April 9 2023, EASTER - "Our Amazing Day”

Readings: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24, Jeremiah 31:1-6, Colossians 3:1-4, Matthew 28:1-10
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, April 9 2023

Easter is the Christian churches amazing day. There is nothing normal about the Easter story. At the center is the astounding claim that Jesus, whom the disciples had witnessed dead and buried, had been raised from death. Risen, not like a zombie to haunt them, nor simply come alive to their imaginations, but had been clothed with a resurrected body that pulsated with eternal life.

Over a period of days that follow they experience His presence in numerous ways. He eats with them. He teaches them. They see on His body the marks of His suffering. He comes and goes as He pleases, and locked doors prove no impediment. He is witnessed to not only by those closest to Him, but also by whole groups of followers.

Because of His living presence with them the disciples are changed. They are bowled over by hope. Nothing in their world is ever the same again. After His ascension they are granted power from on high, the very presence of the resurrected Jesus through the Holy Spirit within them and around them. Eventually they are prepared to live and die for the truth they have perceived, that Christ is Risen.

Easter is our amazing day. In Matthew's account this amazing day  begins with Mary Magdalene and another Mary going to visit the tomb of Jesus. They come not knowing what they are to do, yet they are drawn to the tomb out of their love and respect for the Jesus they had adored. They wish to honor Him, even though they know He is dead. They discover that His tomb is sealed and a guard has been set upon it.

It is the first day of the week. It was the first day of the rest of their lives. It was a new day. It was an amazing day. For their world is about to be shaken. Matthew describes it as an angel coming down from heaven, as an earthquake that rolls away the stone, as something that renders those in place to guard the tomb helpless and unable to keep it sealed.

It matters not that the other gospels describe things differently. These were events that were too earth shattering to put into words. Like witnesses to an explosion, all they can do is comment on the  fragments that remained. Who was there, what was said, how it all happened sequentially are but small things compared to what had happened. They show a startling disinterest in the details, because the amazing revelation they witness to seems to make them not so important.

What is that amazing revelation? It is found in the words proclaimed to the two Mary's. Verse 6. “He is not here; He has Risen, just as He said”. Let us explore this verse.

He is not here

I have heard people say that they would believe in God, but are frustrated by His absence. They prayed and nothing happened. They can't believe that a loving God would allow such terrible things to take place in the world. They don't know how to find Him. 

The two Mary's who went to the tomb must have felt the same way. Why hadn't God protected the One they thought could save them? When He was so obviously innocent, how could God allow Jesus to be betrayed, tortured and crucified like a common criminal? Where were You God, when we needed you?

The first part of the angels answer is startling. 'He's not here'. Where is God? 'He's not here!' God was not in the tomb. God was not dead. God was not able to be contained or confined to any place, to any kind of understanding. God was not stuck in the past. God was not contained by the tragedy. God was not in the earthquake. God was not in the darkness. 'He's not here' declares the angel.

This is how our minds work. We want God to give us a reply. To say 'Here I am'. We want a God who stays still, who has a physical address and a geographical location. We want a God who is at our beck and call, who does what we ask. We want a 'Twitter' God, a God with a Facebook page and an email address.

We want a God who prevents bad things happening, not One who allows His beloved Son to be crucified and then claims that it was due to our sins that He suffered. We don't want a God who holds us responsible for anything. That kind of God, the God we make in our image and according to our needs and desires... 'He's not here'. The next part of the verse tells us why He's not here.

He has Risen

God is where the light is. God is where the life is. God is a happening.  God is where the action is. In the Psalm set for today, Psalm 118 we read, “The Lord is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation. I will not die, but live!” In the Old Testament lesson for today Jeremiah is a cheerleader telling the people; 'There will be a day when watchmen cry out : Come let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God”.

In our reading from Matthew the two Mary's are told; “Go on. Get out of here! He is not in this place. He has gone ahead of you!” As they leave that place, they are amazed! They don't know whether to laugh or cry.  Verse 8, “Afraid yet filled with joy, they ran to tell the disciples” . And whilst they are running from that place “Suddenly Jesus met them, “Greetings” He said. They came to Him, Clasped His feet and worshiped Him.”

How can we encounter the Risen presence of Jesus Christ? I believe it takes place as we go about doing the things He asks us to do and living the way He wants us to live. When we set our hearts to the task of being Kingdom people, the King has a habit of showing up.

We may not always recognize Him. He may come asking for help in the guise of a needy person. He may come to us as an encouraging smile from a total stranger. We may hear His voice in the midst of a TV program or through a random comment in an email or quote on a Facebook page.

We may hear Him in a sunrise or see Him in a random act of kindness. We may sense Him whispering in our conscience or nudging us to respond to a situation we are encountering. We may find that where others are starting to worry we are sensing His peace. We may find that when others are in despair we can't help but hope. 

And hopefully at such moments we will open up in worship and with deep thankfulness. “Suddenly Jesus met them, “Greetings” He said. They came to Him, Clasped His feet and worshiped Him.”

But we are not quite finished with the angels words. “He is not here; He has Risen, just as He said”. The final part...

Just as He said

Jesus, on numerous occasions, instructed the disciples that He would be raised from death on the third day. They listened. They heard. But they had to experience Him before they believed Him. That's how it is with the Word of God. We listen to it. We may read it. Yet it is only as we experience it that we truly believe it.

It is only as we seek to allow the Holy Spirit to make the stories of scripture our story that we break through to fresh revelation of what God can do in and through our lives. It is only as we believe on the promises that God reveals God's love through the promises.

God promises to be there for us when all others fail. God promises to provide what we need to be Kingdom people. God promises that in life and death nothing can separate us from the love of Christ if we but trust  Him to lead us and guide us.

But we have to act on God's word. We have to trust in God's word. It can't be just words, we need  to respond by being prepared to do what God asks us to do, go where God asks us to go, be the people God wants us to be. We have to lay aside our personal agenda and ask God to rewrite the story of our lives. We have to stop singing 'I did it my way' and start trying to do it God's way, every day, in whatever way God desires.

Then we will know God's promises are true. Then we will know His Risen presence. Then we will move beyond a life that is endlessly striving to find acceptance, to one where we know we are accepted children of the most High God.

Then we are free to be who God wants us to be instead of having to living up to other peoples expectations of us.  Then we will be able to discern where to invest our time, talents and treasures. Then we won't be afraid to invest the best of the rest of our lives in our relationships and families and our communities...  things that at the end of all days are revealed to have been the things that really mattered.

Easter Sunday. Our amazing day! The day we proclaim to the world... “It ain't over till it's over”. The day we are invited to wonder at an empty tomb and to invite the Spirit of the resurrected Jesus to invade our lives and fill our hearts with the possibilities opened to us through God's Kingdom, the Kingdom of hope that even death can not destroy.

I pray that the amazing good news of resurrection may capture all of our lives... that this will be an amazing day for us all. Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.