Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020

Matthew 28:1-10

A day without fear. A day of hope. A day of resurrection. That is today!

In worship, many have heard me share the wisdom of Father Richard Rohr, especially from his newest book, The Universal Christ. One of the greatest ways of describing the work of God is through his understanding of the three boxes: order, disorder (chaos), and reorder. It is the same as life, death, and resurrection.

In our wish for things to be as they were … for us to have one more day with our loved ones. To have a chance to get it right the first time so we don’t have this grief and regret. Let’s just change the game plan a little bit so we can go back.

Yet this ever-evolving God of ours doesn’t go backward … only forward. What is so hard for us to see is that beyond that vacuous darkness is resurrection … a new life that awaits us. It’s not just what we consider to be life after death. The resurrected life awaits us right here. Right now!

This is a story that requires the kind of emotional sensitivity … the raw emotional honesty … that only the two Marys can help us see. Their grief is so real. Their fear is worn on their faces. Their bewilderment at the revelation of something unexpected is palpable. Their exuberant joy at the sudden intrusion of the Christ on their hurried run to meet the others.

The words still ring. “Do not be afraid,” said the angel. “Do not be afraid,” said Jesus. Be courageous. Take heart. God is greater than our griefs and more enlivened than our death.

Our anxieties yet consume us in a culture where fear is a tool of the powerful … where, if we worry enough or are afraid enough, we will continue to rely on those who come with nothing but empty promises and who ultimately broker only death.

Listen again to the angel and to Jesus: “Do not be afraid!” Look up and see the risen Christ standing before you!

Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen, Indeed!