Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."   Matthew 28:1-10

 

            At the end of Matthew’s Gospel here, the number of those who have not deserted Jesus is now two--these two Marys--that’s it. They are having their worst day ever and they are having their best day ever. It says:

 “they left the tomb quickly--with fear and great joy.”         

            It’s not often that we experience fear and joy at the same time. Maybe your wedding day? Your joy is off the charts, but then there’s the sweaty palms and the shortness of breath, the pounding heart. It is to be expected.

            In this scene on the first Easter morning, if nothing else, these two Marys are full of expectation, but unlike a wedding day, it is not the kind you look forward to. 

 Resurrection for the rest of us

            They expect their sorrow to continue, to get worse, they expect their despair to be complete when they go to see the tomb. They are in shock, the kind that takes hold of you when a loved one dies. They don’t expect this to wear off any time soon. But they do expect to see Jesus.

            What we don’t hear in this Gospel is what we already know, that it was the job of women to deal with the remains of the deceased, family or friend, it was what was expected of them; so in carrying out this task, they expected to see Jesus one more time.

            Their expectations are fulfilled in quite an unexpected way.

            Expectations are tricky; they may shackle us in fear, or take us to great heights.

            In a study from a few years ago, people were given 10 puzzles to solve but the results weren’t graded. Half the people were told they got 8 right, and the other half were told they got 3 right. Then they were given 10 more puzzles. These puzzles were graded and the half that expected to do well actually did better than the others. Their expectation affected how well they did.

            What we expect to see is what we tend to see. What do you find in this empty tomb? Do you find only sorrow and sadness, or do you see something else? The two Marys came to the tomb expecting to find a corpse. What they find is new life.

            The first thing they encounter at the tomb, however, is chaos. 

            Rumbling boulders, blinding white angels, fainting soldiers. I’m going to say right now that it’s what we might expect--resurrection is chaotic. It’s messing with the order of things, it’s turning the world upside down, it is an event of seismic proportions.

            I had coffee two weeks ago with the Earthquake Preparedness Team at the Windsor Country Club Estates Mobile Home Park. This was an eye-opener. Am I prepared for a California earthquake? Hardly.

 

I do have a rusty old crescent wrench attached to my gas meter on the side of my house. I put it there over 20 years ago after the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, the famous World Series quake. We all remember where we were on that day, don’t we?

SLIDE: Resurrection for the rest of us

            But can I divulge a not so well-kept secret? We are earthquake deniers. You and me. When you live in California, you know the big one is coming and yet...and yet...denial is so effective, until it’s not.

            Today’s scripture reveals the biggest earthquake ever...the resurrection of Jesus Christ. By biggest quake ever I mean the effect it has had on human experience, from the two Marys, to the disciples waiting in Galilee, to Paul the Apostle, and on down to you and me. No event has changed history like this one. Without Jesus would we know how to love our enemies let alone even think to do it?

            You talk about raising expectations! Here’s another expectation: resurrection is still possible, in me, in you, in the church of Jesus Christ.

            Matthew’s use of earthquakes is unparalleled in the Gospels. He uses these images to drive home his point that something earth-shattering has occurred. Seismos is the Greek word he uses when the curtain of the temple is torn in two on Good Friday at the time of Jesus’ death.

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            When the disciples are caught in a storm on a boat in the Sea of Galilee,

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he describes that storm as of a“seismos” scale.       

            And last week, when Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the crowd was in ‘quake-like’ turmoil. 

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            Now on Easter morning an earthquake happens at the exact moment the two Marys get to the grave.       

SLIDE: Resurrection for the rest of us

            What kind of quake would happen were resurrection to catch up to the rest of us? If the power in our human hearts was unleashed in the name of love and not hate? In pursuit of healing, not violence? That is the expectation that resurrection imposes upon us. Some question whether the church has a future. My guess is the church will have a future when each person in the church confronts the possibility of resurrection in their life.

 

            In the year 2000, an earthquake ripped through Northern California, about a 6.3 on the Richter, maybe not that impressive for Californians.

            During that year, my wife and I were in a student apartment in seminary. By student apartment, I mean everything that implies: cheap, poorly constructed, hot in the summer, cold in the winter and perched above a carport. Perhaps you’ve lived in one of these. That 2 second jolt kept me awake at night for the next two weeks. It moved me in more ways than one. Whatever illusions I had of physical safety disappeared for a while, and ever since, my expectation of how I will do in an earthquake are completely different after that experience. It made me feel very small. Mother Nature got my attention.

            Contemporary theologian Richard Rohr recently wrote:

SLIDE: “...it’s a gift to joyfully recognize and accept our own smallness and ordinariness. It is a form of freedom. Such freedom is an apt description of Christian maturity. Once you know you are one with God, then small and ordinary become irrelevant.” Richard Rohr

            That was certainly true of these two Marys, small and ordinary by their social position; but that all changed in a heartbeat. Not because they became ‘larger than life’ somehow, but because they meet and recognize their Lord. Trust me, Jesus has their full attention.

            Jesus chooses to reveal himself to two humble, imperfect women. To small and ordinary ones. To the eyes of faith rather than the eyes of cynicism. 

            When will Jesus get your attention? When will you fall at his feet and worship? 

            In the resurrected Christ, our importance, our dignity, our stature has already been resolved, once and for all, and forever and ever. Now it is up to our minds to allow our souls to take flight.

            In the novel, Four Spirits, by Sara Jeter Naslun, Darla and Stella are talking: “Do you know the average altitude for the flight of robins?” Darla asked. A spurt of laughter flew from between Stella’s lips…”I don’t have the foggiest idea,” she said.

SLIDE: Be an “I” witness

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‘eye’ witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection, but we can be “I” witnesses. Because of Jesus, there is a story within you that must be told, and you are the only one able to go and tell.

SLIDE: Be an “I” witness

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