April 24, 2011
Matthew 28:1-10
On the first Easter morning, there was a violent earthquake. The Angel of the Lord came down from heaven and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. Then the angel said to the women, "He is not here; he has risen!" And then Jesus himself appeared to the women. In faith, we too have seen the empty tomb, have heard the Angel's message, and have met the Risen Lord.
In faith, our lives are connected with Jesus Christ. That is because Jesus Christ first connected his life to ours. In Bethlehem he was born a human baby, he experienced human joy and suffering, he experienced human death, and then he arose from the dead. And so, when in faith we join with Christ, we join with his birth, his joy and suffering, his death and resurrection. That is why Easter is such a joy for us. We know that just as Jesus died and rose again, we shall too.
One of my favorite details of the Resurrection story is about the action of the Angel. We read that after rolling back the stone, the Angel sat on it. Was the Angel tired after moving the heavy rock? I hardly think so. I think the reason for sitting on the stone is probably so that the guards could not roll it back in front of the tomb. The presence there of that mighty Angel was so fearsome that the guards fainted from fear. The tomb door had to remain open so that when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb, they could look in and see that it was empty. And then the Holy Messenger could announce the Easter Gospel, "He is not here; he has risen!"
The tomb must remain open so that we too can look inside and see that the grave is empty. We look in and see that our graves too will be empty on the final Day of Resurrection. The tomb door must remain open because in our lives we often live as if it were closed. We forget about the life we have with Christ. Or we go around opening the doors of other tombs that offer satisfaction for this life. As St. Paul warned the Colossians, we "set our minds on earthly things" (3:2). We know that we live much of the time as if there were no God. With the rest of the people of the world we scramble through life. We are driven by earthbound goals and needs. But the things of this world are the same as tombs.
When we take a close look at ourselves -- when we examine how we live with others, how we use our time and money, and how we get motivated from day to day -- we might be troubled with just how little indication there is that we have been raised with Christ. What is important in our lives? What is the stuff we do, the stuff we rely on, the stuff we live and die for? Is it secure, permanent, and liberating? Or is it just a tomb the door of which will never be rolled open?
If we are not raised with Christ, we have no future. If we are not connected with Christ, then we are not connected with God. If our life is only connected with earthly things, then when this earth is destroyed, so will we. If our sin is not forgiven by Christ's death on the cross, then we have the very opposite of Easter joy.
The Easter Gospel is that the stone was rolled away from the tomb. Through the eyes of the women we can look in and see that it is empty. Through their witness we can hear the Angel's message, "He is not here; he has risen!" The women met Jesus. We meet Jesus too. We meet him in the Word of Scripture, we meet him in the Water of Baptism, we meet him in the Lord's Supper. The reality is that Christ raises us to be where he is, to be as alive as he is. Christ comes to us. Where Christ is there is life. That is why we are alive in Jesus Christ!
Being alive in Jesus Christ, we live like Jesus Christ. Our hopes, our dreams, our goals, our pleasures, our security, and our happiness are all possible because the tomb is open. We no longer base our lives on earthly things, but on eternal things. Our lives are based on the mercy and love of Christ.
Sometimes in our lives we come up to a wall that blocks our progress. As Christians we pray that God will show us how to get over/under/around/or straight though it. On Easter, the Angel announced that the wall of death has a door which is open for us. This door leads us to eternal life. We live with Christ already right now. And that opens up to our wonderful daily life with Christ. We are alive with Christ.
Hallelujah! Amen!
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church