Anyone ready to tackle Easter yet?
Paula in Florida
OK, Paula, let's go. I've used John's story for several years, now, and think I'd like to look at the resurrection through Matthew's eyes this year. That's as far as I've gotten, though.
Max in NC
Max
Matthew is different from the other gospels. Matthew emphasizes earthquakes. When Jesus dies (end of ch.27) there is an earthquake with dead people walking around. In the easter story there is another earthquake signifing that Christ is risen. The earthquke is God's way of getting everyone's attention. An earthquake has a way of reordering priorities --which ties in with Easter. Life will never again be the same now that Christ is risen. THe disciples turned apostles would soon discover this truth.
Paula, in sunny Florida.
I'm starting early this week, because I'm terrified of Easter. It is such a difficult subject, but yet so central.
Thanks for getting us started, Paula. I'm thinking, what does God have to do to get our attention? It's not easy for God, given that we are so distracted by our own business. Fear works well. Look at all the people who went to church after 9/11. But are we still paying attention?
Not sure this will make a theme... still looking around. DGinNYC
I like a couple of things Craig Barnes said in The Christian Century (Mar 13-20) that fit with what both of you have said...1) "No one is ever ready to encounter Easter until he or she hasspent time in the dark place where hope cannot be seen." and 2)"What we long for, what we miss and beg God to give back, is dead. Easter doesn't change that. So we cannot cling to the hope that Jesus will take us back to the way it was." Both of these statements seem to be right on the mark. For the most part, it seems that we have to hit rock bottom one way or another before Easter has a significant impact on us. And even when we hit rock bottom, we often long for the past (Whether real or imagined), so when resurrection leads to change, we can't quite see what a miracle it is..... maybe that mixture of fear and joy. Joy at seeing the risen Christ, and fear of the changes coming for us . Max
Oops. Sorry for the multiple posts.... Max in NC
Thanks Max for the great quotes, I think I'll go to the library tomorrow and copy that article from the Christian Century.
Paula, in sunny Florida
I am thinking of my ole buddy Nicodemus, how at first he didn't want to be seen with Jesus. Now he helps Joseph take the body to the tomb. I wonder what that first Easter was like for him. I fill quite sure now that he is born-again everyday is Easter. I wonder what ole Nick did with the rest of his life? Just thinking? Harrell in Texas
Tim in NY: Matthew likes the earthquake metaphor. On Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the city was in "turmoil". I think las week someone pointed out that the root of that word is "seimos" as in earthquake; that is the city was "rocked to its foundations by his presence." Also, this is the only gospel where the opening of the tomb was witnessed. Matthew seems to be addressing the explanation that someone could have taken the body out during the night, 28:11-15. Note that Jesus is gone, but no one witnesses his leaving. Matthew is he more concerned that no one could enter the tomb than with how Jesus got out.
Easter is soooo BIG a subject - in that it is THE central subject for us, that preaching on it, with the C & E folks and lively kids in worship has seemed daunting to me some years. What I keep having to remember is to just pick one aspect of the whole. The sermon is a flower, or maybe a small bouquet - not the whole bloomin' garden at once. With that in mind, thanks for the comment someone made that with Easter comes something new, that it means we can't go back to the way things were. When Jesus rises, the disciples don't get to go back to the good old days when they went barnstorming around the countryside. This is what new life, resurrection means. It both thrills us and scares us too. Anyway, early thoughts. Jim in CT.
I find it intresting how fear is mentioned in this passage. The guards shook and became like dead men, the women left the tomb with fear and great joy, the angel and Jesus tell the women to not be afraid.
Fear touched every human being that saw this miracle of the resurrection. Even today people still fear the resurrection. We were not eye-witnesses but we know what it implies to those who believe there is a new life beyond what we are living. An empty tomb shakes my world and makes me see my life as more.
