Resurrection Plus
Resurrection of Our Lord A
April 9, 2023
Christ, Preston & Union Prairie, Lanesboro
Matthew 28.1-10
Somewhere in the dark, dusty recesses of memory I learned something about American novels. I don’t know if it was in high school, but it may have been in my Early American Literature class my freshman year in college. Regardless, what I learned was that, peculiar to the American genre, our novels don’t end, they leave us hanging for more. Yes, they end in one sense, but not in another. We also see the phenomenon in movies and TV shows that employ sequels and cliffhangers. And, as my wife and I like to joke, no one in the superhero shows we watch is ever really dead. Though we get snarky about this, the truth is that life is very open ended and contingent.
We don’t know what was going through the minds of the two Marys that first Easter morning as they came to the tomb. Did they wonder if they had a future now that Jesus was crucified, just as they had witnessed? They came to the tomb to see and watch, but what were they looking for, a miracle? Did they remember that Jesus predicted he would be raised, just as the angel reminded them? What kind of plans had they made as they waited through the sabbath? What were they going to do now?
Whatever they scheduled for that day was suddenly brushed aside by the heavenly visitor. The earth shook, the stone was rolled away, and the angel sat down as if it was just another day. “Quickly, go tell his disciples he’s been raised, just as he said, and that he’s going ahead of them to Galilee.” This is why Mary Magdalene is rightly called the First Apostle as well as the Apostle to the Apostles. She is the first sent with the message of resurrection and new life. And even as the two Marys do so, they encounter the risen Jesus. Falling at his feet, they began worshiping him. But there is little time for celebration as Jesus reiterates the angel’s message to the others. The good news can’t wait.
When we think of Easter and Jesus’ resurrection, we tend to think of eternal life in heaven. It’s as it should be as the promise of death being overthrown and time with loved ones is a bedrock promise of the Christian life. Yet, Jesus is clear that the resurrection is not an ending, but a beginning. Resurrection is for right now as well as later. They must go to Galilee, the Galilee “of the Gentiles” as the prophet said. Galilee is where he started his ministry and it is where the message will unfold. As marvelous as the resurrection is, there is work to be done and people need to hear the Easter story.
This side of eternity death stops for no one. But the resurrection says we can have new life now. Worlds that seem dark and closed to us are suddenly broken open and are infused with life. Old perceptions of what is possible are shattered because God’s creative and transforming work is at loose in the world. During our midweek Lenten series, “God in Everyday Life,” we heard stories that give us a foretaste of what that new life looks like. Ron, Lori, Christy, some 9th grade Confirmation students, Grant, Anna, and Eric told us about how God brought new life into the darkest places any of us could possibly imagine.
The resurrection isn’t just an act of power, it is a powerful act of love by a God who continues to work in our world. The Easter proclamation isn’t “Christ was raised,” the past tense, although that is true. It could be “Christ has been raised,” the perfect passive for you grammar geeks, and that would be true, a past action having continuing action in the present. But we say, “Christ is risen,” the present tense, to declare new life now. Though life is indeed open ended and contingent, and we don’t know what happens next, we do know that the God who raised Jesus continues to be present in our lives every day. My siblings in Christ: Christ is risen, He is risen indeed! Alleluia. Amen.
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