Just imagine trying to preach on this auspicious day. Imagine trying to find a new way to tell an old, very familiar story. Imagine facing a large room of people all expecting to hear good news in a fresh and exciting way. Not that I’m looking for any sympathy, but that’s what I’m up against right now.After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
The Easter story is one that most of us could tell without even opening up a Bible, couldn’t we. But could we really do that? Because there are several versions of the story out there, all telling of resurrection and new life but each with it’s own twists and viewpoints. Each gospel writer has a slightly different take on what happened that morning. Mark’s gospel is sparest, telling of that first Easter in only eight short verses. Matthew and Luke, who both used Mark as a source for their own writing, added details to the narrative. And John has an entirely different perspective.
Today we heard Matthew’s version. Matthew has two women approaching the tomb, not with spices to anoint the body as in the other versions. Why not? Well perhaps because Matthew earlier tells the tale of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with expensive ointment that he declares was his anointing for death; a precursor of his death that Matthew includes. So anointing is not necessary for Matthew; it had already occurred. Plus the women knew that a heavy stone was over the tomb and they wouldn’t have access.
One major difference between Mark’s and Matthew’s gospels is the ending. Mark’s tale ends in fear; the women who came to the tomb ran away frightened and Mark ends there. Did you notice though that Matthew acknowledged the fear but added on to it? He writes that the two Marys “left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy.” Fear and great joy. There’s something about that phrase that caught my attention.
I can understand the women’s reaction of fear and great joy. This is something brand new; resurrection is a whole new event so there’s a naturalness to their fright. But I like the fact that Matthew added the “great joy” to the story that Mark doesn’t include. It speaks of more emotion and a truer emotion than just leaving off with fear. In spite of how crazy this whole resurrection thing might seem, it is cause for joy, gladness, elation.
So with this mingling of emotions the women set out to tell the others of what has happened. It’s incredible, it’s amazing, it’s unbelievable. I don’t blame them for their fear. It’s a natural reaction to an implausible event.
And those are the elements of a resurrection faith: fear and great joy. It’s okay to have the first and it’s necessary to have the second if you’re going to believe that new life is possible. It’s what we’re called to in this resurrection faith: fear and joy.
It’s an interesting mixture of emotions, if you think about it. On one hand there is the gut-wrenching that comes with the fear but the release that comes with the joy.
We certainly might be fearful in this time of great uncertainty in which we live; it’s natural to have some fear in the midst of all that’s going on around us. With America’s longest war still in progress and partisan politics seemingly at its sharpest edge in the midst of a sluggish, at best, economy, there are many reasons to be fearful. I don’t have to give too many examples of why we might fear in this day and age. We all know them.
The great joy can be the difficulty though, as it certainly was for the women leaving the tomb. But a resurrection faith calls for it; demands it even. Sometimes we have to seek out the joy; work to find it. But our resurrection faith requires it. Joy is necessary if we are to claim the name Christian.
True it may be difficult to be joyful in the midst of the overwhelming fear we may feel. But if we truly believe that resurrection is possible, we must know joy and need to exhibit it to others.
Too many who call themselves Christian get stuck with the fear. You know them--those who are always predicting gloom and doom. They want you to believe that the world will end on a certain date and use fear to convert others to their way. Or they want you to think that if you don’t believe exactly as they do, you’re condemned to the fiery pit. They use fear as an evangelism tool but never get around to the joy part.
But Easter is at time of joy: we celebrate resurrection and believe that new life is not only possible is required. The women at the tomb were joyful because they had evidence that their teacher, the one of whom they were disciples, was not dead but alive even though they stood and witnessed his crucifixion just a few days earlier. When something in our lives that once was dead, be it hope or dreams or whatever has gotten you to this point, is found to be alive, we can grasp onto that joy.
Easter does not erase the fear; we still have to deal with it and experience that emotion. But Easter allows us to mix that fear with the joy of believing in new life. Practice resurrection faith; from the midst of your fear, find the joy.
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