When we witness the two women at the tomb in that early dawn, we can imagine their sorrow. They went to visit the tomb of their friend and teacher Jesus, the one they believed to be the Messiah. But for all appearances, Jesus had been crucified and buried and all logic and understanding said that was the end.
And then, Matthew tells us that suddenly the earth shook, and an angel appeared, and the women learned that Jesus lives.
Today we celebrate with those first witnesses to the Resurrection that Jesus is risen from the dead, that He has broken the tomb wide open and that He has come back to life and is with us. And then, like the two women named Mary and the other disciples who met Jesus in Galilee, we have to ask, how will we respond to the Risen Christ?
If we are like the disciples in Matthew’s gospel, we will respond with some mixture of fear, joy and obedience. It’s a good reminder that there is more than one way to respond faithfully to God.
Throughout Scripture we hear God and messengers from God tell us, “Fear not” and “Do not be afraid”. The messengers are fulfilling ancient prophecy, they are delivering good news of great joy, they are there to reassure the people of God’s comforting presence in the midst of uncertainty and confusion. Fear is a natural, human response to what we don’t know or understand.
I learned during my Spanish lesson this week that when we say we like something in English we only have one word for that, but in Spanish there are two different words that mean “to like.” If you want to say that you like tamales, you would say, “Me gustan tamales” but if you want to say that you like your pastors, you would say, “Me caen bien los pastors.”
In the same way, in English, when we say we fear something, we often mean we have a phobia or fear of something, like a fear of snakes or thunderstorms or the unknown. (φόβου Matt. 28:4 BGT)
But we use the same word in English and in Greek when our fear is not a state of being filled with terror, as much as it is being filled with awe. The meaning changes but you have to understand the context to know that.
We hear this meaning of fear in Psalm 139 when the psalmist declares, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” And again in Martin Luther’s Small Catechism where he began each explanation of the commandments with the words, “We are to fear and love God…” Luther wasn’t trying to strike terror in our hearts, but he did want us to respond to the extraordinary love of God.
So, when the angel tells the women, “Do not be afraid” (v. 5), he is comforting them in their genuine fear of what they cannot understand: the earthquake, the angel’s appearance, Jesus’ absence from the tomb.
But when they leave the tomb with “fear and great joy” (v. 8),
their fear
has been transformed and they are in awe of what God has done.
Lutheran pastor Mark Allan Powell writes that, “Joy transforms fear into worship.”[i]
Here, joy is more than fleeting happiness.
It is the
joy that the prophet Nehemiah promises Israel saying, “The joy of the Lord will
be your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10) and that the psalmists say is found in God’s
presence (Psalm 16:11).
It is the
joy that the magi experience in the presence of the infant Jesus at the
Nativity. “Joy is a fruit of the [Holy] Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and a mark of
those who love the Lord Jesus. (1 Peter 1:8).”[ii]
This joy is from God, and it is enduring.
This Easter morning our response to the Risen Christ is joy-filled worship. We adorn the cross with butterflies to celebrate the promise of new life, of the transformative power of God. Our melodies ring throughout the church, and with shouts of Alleluia, we rejoice because Jesus is risen from the dead, He has broken the tomb wide open, and He has come back to life and is with us. After the foot washing and the last supper, the crucifixion and the despair of Holy Saturday, “Easter means that hope prevails over despair.”[iii]
And yet, while our joy endures, we cannot stand still. The two women named Mary obediently follow the commands they’re given first by the angel of the Lord and then by Jesus. As witnesses to the Resurrection and disciples of Jesus, we too are called not only to “come and see” but to “go and tell” what God has done.
Every day we are called to share God’s love in our words and our actions and certainly, our care for each other and for our neighbors is one way of telling what God has done.
But if you
want to try something new, the Easter season is fifty days long so each day,
you could write down one way you saw God in the world and then share what you
have seen with a friend.
You could
tell someone the story of how your faith was formed.
You could
find out the story behind your favorite hymn and tell someone else what you
learned.
You could –
and I know what I’m asking –
but you could invite someone to come and worship here with you at Grace!
Church, Jesus is risen from the dead, He has broken the tomb wide open, and He has come back to life and is with us. God has done this because God’s love is for the whole world, so do not be afraid, come and see, and go and tell!
Let us pray….[iv]
God of the empty tomb, Risen Lord,
On Easter Sunday you give us new life and
a renewed hunger for faith.
We know that Easter does not mean the work of seeking stops. Instead, you are now on the loose—out in the world, anywhere
and everywhere.
So our seeking only continues
as we look for your fingerprints all around us.
Give us clarity for the things we seek,
and the courage to continue the work with awe, joy and obedience. Amen.
[i] Mark Allan Powell. Loving Jesus, 121.
[ii] Powell, 119.
[iii] Desmond Tutu.
[iv] Adapted from prayers by The Rev. Sarah A.
Speed, A Sanctified Art.
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