Gallilee is mentioned twice. The angel tells the women to go there with the disciples and so does Jesus. Jesus will be there waiting for them. I wonder is it time to go back home and get ready for the next wave of ministry the disciples would soon set the world on fire for Christ with? This will preach... shake up your home with the new life there is in Jesus Christ. Don't fear... hold on to the great joy and you will see Jesus when you get home.
KB
I feel a little dumb saying this, but there is something I noticed for the first time. (My only excuse is that I have I have seen one too many overwrought Easter cantatas where a backlit Jesus stretches forth from the tomb after the stone has been rolled away)When the stone is rolled away in Matthew, Jesus is already gone. The rolling of the stone is not to let Jesus out, but to let us in "Come, see the place where he lay" Something about this reminds me of that great line in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" where the military tries to keep the landing site secure from civilians, and the project director looks around at this ragtag (remember Richard Dreyfuss and his mashed potato mound) mob and says "They were invited". Well, we are invited to the Resurrrection party.
Another image that keeps going through my mind is the final scene in Faye Kellerman's novel "The Ritual Bath" The novel is set in a yeshiva, a place set aside for the study of the Torah. Evil has invaded the place (sexual assault) but the person responsible has been caught and has been taken away.
The men of the yeshiva gather together to celebrate, and the rabbi invited the police detective to celebrate with them."Tomorrow, who knows," says the wise old man, "but tonight, we dance!" The detective looks at the newspaper reporters and Tv crews, then turns back to the Rabbi and says,"Show me how to dance."
Just thinking out loud
RevGilmer in Texarkana
On March 16/17, I took my Confirmation Class of 9th graders to spend time inside St. Paul's Chapel at Ground Zero. Our purpose in going there was to give
physical reality to the love shown by the suffering Jesus and to the hope of life eternal that "lives" via the resurrection. As I read through your comments, and the DPS sermon by Thomas Hall, I am reminded of how people (like Mary) came to "look at" the tomb...people came/come to "look at" Ground Zero. I think I am being drawn to the ideas previously shared that the world isn't the same because of the risen Christ (after the events of Holy Week/and 9/11...), that we must go through the darkness before seeing the dawn of Easter (Craig Barnes in Christian Century) and the idea that we are being invited into the tomb (the loving sanctuary of St. Paul's was physical example of how the church of Christ "can be" because of the risen
Christ...) I'm obviously deep into feeling and thinking my way through the meaning of the Matthew
passage. Thanks for your contributions to the process! Peace and grace to all of you!
Warblings in NJ
Warblings in NJ said "the world is not the same." THANKS! You've given me a sermon title: "It's just not the same!"
Only, I'd add, yes it is, in many ways. The world, despite the earthquakes, IS the same - OUR UNDERSTANDING of the world and our relation to it is what is not the same. And it's confusing, and it'll take time for the news to sink in (Doubting Thomas sermons always follow Easter), and yes - we'll be afraid.
My mom & dad elected to be entombed rather than buried, and if I were to open his tomb, on the third row, next -to-last from the right, and find his body not in there I'd be scared out of my wits! I'd be mad, I'd presume the cemetery people someohow pulled a fast one. My first thought wouldn't be, "Oh, that must mean he was the Messiah"
So - no WONDER it's hard to preach Easter sermons. I'm glad to find I'm not the only one who has difficulty. Also, I know there'll be people here who only come a couple times a year and I'll want to give an evangelistic message. This is a lot to do when the adult choir is doing extra music, the children's choir is doing a piece, and I still have to be done at 12 NOon or get turned into a pumpkin.
Soimeone mentioned to focus on ONE thing: what about focusing on our understanding, our hope in the resurrection - despite our fears and confusion?
Every bit as dazed and confused and worshiping on a time limit (sheesh)...
Sally in gA
RevGilmer,
What a wonderful insight! Like you, I have seen "Jesus" arise from a lot of tombs in Easter plays and just thought that someone had to move the stone to let Him out but the stone was never there to keep Him in. The authorities knew that Jesus was dead. The stone was sealed into place to keep the disciples, and others, out. Then, like the curtain of the Holy of Holies, it was taken out of the way so that those who had once been denied access could go in. There are all kinds of possibilities here. Through the crucifixion and the resurrection, was not the Law also "rolled away" so that "not so good" people might come? In the same way, don't we claim that the Jewish requirement was rolled away so that the Gentiles might have access to God? So much rolling away so that all may come to the party!
