Risen for a Reason: Luke 24:1-12 - Easter Sunday

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)

Finally Easter morning by Joachim Aspenlaub Blattboldt on Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

 

We’ve all been taught to believe that “if something is too good to be true, then it probably is.” But sometimes, I fear that we have learned that lesson too well, especially when it comes to God.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard a Christian say:

“It can’t be that my cancer went into remission.”

“It can’t be that I’m working a job I never thought I would get.”

“It can’t be that my child is doing so well in school.”

“It can’t be that I’m clean and sober.”

“It can’t be that I’m making a difference in people’s lives.”

In other words, you can become so accustomed to things going wrong, that it feels wrong when things go right.

Many people feel guilty for healing of their grief. Many feel guilty for surviving an illness or accident that others died from.

Something inside of you says, “This is all a big mistake. Good things don’t happen to me. I’m going to mess this all up, and everyone will see that I don’t belong here.”

The fear of failure is so strong, and the doubt so overwhelming, that these unexpected blessings become burdens.

Sometimes, good news is too much to handle.

These natural human instincts are in play in today’s Gospel. Jesus’s death was the worst thing that had ever happened to his disciples and closest friends. Their Messiah was dead. All their highest hopes and deepest longings were now buried in the tomb. By now, the remaining eleven disciples realize that they let it happen. Judas betrayed him. They fell asleep when Jesus told them to watch and pray. When he was arrested, they abandoned him. Peter denied him. By now, it was clear: Jesus could save others, but he couldn’t save himself.

Two days later, the women visit Jesus’s tomb for one final act of devotion. When they get there, the stone was rolled away, and the body was missing.

Suddenly, two men in dazzling clothes appear, and the women cower to the ground in fear. The men tell them that Jesus has risen—and remind them of everything Jesus had taught them. They realize that everything is taking place as Jesus said it would. But when they told the eleven, nobody believed them. Chances are, they were still in denial that Jesus died. Why, now, would they believe that he’s alive?

I should also point out that if they spoke too publicly about Jesus being alive, they also could up on a cross.

And remember—the women didn’t see Jesus. It makes me wonder if the women began to doubt what they saw and heard—because nobody believed them.

All they know for sure is that the body is gone—and things have now gone from bad to bewildering.

Our situation is not all that different. We can celebrate Easter all we want, but when the sun came up this morning, the war in Ukraine didn’t end. Illnesses didn’t go away. Loved ones didn’t come back to life. Children still hunger for bread. The church isn’t nearly as full is it used to be.  Nothing outside this decorated sanctuary looks or feels any different. 

But for Jesus's disciples, the situation was far worse They know that there will be no going back to the life they’d known before. The risen Jesus will briefly appear to them in a moment, only to disappear in the next. Forty days from now, he’ll ascend to heaven, and that will be it. But fifty days from now, the Spirit Jesus promised them will appear—and the disciples, along with countless others, will receive power to take the news of Christ’s death and resurrection to the ends of the earth.

Resurrection is all about God bringing new things to life out of the ashes of the old. It’s God opening new possibilities out of impossibilities. It’s about love overpowering evil; life conquering death.

In Christ, you are a new creation. Your sins are nailed to the cross and you bear them no more. Today and every day, God has good things in store for you to give and receive.

Resurrection is not, however, a return to the glories of the past. Resurrection is all about change, and we all know that change is difficult. There will still be uncertainty. The world will still be a scary place. As long as you remain alive you remain a sinner. But God is for you, and nothing can ever be against you.

In Christ, there is always life after death. This news is not too good to be true. It is truth. If God created life out of nothing, why should death win? If God is love, why should evil win?

It's time for us to stop asking if God answers prayer, and pray with confidence that God always answers prayer.

It’s time for us to stop doubting and start believing in God’s power to heal our wounds. It’s time for us to stop doubting ourselves and believe that we will do the work of resurrection by God’s power at work within us. It’s time for us to stop doubting and start believing that there is no greater power at work in the world than God’s love.

It’s time for us to stop doubting our congregation can grow. It’s time to start believing that people will respond with faith to the Gospel. It’s time to start believing that God’s best is yet to come.

Jesus is risen, and new life is the reason. This is the truth the whole world needs to hear.

Don’t just believe it. Do it. Speak it. Live it.