the angel said, do not fear
you look for Jesus who is not here
Even on the most ordinary of occasions it’s a bit of an unsettling story, isn’t it? What, with the empty tomb, the young man announcing that Jesus isn’t there, he’s been raised, he’s ahead of them, in Galilee; just as he said.
Yes, in it’s own way, it’s kind of a disquieting story…
As today is Easter Sunday, though; what’s really unsettling about this story is how it ends. After hearing that Jesus is risen, the women don’t exclaim, ‘he is risen indeed, alleluia;’ rather they run off afraid, and they don’t say a a single, rotten word.
Yes, it’s an unsettling story; especially today.
Maybe, though, it is a fitting Easter story. After all, it isn’t always easy to say “alleluia,’ is it?
That’s how it was for those women that first Easter.
After a night of undoubtedly restless sleep, they wake up at the crack of dawn, get everything together and go to THE tomb; Jesus’ tomb, to anoint his dead body.
Although this life hadn’t been all that kind to Jesus, at least these women would do right by him in his death…
It’s hard to know exactly how they felt; walking through the grass, still wet with dew, to Jesus’ tomb as the sun rose that morning. Apparently they weren’t overcome with grief, though. Rather, they were worrying about who would roll away the stone.
You can’t help but get the sense that Jesus was the last bit of hope they had left; and when he died, so did every last one of their optimistic designs for the future. A person can only take so much disappointment, you know…
When this one who could take a few fish and loaves, and feed a multitude; when this one who could cast out demons; when this one who could heal the sick; died on the cross, so did their last bit of hope. On that terrible day when Jesus died and was sealed in the tomb, they watched as this one they placed all their trust in, came up against the one thing you can’t do anything else about…
So now, on this first Easter, these poor women couldn’t have been any more disappointed. After all, they have no more hope left to be dashed.
Walking up to the tomb, they wonder to no one in particular, who will roll away the stone.
And we know what that’s like, too; don’t we?
After all, that could be you this very morning.
It isn’t always easy to believe, is it?
Perhaps the only reason you’re here is because of Mom or Grandmother. Maybe this has been a hard year for you, perhaps the ‘alleluias’ don’t come as easily as they did back in Sunday School.
That’s how it was for those women that first Easter…
Suddenly, though, these women notice something amiss. They look up intently, focusing their eyes. Indeed it’s what it looks like, someone has already rolled the stone away.
Now they pick up their pace and hustle to the tomb. Hopefully no one else had beaten them there and already anointed Jesus’ body!
Stepping in the tomb though, they’re in for a real shock. It turns out they have a problem alright; but it’s not the one they expected…
The problem isn’t the stone, but rather the body. It isn’t there!
Now they’re really unsettled!
A young man in a white robe says Jesus has been raised. Early as they rose, Jesus rose earlier and now he’s already out, on the loose.
The young man instructs the women to go and tell Jesus’ disciples, Peter included, that Jesus has been raised from the dead, broken loose from the tomb, and now he’s gone on ahead of them, to Galilee; just as he said.
These women, though, they got out of there as quick as they can. Fearful as they were, they ran back home; and they don’t tell a single soul…
And we know what that’s like, too; don’t we?
After all, that could be you this very morning.
The truth is, for as well as we imagine we know the story, for as flippantly we say back, right on cue, “He is risen indeed, alleluia,’ the idea that Jesus actually rose from the dead, is a little unsettling.
That’s how it was for those women that first Easter…
These women, they’re not afraid that ‘ol king Death had taken yet another victim. Why they’ve already made their peace with that. They woke up bright and early, with all the right spices to anoint yet another dead body.
These women were no fools, they knew how it worked. They knew that when you come up against that one thing you can’t do anything else about; you just have to try and get along.
If Death rears his ugly head and kills the one you placed your last bit of hope in, then the best you can do, is to do them right in their death; and hope someone strong enough comes along to roll the stone away.
But now, not only has the stone already been rolled away; even more unnerving, Death itself has been rolled away too; and the one who had done this unsettling thing, is out of the tomb already, he’s up and risen from the dead, he’s out ahead of them, on the loose!
Each and every one of us, like those women that first Easter, have come up against one thing or another we can’t do anything else about. So we tried to get along, we gathered all the right spices and wondered who would roll the stone that was too big for us to do anything about, away.
When God shows up, then, just pushing those stones out of the way and going so far as to even bring the dead back to life, altogether ignoring those things we figured nothing else could be done about, we’re unsettled; and that’s the Good News…
The women will run away, afraid at this unsettling thing God has done; but it isn’t the end of the story. All God needs is an empty tomb, some fearful folks, even us, and most importantly Jesus’ Word to unsettle us enough to make ‘alleluias’ ring out yet.
God unsettles that stone that we can't do anything else about, unsettles that old cuss Death once and for all, and finally even unsettles us, our hopes and our throats so that we too might cry out "alleluia," at this wonderfully unsettling thing god has done in Jesus.
That’s how it was for those women that first Easter; and that’s how it is for you, today. Alleluia! He is risen!
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