I'm going to have to see where this goes but I think I've got a direction on my sermon.
Mike in SD,TN
Here's some mid week thoughts to contemplate. Since Easter comes remarkably early this year and lands within the month of March I am reminded of the old weather adage about March coming in like a lion and out like a lamb. I am struck by the imagery of that last phrase "Out like a Lamb" in reference to the resurrection of Jesus. I am thinking of building my sermon around it. What do you think?
MK in Indy
TxRev,
Thanks so much for leading us to the site for "The Christian Century." What struck me in that article, in addition to what others have said on this site is that Jesus tells Mary not to cling to him. Barnes expounds on that. If we attempt to grab hold of the risen Jesus, we are stuck. We have to "not cling" in order that we can be led into new Easters in our lives. Not sure that is incredibly clear yet, but I think I will center in on, "Don't Cling to Me." Thanks, again!
It t'was the week before Easter and all through the house, dread and despare were hung in the air. Another Easter message to prepare. I have not had a pastor's heart for this year's message, I'm still putting away Christmas! But you have, once again melted my heart and opened my eyes to Jesus. The analogy to St. Paul's is touching, in North Carolina the flooding from Hurricane Floyd is still fresh, there may be a closer and similar message. This fear thing is also good. Well, I don't submit often but read faithfully, so as your sister in ministry I want to send my prayers to all of you for a spiritally renewing, life sustaining Easter event. God bless, Lmb in NC
The history of the resurrection can't be documented with any accuracy at all...there are gapping inconsistencies between the gospels and Pauline scriptures....the only consistency is that a community of faith formed which was very different than when Jesus was walking around as his fleshy self. The formation of people around the innaugeration of a new age is the most exciting perspective, for me, to see the ressurection...the EFFECT of the risen Christ among people...forming them in a way which made clearer Jesus'vision and promise of a new order....which means change/conversion....over and over again, because as people of faith we forget the vision so quickly.
I think about the " Easter Story " as a beautifully wrapped package which has to be opened, unpacked and taken into our communal lives...it's what is inside the package that's most transformative.
The living Christ today is more an " us " story than a " me " story. Kaiross
Thanks for your thoughts on the Matthew text. Am I alone in lamenting the fact that this text must be preached for the Easter crowd?
I find so much delicious humor and irony in this passage that I cannot possibly convey to the unfamiliar Easter congregation:
The angel, after descending and rolling away the stone, "sat on it" - as if to say, "So there."
Jesus greeting the women on the way as though the encounter were perfectly ordinary.
The angel offering the obligatory angelic greeting, "Do not be afraid" to the women, when there is no indication that the women were afraid, although we are told the guards shook and became like dead men. Jesus, too says, "Do not be afraid" right after the women have fallen to his feet to worship him. Did he THINK that they were afraid? Would they have fallen down to worship if they had been afraid?
Just a few musings...I'll stick to "With fear and great joy" and try to connect the fear and great joy at the empty tomb with the fear and great joy that accompany many of life's significant moments: parenthood, childbirth, etc.
Blessings to all,
Desert Dweller
Thanks for helping me think about the role of fear in this passage --fear is mentioned four times. It has been a fearful year;the colors of the rainbow are now a new system to alert us to levels of terrorist threats....
I too love that the angel rolled away the stone and SAT on it---as if to say "So There !" I also thought about how casual the angel is in the face of this life or death traumatic event (for the disciples). In the face of such events we weep and wail and are overcome by anxiety. In the face of this event the angel sits back--relaxed--a heavenly perspective on the trials of this world. How can we find that ?
The guards became like "dead men" ?
