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First Lesson: Jeremiah 31: 1-6 Second Lesson: Acts 10: 34-43 Gospel Lesson: Matthew 28: 1-10 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Today’s Gospel lesson from Matthew 28 is ultimately a story about a Mother and a Son. It’s a tale of a Mother who was amazed by her child at early age of twelve as her son had gotten so smart that he even amazed the greatest religious scholars of his day[1]. It’s a tale of a Mother who was present at the first miraculous thing that he did in his life, when he turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana. Yet what most people don’t realize about this miracle is that it only took place after her son had received his Mom’s encouragement[2]. It’s a tale of a mother who just two days previous saw her son being nailed to the cross in agonizing pain, yet all she could do was hurt on the inside as she saw her son in pain. The relationship between Mother and Son was close. Mary had followed her son to the cross even when the disciples did not. It’s a tale of a Mother who went to her Son’s tomb on a Sunday morning, even though she knew it would be painful. The Mother was a real stickler for tradition. It was custom to return to your loved one’s tomb for days after their death to mourn. The Mother was going to return to her son’s tomb, just like she returned to the tomb for days after her husband’s death years before. The Mother approached the tomb on that Sunday morning, slumbering through; the previous few days had been emotionally exhausting as she had lost a child too young. The Mother was experiencing a moment in life that many of us know. The Mother was experiencing that time when our minds can’t stop thinking about those who have been taken from us whether it be a spouse, a parent, a grandparent, a child, or a friend. The Mother went to the tomb that Sunday morning overwhelmed by the loss of her son, while thinking how she would stop at nothing to bring him back to her. Yet something strange had happened at the crack of dawn that Sunday morning. An earthquake had shaken Judea[3]. This was the second earthquake to hit Judea in a two day period. The previous earthquake had happened two days before, right at the moment of her son’s death[4]. The Mother didn’t know what to make of this earthquake? She thought it to be nothing more than random chance. Yet, as the Mother and another woman, Mary Magdalene approached her son’s tomb that Sunday morning they saw something amazing! An angel appeared before them appearing brighter than lightning[5]. This Angel then proceeded to roll away the stone which sat in front of her son’s tomb and sit on it. The Roman soldiers who were guarding the tomb were so scared by the meaning of all this that they fainted in fear[6]. The first words out of the Angel’s mouth were “Do not be afraid[7]”. These words had been spoken to the Mother one other time in her life, when an angel Gabriel had appeared before her to proclaim to her that she would soon bear a child to be called “Jesus[8]”. These words of “Do not be afraid” spoken to the Mother were important because they were meant to announce to her that everything she went to the Tomb thinking about death previously was no longer going to apply. The Angel’s next words to Mary the Mother spoke to this truth, “I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised.” “Come; see the place where he lay[9]”. Earlier that week her son had spoken words that no one quite understood what they meant at that time “Tear down this temple and it will be rebuilt in three days”[10] These words were thought to refer to the physical place, her son was when he spoke them. Yet what these words really meant is that the words that her Son had spoken throughout his entire ministry were true. God’s promises were certain. God will forgive your sins. “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live[11].” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”[12] For when Mary was told to “Come, see the place where her son had previously laid”, Mary had been given a new hope that she couldn’t have fathomed before she had awakened on that day. In 1982, one of the most popular movies of all time came out in: ET: The Extra Terrestrial. E.T. tells the story of a ten year old boy named Elliott who longed for more than anything a deeper connection with the world around him. Elliott’s whole world changes when he discovers ET, an alien, hiding in his family’s tool shed. E.T’s supernatural power is on display in the film as he is able to revive a previously dead germanium. The majority of the movie centers on the friendship between Elliot and E.T. E.T though one day begins to grow very sick due from being away from his own planet. So Elliot and E.T. devise a plan for E.T. to phone home so he can be rescued. Yet before ET can go home, the Government discovers E.T., quarantines him, and E.T. slowly dies. In the most heartwarming scene of the entire movie Elliott begins to grieve over a motionless E.T., grieving over the loss of his closest friend in the world. It was right when Elliott was at his lowest that he noticed something unbelievable out of the corner of his eyes (The very same germanium, E.T. had revived, had died, and was now coming back to life. E.T’s own lifeless corpse, then comes alive! You can’t describe the look in Elliott’s eyes at this moment, but it was probably similar to the look that came over Mary’s eyes on that Easter Sunday morning as she was told that her son was dead, no more! For there is a lot you can tell about a person from looking into their eyes. I know as a Preacher there are certain people you don’t want to look at, when you’re giving a sermon on Sunday morning. The eyes tell you of a person’s interest, the eyes tell you of a person’s grief, and the eyes tell you of a person’s pain even when their mouth might claim otherwise. There is no more magical moment in the world when eyes that are going through grief are given a word of hope. Hollywood makes movies with happy endings, where truly good news can only come when we’ve been shaken from our previous way of life, when rock bottom has been flipped upside down. The Apostle Paul writing about 20 years after Christ’s death in a letter to the church in Corinth, described the Resurrection well when he said: “Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed![13]” The ultimate meaning of Easter is that there is life beyond the grave. Death no longer stands in judgment over us. The interesting way that the New Testament speaks of death is it speaks of it most commonly as “sleep”, a casual time of rest before awakening for the new day of resurrection. For what we are reminded today is that the same Jesus who wept bitterly over his friend Lazarus’ death right before Palm Sunday knows the suffering involved in death[14]. How death is the most emotionally and spiritually painful thing that we shall ever encounter, this is why God went through death on the cross. What the resurrection reminds us ultimately is God has dealt with the failures of our past, by declaring us to be perfect in Christ Jesus, thereby giving us hope for the future no matter what we shall endure. As Mary went to the tomb grieving that Sunday morning, it speaks to the nature of all our grief. We grieve because death is unnatural. Death is not what God intended for his creation. Death reminds us that we were not intended to be separated from God and our loved ones this way. We were not born to live short lives and then die[15]. But we do no want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the those who have no hope”- I Thessalonians 4:13 This is the meaning of resurrection. Luther described Easter best years ago when he said “In the midst of life we are ringed ’round by death,’ but the gospel reverses this, saying: in the midst of death we are ringed ’round by life,’ because we have the forgiveness of sins.[16]” Mary the Mother and Mary Magdalene left the tomb that day with fear and great joy[17]. They had fear because they did not know what the days ahead ushered in by this new reality of resurrection might bring, yet they had great joy because they were convinced that there is life after death. They left the tomb with great joy, because they were now convinced that eternal life was unlike any life they had previously known. They came to realize that this event they had just witnessed was so earth-shattering to their existence that they are described as running to Galilee over 70 miles away to tell the disciples about it[18]. What Easter ultimately meant to Mary was that those whom she held dear, would not be forgotten, they would not be abandoned. Mary could go forth in confidence because the victory over sin and death had already been won. Mary could go forth with a voice of reassurance given by the one who overcame sin, death, and the grave. He is risen. He is risen indeed! Amen! [1] Luke 2:41-52, [2] John 2:1-11 [3] Matthew 28:2 [4] Matthew 27:51 [5] Matthew 28:3 [6] Matthew 28:4 [7] Matthew 28:5 [8] Luke 1:26-38 [9] Matthew 28:6 [10] John 2:19 [11] John 11:25 [12] John 3:16 [13] 1 Corinthians 15:51 [14] John 11:35 [15] Ted. R. “Michael Spencer Has Died”. New Reformation Press Blog. 5.Apr.2010. Web. Apr.16.2014 [16] LW 13:43 [17] Matthew 28:8 [18] Matthew 28:10 Comments are closed.
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