Easter Day

 Matt 28:1-10

Alleluia! Christ is risen!  He has risen indeed Alleluia!

Today is the very best day of the church year.  It is a day to throw a party.  We walked the long wilderness road of Lent, we have sat in the quiet, we have listened and sung and prayed, and finally wilderness road has led us home.  And now it is time to celebrate, to cast off the burdens of Lent, to break out the flowers and the finery, to turn up the organ and bring back the alleluia songs, to eat and drink and give away candy and to sing as loud as you can.  And most importantly, today is the day we proclaim Christ’s victory over death for all to see and here.

It is the day we tell the Easter story once again, where we proclaim that the tomb is empty and our Lord once crucified and dead has conquered death and been raised to new life.  And it is a day where we celebrate that through his death and resurrection Jesus opened the way to eternal life to all people.  Where we celebrate that we too are raised from our death to sin into a new life in Jesus Christ.

And so today we hear the great Easter story once again, this year from the Gospel of Matthew, and it is fitting as we mark our return from the wilderness that we turn to this story because of all the tellings of the Easter story, Matthew is by far the most dramatic.  He really pulls out all the stops.  As the women approach the tomb in the eerie quiet of the predawn light, their morning is suddenly shattered by earthquakes, lightning and the presence of a brilliant heavenly messenger capable of great feats of strength.  The experience is so overwhelming that the well-trained Roman guards pass from of sheer terror.  But not the women, they’re fine, they have spent years with Jesus, they know to expect the unexpected.

And so the angel greets them with the same familiar words of comfort that so often accompany the presence of a heavenly messenger.  Do not be afraid.  The same words that greeted both Mary and Joseph when they were told they would be parents to the Savior of the World, the same words that greeted the shepherds on the first Christmas, the same words the risen Jesus will use a few days later when he first appears to his disciples.  Do not be afraid.  No matter what happens next, there is no need to be afraid because what you are about to hear is really, really good news.  Jesus is not here, he has been raised.

And then something odd happens.  The angel tells them come quickly, peak in the tomb, check it out, see that it is true, but then fast as they can they must go tell the disciples.  They are not to linger here in this place of death, for it is not where they will find the answers they seek.  And so they look and then they go, with fear and great joy.  Of course great joy, their Lord is not dead, but still also with fear.  Because despite what the angel said, who could see what they have seen and not be afraid?  And real danger remains.  The people who wanted Jesus dead will surely not be pleased with these events, and now they must convince others that what they saw and heard is true.  Yet despite their fear, their faith and joy win out and they go, fast as they can to tell the others.

And it is then, only then, once they have left the safety of the tomb, when they have set out on the path of faith, that suddenly Jesus appears.  Coming with the same words of greeting as the angel, coming to calm their fears and encourage their journey.  But something else is also clear.  Jesus’s appearance doesn’t change the mission they have been given.  They have been called to share this good news with others and even after Jesus’s appearance, they are still expected to carry it out.  Their experience of the risen Jesus only strengthens the necessity of their mission.  Without instruction from these women, the other disciples would not know where to go to see Jesus themselves.  Without their good news, no one else might know about what happened. 

And so this greatest and most dramatic of Easter stories ends with a commission, with a calling to go forth and follow the path of faith and to tell others the good news of the resurrection.  And this remains true even today.  Easter Sunday is a day where we gather together to hear the good news, to peer into the empty tomb, to celebrate whole heartedly with shouts and songs, food and family, that Jesus is not dead, that he is risen.  But it is more than that too.

Because Easter is still a day that ends with a commission, with a holy and sacred calling not to linger here at the empty tomb for too long.  But instead to take this good news and step out onto a new journey.  Because it is out on that walk of faith that we can expect to truly encounter the risen Lord.

And that new walk of faith may look different to each of us.  For some it might mean recommitting yourself to a life of faith and worship that has fallen by the wayside under the pressures and distractions of everyday life.  For some it might mean embarking on the Christian journey in earnest for the first time, learning the ways of faith and life in the church.  For others it might mean expanding your walk or taking it in a new direction.  Seeking the face of Jesus in the world by serving others and giving of your time and knowledge.  Or for others it might mean taking up the risky path of resistance, caring for and protecting those who are vulnerable from the encroaching forces of oppression and evil.  For others the struggle may be more internal against illness of body or mind.  Jesus calls each of us in his own way.

But rest assured, no matter what path you take, you can expect to encounter the risen Lord along the way.  For he comes to us all with words of assurance and hope.  As we come to the table today to share in the feast of the resurrection and are sent forth to live the good news, we carry with us always words of comfort.  Do not be afraid, your Lord is not dead, he is risen.

Alleluia Christ is risen!  Let us go Share the good news.  Amen.