How will we reeact to God's presence and action in our lives and in the world--will we respond, rejoice, open ourselves to resurrecting power,
or are too like "dead men" ? In what ways are we like dead men ?
"I know that you are looking for Jesus.."
Are we looking for Jesus this Easter ? Where do we see evidence of this hunger for God in 2002 ?
Jesus has gone on before the disciples---as He goes before us. Even US in the preaching and leading of worship (and getting three kids ready for Easter and baskets and food and finally a blessed nap in the afternoon !)
Know matter how many Easters--I do this--I almost always feel frantic. Five services for me between today and Easter. Glad not to be alone in it all !
I too will pray for all of us. VMRT in CT
TC in NY I am somewhat struck by Jesus repetition of the angel's message to go to Galilee, and there they will see him. Richard Jensen writes that Galilee is a metaphor for all the places Jesus promises to meet us, such as wherever 2 or 3 are gathered in his name, where the story is told, etc. Is not this where Matthew's gospel begins, "they shall call him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." The resurrection is not only the climax of the gospel, but expands the understanding of God's presence. Note Matthew's last verse for emphasis, "I will be with always until the close of the age."
MK in Indy,
Perhaps you could reverse the phrase thusly: "In like a lamb (sacrificial imagery, Passover, etc.), and out like a lion (lion of Judah, victorious, vigorous, ALIVE! Puts me in mind of C.S. Lewis' Aslan).
MK in Indy,
Perhaps you could reverse the phrase thusly: "In like a lamb (sacrificial imagery, Passover, etc.), and out like a lion (lion of Judah, victorious, vigorous, ALIVE! Puts me in mind of C.S. Lewis' Aslan).
Rabb_eye in IL
I have read some helpful comments here today. I especially like the referral to misunderstanding of the resurrection displayed by plays showing Jesus "lifte" up by a trapese.
Matthew is clear that the stone was rolled away not for Jesus to come out. He was already out. The stone was rolled away for us to go in. When we go in and see he is not there, then we remember to meet him in Galilee, on the road of ministry.
Some of the greatest fears I have had in ministry have been those comments that go something like this: "Well, they are really upset about this. There are some people that are against this." You ask who "they" are, and no one can tell you.
Back in high school, some friends and I went to a local lake just being filled for the first time. We went at night with frog grabs and .22 rifles (yes I am a redneck). 'We walked out into the knee deep water shining the light in the grass looking for the eyes of the frog.
That is when we noticed at our feet, a large water mocasin. I held the light on him near my feet. My friend unloaded his gun on the snake...and missed. The snake went under and we could not see him. We froze.
Life is full of experiences like that: fear of the unseen possibility, what bad things might happen, what dark powers lurk right at our feet. It is enough sometimes to make disciples go back and lock themselves in the upper rooms of life.
But the Easter message says that there is another out there in the dark, unseen but very present. He sees all and knows all and is victorious over all. Knowing this, the angle could sit on the stone and say to darkness and fear, "take this!"
I am finding help from the contributions this week. The comments on fear and darkness are especially helpful.
Darkness comes in so many forms. The darkness of secrecy or stealth in which the religious leaders had sought to get rid of Jesus. There is the darkness of fear that paralyzes so many. There is the sick darkness in many churches where disenfranchised members create gossip, often referring to the unnamed "they" in order to gain power. Sometimes their values are good but the function in times of fear has a way of creating darkness and sabotoging trust.
When I was in high shcool I went frog gigging with friends late one night. We waded out in knee deep water with flashlights and guns. It wasn't long before I noticed a large water mocasin at my feet. My friend emptied his gun on the snake as I held the light...and he missed.
The snake went under water, invisible. We all froze. We were in the dark, terrified of something we could not see, afraid to move for the possibility of getting bit. The disciples might have been in the same way, Jesus having alread been "bit."
But the Easter message is that there is one who is out there in the places we consider dark, places like Galilee or wherever the road of ministry calls us. The risen Jesus has overcome darkness and death. Just ask the angel who sits on the stone.
