April 8, 2007
Text: Luke 24: 1-12
Easter faith is hard. That’s a fact. The gospel writers did not sugar-coat the story for us. Easter faith is hard. We hear that in the Gospel lesson. Jesus predicted his death and resurrection. But it was hard to believe, even for those closest to Jesus.
The women went to the tomb with spices, looking for a dead Jesus, a lifeless body. First the women are perplexed that the tomb is empty, then they are terrified when they see the angels. And when they tell the eleven, no one believes them. It is pretty unbelievable. Doubt was an understandable response. Peter is curious and runs to the tomb to check things out for himself and the Gospel tells us that he is amazed. Easter faith is hard. We are Christians, we are Easter people. We live in the power of the resurrection. I believe in the resurrection. I know you believe in the resurrection. But still, Easter faith is hard.
We don’t have the luxury of running to the tomb like Peter to check things out for ourselves. But still some hope to peer into the tomb. Currently Titanic director James Cameron is trying to prove that the bones of Jesus were found in 1980 in an ossuary, in a coffin. He is saying that the tomb was not, in fact, empty. And I can hardly blame him, because Easter faith is hard.
But this empty tomb is just one piece of the Easter story. An empty tomb alone tells us nothing anyway. The tomb doesn’t make or break Easter faith. I think this film director, James Cameron is trying to deal with Easter faith as if it were a piece of ancient history. You and I know that beyond the empty tomb the story continued. Jesus was alive. There are many post-resurrection appearances in the Gospel. If you keep coming here on Sundays, we’ll talk about them. Beyond the empty tomb the story continued. And it continues to this day. Easter is not about some miraculous resurrection that happened so many years ago. Easter is about the Living Lord who continues to live and act in the world now, today. Beyond that tomb, the story has continued. Christ is risen. Christ is alive. James Cameron and his followers are simply looking for Jesus Christ in all the wrong places because Easter faith is hard.
And sometimes even though WE know where to find Jesus, we are still surprised to find Jesus in this world, in our lives and in one another. I have a three year old son. I think he’s about the smartest kid around. But I have this toy in my office, and he loves it.
Now most of you recognize a jack-in-the-box. You turn the crank and the clown pops up. It seems pretty simple, pretty babyish–but Alexander is crazy about it and squeals with delight each time the clown pops up—as if he hasn’t figured the toy out.
I think that is where many of us are in our faith. We know Jesus has popped up, shown up in our lives before. But we keep turning the crank (reading the Bible, coming here, worshipping, praying) and we keep being surprised and delighted when Jesus AGAIN shows up. Sometimes, we even stop turning the crank and sometimes like the women the disciples, and like James Cameron we peer into the tomb, into the grave, into our grief and sorrow expecting to find death.
And still, every time, like the jack-in-the-box, Jesus shows up and surprises us with his faithfulness. The tomb is just a small piece of this Easter story. Because Jesus is alive. He is risen. Go ahead and peer into the tomb, if you like, it’s empty. He is not here. But Christ is alive and active all around us, in this world, in your life. He is risen. Seek him where you are. Seek and you shall find. He’s alive. And next time Jesus pops up unexpected, I hope you squeal with delight like my son and this.
Amen.