Roses and Resurrection: Luke 24:1-12 - Resurrection of Our Lord

¹On the first day of the week, at early dawn, [the women] came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. ²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they went in, they did not find the body. ⁴While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. ⁵The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. ⁶Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” ⁸Then they remembered his words, ⁹and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹²But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened. (NRSV)

rose, partly open, with dew by Martin LaBar on flickr. CC BY-NC 2.0

The whole world watched in sorrow as the Cathedral de Notre Dame went up in flames Monday afternoon. Fire crews worked frantically to put out the flames and save not only the building, but the numerous artifacts housed inside.

As the sun set and the flames glowed against the night sky, people began singing hymns: Salve Regina; Ave Maria.

This was the beginning of resurrection—even as the cathedral still burned. It didn’t matter then—nor will it matter now—how many artifacts are permanently lost; how long it will take to rebuild; or even if the cathedral is rebuilt. There will be resurrection.

And you don’t necessarily need a building for there to be resurrection. Even though it’s a priceless treasure and engineering marvel, Notre Dame is still worth less than a single human life. But resurrection does not mean that everything will go back to the way it was before. And that is where this gets difficult.

For all our singing and celebrating this Easter morning, the Easter morning was a moment of confusion, trauma, and terror.

Don’t think for a second that the empty tomb marked a return to business-as-usual for Jesus’ disciples and friends. It didn’t erase the horrific events that had taken place over the last three days; nor did it undo Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial, or the disciples’ desertion. Jesus was crucified. Jesus died. His resurrection will not change that.

When the women speak of the two angelic men they saw in the tomb, who told them that Jesus has risen, the male disciples dismiss it as an “idle tale.” But that wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. The more they talk about his resurrection—the greater the risk they themselves will end up crucified.

So it wasn’t just foolish; it was dangerous to talk about resurrection. This is the point to which we can identify.

What good is “resurrection talk” when you’ve just buried your parent, your spouse, or your child? How can you speak of new life to someone who’s just been placed in a nursing home, essentially waiting to die? What kind of resurrection can you expect when you’re deep in poverty and buried in debt?

What business do we have proclaiming resurrection in Leechburg, when the mines and mills are all gone? Can there be resurrection for this church, when you consider that we’re just a shadow of our former self in terms of our size—and younger generations keep leaving the church in droves?

Shouldn’t we just learn to accept that “things will get worse before they get better?”

For as much as we speak of Jesus’ death; his disciples, friends, and loved ones died as well. Even as they slowly come to believe in him, nothing is going to change the fact that there is still loss and uncertainty.

This is where their reality meets our reality. Loss and uncertainty are the “thorns in the rose of resurrection.” We hate change because change means loss. We hate uncertainty because we’re not in control of the future. Resurrection isn’t so much an event as it is a process and a journey. You’re moving forward without knowing what your moving forward towards.

But hear again what the angels tell the women at the empty tomb: “Remember how Jesus told you…that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” As they remembered what he said, they remembered what he did. Immediately, faith and hope are born even though these women had not yet seen Jesus alive. Thus began their resurrection.

The memory of Christ’s promises and deeds of faithfulness in the past comprise the soil out of which resurrection blossoms. Even before it happens, we wait expectantly for it, as in springtime. We are people of resurrection. Boldly and courageously we live, trusting in God’s power to create new life where you least expect it.

Instead of dwelling on the past and vainly scrambling to recreate it, Christ’s call is to bring resurrection hope in the places and among the people where death and despair have taken hold.

Regardless of what happens at Notre Dame, Christian churches are growing and flourishing despite rampant poverty and the deadly threat of oppressive governments and terrorist groups.

It’s not too much for Christ to bring resurrection into nursing homes, even though the residents will likely never go home and live like they did before. It’s not too much for Christ to bring revival and renewal to the Church, even as individual congregations struggle and decline. It’s not too much for Christ to meet human needs with abundance even as money runs short. And it’s certainly not too much for Christ to make you a new creation, no matter how badly you have failed or how horribly you have suffered. We must stop living as if Jesus is dead—and as if we’re dead.

There is no salvation without the cross. There cannot be renewal where there was no loss. There cannot be resurrection where there was no death. These are the thorns in the rose of resurrection.

There is no going back to before Good Friday. We can only go forward. But even amid the trauma, terror, confusion, and bewilderment life often brings, in Christ you pass over from death into life. Today we celebrate the promise. Tomorrow, you will live it out.