The stone was not rolled away for Jesus to come out, but for us to go in and look and see that Jesus is not there. Then we will remember to meet him in Galilee, in the place of ministry. With the risen Christ going before us, and the power of the resurrection with us, we can move forward, burning out the darkness of the world with the message of the good news of the gospel.
Fred in LA
Sally you will look very nice in orange even if it is a "fall" color! I hate time limits! Nancy-Wi
Help! I just found out that my offer to give a brief breakfast devotional for the members of a DC marina and the crew of the visiting tall ship Amistad has not only been accepted, but advertised as a "brief non-denominational service" aboard the Amistad itself. I've been on leave of absence for the past three years while cruising with my family in our sailboat so I have little in the way of resources. I used to check in here often when I was preaching weekly. Can anyone give me some really quick ideas. Amistad was of course the slave ship where the slaves fought for freedom, took over the ship and eventually gained their freedom back to Africa. Music will be a problem, no instruments and I can't sing well enough to carry it off. I cannot believe that I have been given three days notice. Talk about a desperate preacher.
Fay aboard S/V Camelot.
Fay -
Take heart; it IS listed as "brief." I wouldn't worry about music unless you can recruit someone you can communicate with who CAN lead a cappella.
What Scripture? I use a well-worn sermon, abbreviated and altered to suit the occasion. Can you "recycle" well enough from memory, an old Easter sermon, perhaps?
I'm curious to know about your 3-year-long cruise with your family on the sailboat! Wow! Your life sure sounds a lot more interesting than mine!
Nancy -
LOL. But my color season is "summer" Pink, red, blue, & lavender for me! If I go over, I go over. It's happened before, but I just have to realize I'll hear about it from "Bubba." Most everyone else will be too polite to complain to my face, especially since I DO try to be done by noon.
Sally in GA
It seems to me that angels just about always begin with: "Fear not." But I am thinking that, after all, God got the last word. Perhaps Pilate thought he got the last word, or those who mocked him, or even that Jesus got the last word when he said, "it is finished" -- (yes, I know, Jesus is God). But anyhow, what a big surprise, a joke on all those who thought they had control of the situation. Perhaps a joke on satan most of all, God stepped right in and said, "Ta-Da!!!" The last word is not death, but rather life.
HW in HI
Fay-
My 2 bits: Everyone knows Amazing Grace (author was a former slave ship captain) and they will be able to carry it -- almost like happy birthday. Also, everyone knows the Lord's Prayer. Finally, the Easter story just about speaks for itself. One thought: walk slowly through the scripture: as the women walked quietly, as the sun comes up things take shape and form, fear receeds, angels show up, amazement and unbelief are replaced with hope and joy. My prayers will be with you.
HW in HI
I was struck by the first word Jesus utters to the startled women, "Greetings" which is sort of akin to saying good morning. That is what I'm calling my sermon-"Good morning" I'm going to use some lines from Maya Angelou's poem, "On the pulse of the morning" which ends with the wonderful lines, "here on the pulse of this new day,
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes and into your brothers face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning." Isn't looking and really seeing our brothers and sisters, their hopes, their dreams, their needs, what Easter is really about. Because Jesus brought life, we can offer it to and receive it from others. An IL preacher
Maybe it's too late to contribute anything meaningful, but did anybody notice that the angel told the women to "tell his disciples," but Jesus told them to "tell my brothers?" (See Hebrews 2:11-12)
The women had to "come and see" before they could "go and tell." We tell what we know. We know from what eyewitnesses here tell us and what we ourselves have seen.
I was once asked by a skeptic, "What is the most compelling reason you have for believing in God." I told him it was my personal experience with Him. He responded that my reasons weren't very objective. I said, "True, but you asked for what reasons *I* have. You asked for a subjective answer." He conceded, and we went on to more objective reasoning.
The empty tomb provides an objective reason to believe in the risen Christ. The women had a subjective experience with it and told. We must bring both to bear on a world that needs to know that He is risen indeed.
JG in WI
