Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is
risen indeed! Alleluia!
On
the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women came to the tomb. They were met there by two men, most likely
angels, who asked, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”
After
hearing this, the women remembered the words of Jesus. They remembered his words that he would
rebuild this temple in three days. They
remembered his words that he would be in the ground three days like Jonah was
three days in the fish. They remembered
his words that he would rise again after three days. They remembered. And they left the tomb, returned to the
disciples, and told them what they had seen and heard.
Luke
records that it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other
women who returned and told all this to the disciples. They didn’t just tell of the empty tomb. They told All This. All This includes the empty tomb. All This includes the angels. All This includes the words of Jesus that
predicted his death and resurrection.
All
This. The tomb is empty! Angels told us Jesus lives. They reminded us that Jesus said he would be
crucified and rise again on the third day.
We remembered the words of Jesus about Jonah in the fish, about the
raising up of the temple. We remember
All This and it’s true! The tomb is
empty! Jesus lives!
This
is good news. This is worth telling
people about.
How
many of you here today will follow the women’s example? How many of you will leave here and go tell
people that the tomb is empty and Jesus lives?
That
many, huh?
Why? Or, why not, as the case may be. Why aren’t we all leaving this place where we
celebrate the risen Christ and telling people all that we have seen and heard
here?
My
guess is that it is because of what happens next that saps our enthusiasm. My guess is that we don’t want to be faced
with the same reaction that greeted the women whey they told the eleven
disciples about All This. because when
they told the disciples about All This, it seemed to the men to be nothing but
an idle tale.
We
don’t want to risk that reaction. We
don’t want All This – the fire, the procession, the movement from dark to
light, the flowers, the incense, bells, hymns, Alleluias!, and the JOY
– we don’t want All This to be heard as just another idle tale.
Both
reactions, however, are typical. The
women are excited after seeing the empty tomb, talking to angels, and
remembering what Jesus said about his own resurrection. That is a story worth telling. And in their telling of All This, they wanted
the disciples to get just as excited as they were.
The
disciples, though . . . not so much. All
This seemed to be an idle tale that was too fantastical to believe. And after seeing what the authorities did to
Jesus, they weren’t about to believe it.
Skepticism was probably a good thing at this point.
Peter,
however, while not believing, does run to the tomb. An inkling of belief begins to settle in.
In
the women, the disciples and Peter we can see how important experience is to
our faith. The women experienced the
empty tomb and the remembrances of Jesus’ words, and they believed. The disciples had no experience, yet, so they
did not believe. Peter experienced the
excitement of the women, saw the empty tomb, and began to believe.
How
do you experience All This? as you
participate in these mysteries, do you experience a sense of the holy? As you participate in the Easter celebration,
do you experience the joy of the resurrection?
Or do you have a little bit of Peter in you where you see All This, but
go home amazed without telling anyone?
Ours
is a participatory faith. I’ve often
ended Easter sermons with the admonition to go tell someone. This year, however, instead of simply telling
people about the resurrection, invite people to experience it. Invite people to experience the resurrection
in the holy mysteries of the liturgy, in the experience of a faith community,
and in the experience of a thousand little miracles that come from knowing
death no longer has a hold on us.
So
come and experience what the women experienced.
Come experience the empty tomb.
Come experience the words of Jesus.
Come experience the mystery. Come
experience the joy of new life. Come
experience the joy of shouting, “Alleluia!
Christ is risen!”
And
then offer to share the experience with someone. Because it is in the experience of All This
where disciples are made.
On
the first day of the week, at early dawn, our experience tells us that Jesus is
not found among the dead, but among the living.
And that should be worth sharing.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is
risen indeed! Alleluia!
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