Sermon:
The
Resurrection of Our Lord
Easter
Sunday, 2014
Matthew
28:1-10
Christ
is Risen!
(He is risen indeed! Alleluia!)
What
a difference 3 days can make. Not even three days, by our modern way
of reckoning. Friday afternoon to Sunday morning. Not even a whole
weekend. But that's all the rest in the tomb Christ would take,
before rising to life again at Sunday's break of dawn. What a
difference between Friday and Sunday.
On
Friday, there women mourned him, but on Sunday they were first to
hear the good news.
On
Friday, two thieves flanked our Lord in his dying breaths. On
Sunday, two angels at the tomb appeared to announce he is alive!
On
both Friday and Sunday were earthquakes – but for very different
reasons. Friday's earthquake was part of creation's groaning at the
death of the creator. Sunday's earthquake accompanied the stone
rolling away, no heavy earth or stone could keep this grave sealed.
On
Friday, soldiers had their way – even dividing up his garments as
he died. Sunday – it was soldiers who were as dead men, and Christ
who was alive. He left his grave clothes behind, by the way...
On
Friday, nails pierced his feet and fastened him to the cross. On
Sunday, the joyful women fell at those feet and worshipped.
On
Friday, they went away beating their breasts. On Sunday, they
departed quickly with fear and great joy.
On
Friday it seemed like the end. On Sunday it was a whole new
beginning.
And
yet Friday and Sunday go together. You can't have one without the
other.
Without
the victory of Easter joy, without the triumph over death and grave,
without the vindication of Christ in all things – Good Friday would
not be so good. Sunday shows that Jesus' word is true, even when he
talks crazy about coming back from the dead. So too when he speaks
of your resurrection, dear Christian. Sunday shows that God the
Father accepts his Son's sacrifice, indeed, it is the “well done,
good and faithful servant” seal of approval on all that Jesus did
for us. God's wrath is satisfied, by Christ, for you and me. And
Sunday gives us a taste and glimmer of what our own resurrection will
be. A glorious day when all the dead in Christ rise, bodily, and see
him face to face – in my own flesh, with my own eyeballs – to
paraphrase Job.
And
without Good Friday, what does Easter mean? Bunnies and Chicks?
Candy and chocolate? Brunch with the family? Sadly many have
reduced Easter to this, perhaps because they get to Sunday without
regarding Friday. Christ's resurrection makes no sense apart from
his death – where he atoned for all sin. But the dark tunnel of
death he passed through on Friday makes the bright morn of Sunday all
the more radiant.
For
us, many days feel like that Friday. Not the “thank God it's
Friday, the weekend is here”, but “The sun just got dark and the
earth beneath me is shaking. Judgment is hovering over me and death
is breathing down my neck.” Fear rules the day, and sadness and
suffering mark its passing. Many days end with what seems like
little hope. We cause so many of our own griefs, but we are also
subject to the brokenness of creation. Life's toils and troubles
heap onto our guilt and shame. It's enough to make anyone cry out,
“My God, have you forsaken me?”
But
Easter reminds us that in Christ, Friday is tied to Sunday.
Suffering will be vindicated. Death is not the end. Even on the
darkest of days, there is still hope for us. We may not see it until
we, too, pass through the grave. But faith believes it at his word,
and rests secure. And you can trust a guy who rises from the dead
and calls his shot ahead of time. You know he's got your future in
his hands, too. And that's the best place for your future to be.
For
the Christian, every day is a Sunday. Every day is a day in which
Christ lives. Every day is a day in which he's still got his
crushing foot stomped down on the serpent's head. Every day is a
rebirth and renewal, a return to our baptism where we were not only
buried with Christ but raised with him. Every day we live in the new
life that is already ours. Every day is a Sunday, a new creation.
Christian
theologians have made an interesting point about Sunday – you know
it was the first day of creation. God started, not on a Monday, but
on a Sunday with “let there be light”. And then he rested on
Saturday, the real last day of the week. So Christ rests in the tomb
on Saturday, and at break of dawn on Sunday, the one who created
light and is the Light of the World, returns to bring life and light
to all men. It's a pretty powerful connection.
And
others have gone on to say, that in a way, Easter Sunday is the “8th
day of creation”. That is, on Easter, the renewal of creation in
Christ is revealed – brought forth first in his own person. And we
now live in the time of transition between that 8th
day of creation and eternity. Or to put it another way, Easter is
the Sunday that never ends.
However
you look at it, give thanks to God for the blessings of this Holy
Sunday. May your faith be strengthened in the knowledge that he who
paid your price on Friday, rested in your grave on Saturday, also
Rises for your resurrection on Sunday.
Alleluia.
[Christ Jesus] abolished death and brought life and immortality to
light through the gospel. Alleluia.
Amen.
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