Grace Episcopal
Church, Madison NJ
March 31, 2013
Year C: The Sunday of
the Resurrection - Easter Day
Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Acts 10:34-43
John 20:1-18
The Easter Way of Life
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
This
year the timing could not have been any better.
On
Friday, we had a very powerful three-hour Good Friday service.
For
three hours, through readings, meditations, music and silence we grieved the
tragic death of Jesus of Nazareth – the horrifying and shameful death of the
prophet who preached repentance, forgiveness, and love.
We
grieved the senseless execution of the meek king who had so recently been
greeted with waving palms and cloaks on the road and shouts of Hosanna as he
rode on a donkey into his capital city.
We
grieved the death of the Son of God.
For
three hours we were in the land of darkness and shadow.
And
then the service was over.
The
choir and the altar party processed out, rounding right here in front of the
pulpit and out the side door.
And
as we exited the church we just about literally collided with a riot of color
and fragrance – nearly crashing into the Easter flower delivery.
Suddenly
and unexpectedly, we moved out of the old and tired land of shadow, darkness
and death and into the new and joyous land of light, color and life.
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
One
of the great themes of the Gospel of John is the move from darkness into light,
the journey from unbelief to faith.
And
that move, that journey, is at the center of John’s account of the
Resurrection. The way John tells the story, Mary Magdalene moves from darkness to
light, journeys from unbelief to faith.
As
we just heard, the story begins with Mary Magdalene visiting Jesus’ tomb early
in the morning, while it was still dark. When she sees the stone had
been removed she didn’t dare to look in but instead ran to get Peter and the
Beloved Disciple. They look in, don’t understand, and return home.
But,
not Magdalene - she stays, weeping, beginning her move from darkness to light,
starting the journey from unbelief to faith.
Mary
Magdalene doesn’t know what to do but she stays – and out of what must
have been a desperate hope, now she looks into the tomb, suddenly and
unexpectedly seeing the two angels in white.
Then
in one of most moving and powerful moments in all of Scripture, she hears the
voice of Jesus call her by name, “Mary!”
And
finally, Mary Magdalene made her move from darkness to light when she followed
the command of Jesus, going to the disciples and telling them, “I have seen the
Lord.”
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
And
then, what?
Well,
the Resurrection of Christ is a once and forever event. But, Easter is
much more than just a one-time occurrence.
Over
the course of the next fifty days, we’ll remember stories of Jesus’
post-resurrection appearances. Just next Sunday, we’ll hear the familiar story
of the Apostle Thomas making his own journey from darkness to light, from
unbelief to faith.
And
then the Great Fifty Days of Easter will culminate in Ascension Day –
acknowledging that we no longer see the resurrected body of Christ the way the
first disciples did – and the great feast of Pentecost when, with gusts of wind
and like tongues of flame, the Church first received the Holy Spirit.
But
Easter is more than today and it’s even more than the next fifty days.
Easter
is a way of life.
With
God’s help, it’s the way to move out of the old and tired land of shadow,
darkness and death into the new and joyous land of light, color and life.
Easter
is – and has to be - a way of life because it’s not a straight line from
darkness to light.
In
the New Testament, we never hear from Mary Magdalene again. But, although she
had encountered the Risen Christ, I bet later there were times that she journeyed
back from belief to unbelief, drifted back to the old and tired land of shadow,
darkness and death.
And
the same is true for us.
Last
night at the Great Vigil of Easter, as always we began the service in the dark
church. And then when the Paschal candle was lit, the cantor – Dr. Anne, in
this case - sang out, “The light of Christ.” And we replied, “Thanks be to
God.”
And
later, the light of Christ illuminated the whole church, bells peeled, and we
sang out our Alleluias. Last night the Resurrected Christ was almost as
palpable in this room as he must have been to Mary Magdalene outside the tomb
long ago.
But
then, we left church and went home. And for many if not all of us, that meant back
to our lives with all of their challenges and worries – back to doctor’s
appointments, unbalanced checkbooks, stacks of bills, aches and pains, children
and grandchildren on the wrong path, fears, resentments, regrets and grief.
And
when we woke up this morning it was dark. Whether we were here last night or
not, once again, many of us were living in the old and tired land of shadow,
darkness and death.
And
so we come here this morning, like Mary Magdalene, desperately hoping, peering
into the empty tomb, and once again meeting the Risen Christ.
But,
if we really want, with God’s help, to move out of the old and tired land of
shadow, darkness and death then we need to be here, week after week, fed and
strengthened by God’s Word and by Christ’s Body and Blood.
If
we really want, with God’s help, to move from darkness into light, to journey
from unbelief to faith, then, like Mary Magdalene, we need to go boldly out
into a broken and hurting world, proclaiming, “I have seen the Lord.”
If
we really want, with God’s help, to move into the new and joyous land of light,
color and life, then we need to generously follow Christ’s command to wash each
other’s feet, to love God and to love one another, most especially the poor and
the outcasts.
If
we really want, with God’s help, to move from death into life, then Easter has
to be much more than a day, much more than the Great Fifty Days.
Easter
has to be a way of life.
On
Friday, as we exited the church we just about literally collided with a riot of
color and fragrance.
For
a moment, suddenly and unexpectedly, we moved out of the old and tired land of
shadow, darkness and death into the new and joyous land of light, color and
life.
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
May
the Easter moment truly become our way of life.
Amen.
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