St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church, Jersey City NJ
April 4, 2015
Year B: The Great
Vigil of Easter
Genesis 1:1-2:2
Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18;
8:6-18; 9:8-13
Exodus 14:10-15:1
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Romans 6:3-11
Psalm 114
Mark 16:1-8
Where’s Jesus?
Alleluia!
Christ is Risen!
The
Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The
Gospel passage I just read is the original ending of the Gospel of Mark, which
almost everybody thinks was the first of the four gospels to be written.
It
contains lots elements found in the other, later gospels.
The
women go to the tomb and, horrifyingly, find that the stone has been rolled
away.
The
women encounter a mysterious figure, dressed in a white robe, who tells them
the most shocking, most amazing news of all time:
“Do
not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He
has been raised; he is not here.”
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The
women are instructed to share the news with Peter and the other disciples – to
share the news that Jesus is risen and that he was going to meet them all back
in Galilee, back where his mission had begun.
Mark
tells us, “they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had
seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
Most
scholars think that’s the original ending of the Gospel of Mark.
Unlike
in the other gospels, in the Gospel of Mark, we don’t actually see the Risen
Christ – there are no stories of Jesus appearing mysteriously in a locked room
– no stories of Jesus inviting Thomas to touch his wounds – no stories of
appearing to disciples on the road to Emmaus.
There’s
none of that. Which, maybe, feels a little bit like a letdown.
But,
actually, Mark tells us all that we really need to know.
The
young man in white says, “He has been raised. He is not here.”
Jesus
is no longer in the tomb.
Jesus
is no longer in the place of seeming failure, the place of death and decay.
But,
aside from saying he’s on his way to Galilee, it’s true that Mark doesn’t tell
his first readers and hearers – he doesn’t tell us this evening – where
exactly Jesus is.
Where’s
Jesus?
Mark
doesn’t tell where Jesus is because, of course, his first readers and hearers
knew exactly where the Risen Christ was.
And,
you and I know where the Risen Christ is today.
Just
look around.
Alleluia!
Christ is Risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The
Risen Christ is not in the tomb – not in the place of seeming failure, death,
and decay but the Risen Christ is alive and here among us this evening – living
in and among us, the people of St. Paul’s and Incarnation.
Now,
you may have missed it because it was a little dark in here, but already this
evening we had a powerful encounter with the Risen Christ.
We
encountered the Risen Christ at the baptismal font when Velma and Randolph
presented Lena and when Esther and Aaron presented Michelle – when they
presented their beautiful baby daughters to be baptized.
We
encountered the Risen Christ when we recalled our own baptism – and the
promises that we made or were made for us.
We
encountered the Risen Christ in the water of baptism where, as St. Paul tells
us, Lena and Michelle died and rose again with Christ – in the water of baptism
where God made an indissoluble bond with these two beloved children – in the
water of baptism where God made an unbreakable bond with us all.
We
encounter the Risen Christ here in this beautiful, old building when we reach
out to each other, loving one another, being there for each other in good times
and not so good.
We
will encounter the Risen Christ in just a few moments at the Lord’s Table where
we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, taking the Risen Christ into our
bodies and into our hearts.
And,
hopefully, our encounters with the Risen Christ here this evening, and each
time we gather at Incarnation or St. Paul’s, will give us eyes to see the Risen
Christ out there – out on the streets of Jersey City – out there – at work or
at school or at the supermarket or the mall.
Hopefully
our encounters with the Risen Christ will give us eyes to see the Risen Christ
in the man stumbling drunk on Bergen Avenue or the heartbreakingly young woman
begging for change near the escalator at the Journal Square PATH station – eyes
to see the Risen Christ in the people we like the least – the people who scare
us – and maybe even the people who hurt us.
The
women arrived at the tomb only to find that the stone had been rolled away.
The
young man dressed in a white robe greeted them with the most shocking, most
amazing news of all time:
“Do
not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He
has been raised; he is not here.”
He
is no longer in the tomb.
Where’s
Jesus?
The
Risen Christ is alive with us, right here and now.
But,
don’t take my word for it.
Just
look around.
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Amen.
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