Come and See!

Matthew 28:1-10

Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011

It was still dark when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to visit the tomb.  In the pre-dawn light they approached the tomb and saw the large stone at the door of the tomb.  Maybe this is all they expected to see, maybe they were just coming to the tomb to grieve and weep.  But the fact that they were up that early, leaving behind all their morning chores to visit the tomb, makes me think that they hoped for something more.  It almost seems as if heaven and earth were just waiting for the women to get to the tomb, because as they arrived suddenly there was a great earthquake and they saw an angel descend from heaven and roll back the stone and sit on it! 

This angel looked like lightning – blindingly bright in the pre-dawn light.  This was not a cute little cherub, but a terrifying vision.  It is as if the snow-white clothing is barely containing the glory of this angel.  The guards, presumably strong men with weapons who were there to protect the tomb, shook and became like dead men.  And yet the women did not run away and they did not fall down; I believe they had come to see what God was up to, hoping against all hope that Jesus would be raised from the dead, just as he had promised.

Certainly they were not disappointed.  Terrified?  Yes.  But not disappointed.  The angel said to them, “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’” (v. 5-7). 

Filled with fear and great joy, the women quickly ran to tell the disciples.  And suddenly – just as suddenly as the earthquake had occurred – Jesus met the women and greeted them.  The women first saw an angel, and then an empty tomb; and now they see Jesus himself, standing there.  The women fall at his feet and worship him.  Jesus says to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me” (v. 10). 

As the sun peaks over the horizon on this first day of the week the women let go of the feet of Jesus and run to tell the disciples the good news: He is risen! He is risen indeed!  We saw an angel of the Lord!  We have seen the empty tomb! We have seen and touched our Lord!  On this morning it is the witness of these two women that rocks our world and forever changes our lives.  

And yet, some of us hear this story and remain unmoved by it.  Some of us have never encountered angels.  We’ve never seen an empty tomb.  We are unaware of ever touching the feet of Jesus.  We’re here this Sunday because it is Easter.  But we don’t really understand why this story matters – we don’t see why the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead two thousand years ago makes any difference to us today.

I would even go so far as to say that some of us love Jesus, and seek to follow his teachings, and yet nothing in our day-to-day lives points to the importance of the resurrection.  We may call ourselves Christian, and yet live as functional atheists.  The teachings of Jesus impact our moral choices – we seek to love our neighbors as Jesus did – but the death and resurrection of Jesus have no direct bearing on our daily lives. 

I fear that too often this is exactly where the church is.  Like Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, we come and see; unlike these women we remain unchanged by the encounter at the tomb.  Maybe it is because we don’t believe in angels – or we only think of angels as people who are fundamentally good, failing to comprehend that angels are messengers from God.  Maybe it is because we are afraid to look in the tomb to see if the body is really gone, and if we do look we immediately begin to wonder who stole it or we begin to wonder if Jesus ever really died.  Maybe our doubt or our grief would have held us at the tomb and we never would have run to tell the disciples what we had seen.  Did you notice that it was when the two Mary’s ran to tell the others what they had seen that they encountered the risen Christ?

The empty tomb promises new life – abundant life – eternal life.  Resurrection means more than life beyond the grave; the resurrection of Jesus means death no longer has dominion over us.  We have nothing to fear.  As both the angel and Jesus said to the women, “Do not be afraid.”  For we are not alone.  Jesus has gone before us to Galilee – to the region where he grew up, the place where he worked as a carpenter, the towns were he taught about the kingdom of God and called people to repent, the country side where he healed the sick and cast out demons, the sea where he walked on water.  Jesus has gone before his disciples to their hometowns and their families.  And Jesus goes before us to our homes and families and places of work and friends.

The resurrected Jesus is already there, waiting for you to run and tell others about the empty tomb.  If we believe Jesus is already there, then we know we have nothing to fear.  We can invite the Holy Spirit to work in our lives to change us – to open our ears so we can listen to angels for a message from God – to give us the courage to look in the empty tomb and believe Jesus truly has been raised from the dead – to run and tell others the good news.  He is risen!  He is risen indeed!  And when we take this leap of faith, perhaps for the first time, perhaps again, perhaps daily, we can be assured that we will encounter Jesus everywhere we look. 

In just a few moments six youth will come forward to be confirmed.  This is the moment when they will confirm their faith in Jesus Christ and commit to continuing to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Certainly part of this commitment includes a desire to love God and to follow the teachings of Jesus. To do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.

But we confirm the youth on Easter as a reminder of God’s confirmation of His love for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It is the risen Christ at work in us who enables each one of these youth to say, “I believe”.  It is the risen Christ at work in us who enables each one of us to encounter the risen Christ in the other – the poor, the sick, the hungry, the naked, the lost, the imprisoned, the young, the elderly.  It is the risen Christ who empowers us to go to the towns of Galilee – or the towns of Alamance – and teach about the kingdom, heal the sick, and free those who are captive to sin and death. 

On this Easter, Christ invites you to come and see.  Come and see the empty tomb and do not be afraid.  Come and see the bread and wine and taste the goodness of our Lord.  Come and see the risen Christ and worship Him and be changed. 

And then go! Go with the assurance that that Easter morning so long ago really did change everything.  Go and meet the risen Christ out there in the world in everyone you meet. Go, and do not be afraid, for Jesus Christ is with you.