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Sermon April 1, 2018
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, LSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s, Newport, PA
Easter, Year B
//lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Easter/BEasterPrin_RCL.html
When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. Mark 16:4
But 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.’ Mark 16:7
Please be seated
When I was growing up, every morning we listened to Ron Drake on WHP radio. Do any of you remember him? Ron LOVED April Fool’s Day and his pranks eventually got him in trouble with the Federal Communications Commission.
People really believed Ron Drake and trusted him. One year he said a whale was being transported through Harrisburg and had fallen off the truck by the Colonial Park Mall. He asked people to come with buckets of water and squirt guns to keep the whale wet. Another year, he said the ocean liner the Queen Mary was docked at the Walnut Street bridge. People actually came looking to see it. The one that got him in trouble was when he said people should fill any available container with water, because the city was going to shut off the water.
He really enjoyed fooling people…
I love that this year Easter comes on April Fool’s Day, because I believe the resurrection was a great surprise.
In our Gospel as told by Mark, some women followers of Jesus are going to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. They were especially concerned about the huge stone in front of the tomb. They did not know how they would get into the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body.
What do you imagine they must have been feeling? The teacher they loved had been brutally killed. They were probably afraid the authorities would come after them next. They were in grief and were taking action to complete the burial ritual for their loved one. I imagine they were in shock and didn’t really know what to do next. Were they supposed to continue on and how would that happen and who would lead them?
And maybe they felt the ambivalence many of us know when someone has died. We miss their presence and grieve over them. Yet, in some cases, we also feel relief, especially if our loved one was suffering or no longer themselves. We hold this great grief for their loss and this relief that they are no longer suffering. Sometimes we are grateful because we couldn’t figure out how best to help them and now we no longer have to figure out what to do for them.
I imagine following Jesus as these women and the disciples did was not always easy. I’m sure the teachings were hard to understand. It is hard to imagine a different way to live, when you have never seen it. Yes, they gave up their routine lives to travel with Jesus and to learn from him. Yes, it must have been confusing to know what to do with his teachings now that he had died.
Yet, part of them may have felt relief. Maybe they could blend in with the rest of society once again. They could go back to their routines. They wouldn’t be pushed to grow and to learn. They wouldn’t have to work for justice or look out for the “least of these.” Yes, they could still do all of those things, but maybe on a lesser scale…not one that totally encompassed their lives.
Yet, they get to the tomb and the stone is rolled away! And Jesus’ body is not even in the tomb. Jesus had died on the cross…he had been put in the tomb. They saw it with their own eyes. The angel in the tomb tells them that Jesus has been raised and is no longer in the tomb! April Fools.
Then the angel tells them that they are to go tell Peter and the disciples that Jesus has been raised and they are all to go to Galilee.
If they thought this chapter of their lives was over…this wandering and teaching and living in a new way…if they thought they could just go back to their routine lives, they were wrong! Jesus didn’t die on that Friday. God had raised Jesus from the dead.
No tomb could contain him. The disciples still on earth had work to do. They would be the teachers. They would be challenged to live the way Jesus taught them. They would be the bearers of the good news about how much God loved each and every one of them. They would be the bearers of the good news that forgiveness was possible and that starting over again was possible. They would be the bearers of the good news that growth and change was possible. They would be the bearers of the good news that in spite of and maybe because of their imperfections, God still called them and had work for them to do.
At the end of Mark’s good news, though, we read that the women did not tell the disciples that Jesus had been raised and that they should go to Galilee. As shocking as the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ had been, his resurrection and the direction from the angel that the disciples should go to Galilee was just as shocking.
Midst their grief, they were being called to continued new life. Midst their grief, they were being told that they were needed and that there was still work to do. That is truly overwhelming, as any of you who have experienced that deep grief know. They weren’t given any time to fully process what was happening and all that they had seen and heard.
How many times do we put Jesus in the tomb and roll a HUGE stone to close Him in? Maybe we’ve had enough of hearing about how we must love God, love our neighbor and love ourselves. Maybe we’ve had enough of hearing how we need to let go of material things. Maybe we’ve had enough hearing about how we should work for justice for all people. We just want to live the lives we’ve grown accustomed to….
April Fool!
We cannot contain Jesus in the tombs we make for him. The stone is rolled away and we are directed to spread the good news of Jesus Christ!
Amen
