March 27, 2005 At Saint Mark in Norman, OK
Acts 10: 34, 37-43 + Colossians 3: 1-4 + Matthew 28: 1-10
| Nowhere in the Gospel does anyone ask the question: “How.” The women who are the first to announce that Christ is-not dead make no effort to explain how it happened or what happened.No one knows what happened in that tomb. The evidence given by the witnesses is simple: the body is no longer where they put it;the sealed tomb is open and empty.People by experience know and recognize the presence of the one who had been dead.No matter how much some wanted to control that information they could not do so.No matter how powerful the Roman army was, they could not prevent the opening of that tomb.The most powerful force on earth, the Roman army, collapsed like the dead in fear,At the same time, unarmed women, though afraid, are comforted and rejoice. They had seen it all: the trial, the crucifixion, the burial, and the seated tomb. Their charge was not to explain how Christ was raised, and they didn’t even try. and they didn’t even try. They were charged to tell what they had seen and heard; that the one once dead had risen. The one they wrapped in burial clothes and placed in a tomb was alive. The one they left for dead has gone before them into the world. And because of their witness, we are here today, either out of habit, out of faith and joy, or because once again we need to be here. Faith in the resurrection is more than belief that a tomb filled for three days is now empty.· It is more than belief in a dead body brought back to life. Faith in the resurrection is the sure knowledge that God acts, that God is faithful, and that God has not and does not abandon the weak, the captive, the sorrowful. Resurrection faith believes that because Christ lives, we live! It sends us into a world that has lost hope, misplaced hope, and defeated hope. In that world, we bear witness that the presence of sin and violence is not the last word, because God is acting today to create a world of justice and righteousness. This day is not a matter how Christ rose, nor is it a matter of rational argument. There is nothing rational about the resurrection. No one argued the point to those first believers. They came to faith because of witness, not arguments or proof. The only argument for the resurrection is what we do because of it and what we become from it. We do not have to look into an empty tomb in which we had placed a body and sealed the entrance. We simply have to be in the presence of someone who lives in love, God’s Love, and we know Christ is alive. We simply have to restore peace where it is lost, give forgiveness where it is needed,and live the irrational, unselfish, extravagantly generous and merciful love J of Christ and others will know that Christ is alive. The truth of the resurrection is not found in an empty tomb. It is found in the lives of people transformed by faith. The greatest power known at the time: the Roman Army could do nothing. The greatest schemers and political manipulators could not make their lie stick – that someone had stolen the body. All because the weakest of all, a.couple of frightened women were transformed by love and grace. The promise has been fulfilled. They went.and told the truth of the resurrection. They showed those who were afraid and hopeless that they need not fear nor lose hope. They showed those who trusted in their own power that their power is not and will never be enough. They showed the Risen Christ, and so must we by the way we cling,to hope, trust in mercy, grant forgiveness, and live in peace, in love, and always in Joy. |