions and doubts. Did Jesus' resurrection arise out of a human desire to live forever? Was it driven by the craving to experience immortality so that philosophies of understanding would be developed, that eventually became doctrines of faith? Or did God create this possibility? We know from history that there have been many people who have pondered what it might mean to live beyond death. Some of them developed rather extensive philosophies professing immortality. They built pyramids and other monuments as a witness to their belief of gaining immortality.

The most credible aspect of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is that he did not do it for himself. Furthermore, God did not raise his Son from the dead, just so that Jesus would have life. God raised his Son so that all who believe in him would have eternal life.

The resurrection came when God, and God alone, demonstrated his power to raise up his Son Jesus Christ from the dead. This is why we gather on Easter, to hear and celebrate God's demonstration of power, not only over death but also over all who would doubt the resurrection of his son Jesus Christ.

We are Easter people. We are the people of the Resurrection. The glorious good news of the Resurrection is not - that once upon a time, long ago, God had power and raised up his Son Jesus Christ. It is that God lives, and because he lives, he has the power to raise us up into this new way of life.

We have heard the story of those chosen by God as witnesses. Did they create a fairy tale, or are they telling the truth? (Put stuffed bunny on pulpit.) Is Jesus like Peter Cottontail, a figment of our imagination? We would not be here this morning if that is what we thought. No it is not fairy tale or myth. It is the power of God revealed through his Son and his resurrection that gives us faith and hope of the new life to be found in all who believe in him.

[i] B.C. by Johnny Hart (Sunday Comics, April 20, 2003)

[ii] John 20:2