Resurrection, Made Personal

April 12, 2009 [Easter]

Matthew 28:1-10

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 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. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 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." 8 So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

NRSV

Imagine you’re a young guy, contemplating asking out the girl of your dreams. She’s simply the greatest girl God ever made. Beautiful. Sweet. Charming. Intelligent. The total package.

I remember those dating days.

I’d pick up the phone [use old phone], dial, and go, “Hi, this is Greg Weeks. How ya doin’? Listen, I thought it’d be groovy for us to see a movie. I’m free Friday night. I’ll pick you up at seven, and I’ll take us out to dinner first. Whaddya say, Barb?”

Now, do you think that’s what really happened?

Of course not. It was more like…[bite nails; start and stop to dial several times] I’d take a deep breath, and finally dial. My heart’s pounding in my throat. Beads of sweat are forming on my forehead. As it’s ringing I’m secretly hoping she’s not at home, and I can at least think to myself that I tried. But, to my horror, the ringing stops, and a sweet voice of an angel goes,

“Hello?”

And I freeze.

Yeah, that scene is a bit more accurate.

Can you relate?

Can you remember a time when you were really hopeful about something. Maybe a new relationship. Or a new job. Or a new opportunity at school. Or whatever.

You’re excited about it. But you’re also a little scared and nervous. You don’t want to build up your hopes, because that will make it that much more painful when they’re dashed. So you’re caught between taking a risk—going for it—and holding back, playing it safe so you won’t get hurt.

How many times have you let a dream die, because you were afraid to pick up the phone?

But do you remember the time when you picked it up any way? And you dialed the number. And as you did so, a million reasons went through your mind why you should hang up—after all, these were the days before caller id, and she’d never know. But you didn’t. And when you heard that lovely voice on the other end of the line, you boldly stammered, “Uh, uh, Barbara, uhmm, this is … ah Greg Weeks…And I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go out to dinner and a movie Friday night?”

Do you remember such a time when you dared hope, putting your ego on the line. Do you remember when you took the risk, asked the question—and to your utter amazement you heard the answer:

“Why, sure, I’d enjoy having dinner and a movie with you. Actually, I’d just been thinking about calling you to see if you’d like to go out. Isn’t that funny?”

Do you remember how you felt? And you reply, “Great, pick you up around 7!”

If you ever felt anything like that—that surprise, “I can’t believe what I just heard!”—then you know EXACTLY how Resurrection feels.

You know EXACTLY how the women feel this Resurrection morning.

Their steps to Jesus’ grave had been heavy. The gruesome, unthinkable events of two days ago are burned into their minds. The sound of the whip lashing into Jesus’ flesh. His cries of pain. The blood. The cruel cursing and laughing of the soldiers. The sound of hammer hitting spikes, driving through flesh and bone, and into the wood. The spectacle of raising up the cross, and seeing their friend Jesus writhe in agony for hours, until he dies, having cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Yes, this is what’s on their minds, weighing down their souls. They’re going to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ tortured body. Maybe they’re hoping that the ointment will ease their tortured spirits. That’s the MOST they could hope for that Sunday morning—just a little relief from their grief. But they know that won’t happen. They don’t even know how they’re going to get into the tomb, with the big stone rolled in front of it. Maybe a guard will help them move it away.

Then you know what suddenly happens.

LIFE ISN’T WHAT THEY’D EXPECTED IT TO BE.

The stone’s rolled away—it’s not sealing the dead. There’s light coming from the tomb, where there should be darkness. And instead of a shrouded corpse, there’s someone with the appearance of an angel. He says, “Jesus isn’t dead anymore! He’s been raised! Go tell his disciples this good news!”

And it says that the women, who just a moment before had been wrestling with their grief, run out of the tomb “with great joy”!

NOW we know what the Resurrection means:

THE RESURRECTION MEANS:

God gives you a TOTALLY new way of looking at life.

You’ve made the phone call, fearing the worst, AND YOUR DATE SAID YES!

You’ve been to the grave, expecting the darkness of death, and you encounter the dawn of new life!

THE RESURRECTION SAYS THAT LIFE FOR YOU NOW HOLDS MORE “YES’ES” THAN “NO’ES”!

My wife gave me an article that I keep by my computer monitor in my office, to remind me of this.

It’s an article titled, “Don’t Believe Everything You Think.” The author, a psychologist, says that we humans are programmed to think negatively. Being negative protects us—makes us make plans to minimize risk and damage. You make the phone call to ask someone out, you anticipate and prepare for a no. You go for a lab test, and anticipate the worst. You interview for a job, and you prepare for rejection. You let your mind obsess over something, painting the bleakest picture possible. The writer says, “Why do we assume the worst? Why can’t we assume the best, the most positive? Don’t believe everything you think!”

The Resurrection is God’s way of saying that that psychologist is right. ALL things are possible, because God has done the impossible: God has raised the dead. God has said YES to life’s greatest NO.

So, how dare we live as if the rock is still in front of Jesus’ grave!

Don’t believe everything you think. Believe the Easter message. God’s final word for you is YES! Live life anticipating your date’s going to say yes. Live life anticipating joy, and happiness, and wonderful surprises. You look at life that way, it’s as if you invite the Easter power to flood your life.

As one person said, “When I am happy, I see the happiness in others. When I am compassionate, I see the compassion in other people. When I am full of energy and hope, I see opportunities all around me.”

That’s because God’s given you a totally new way to look at life, thanks to today.

Here’s another thing the Resurrection means:

God doesn’t give you your dreams, but God gives you courage to dream.

You call and ask the person out and the person says yes, you feel giddy and do the dance. But that’s only the beginning. You go out, you have a great time. You go out again. And again. You fall in love. You get married. And then, once married, you’ve discovered that the dating has ended. Days turn into weeks, then months, then years. You discover your dream girl isn’t perfect. What’s worse, you discover YOU aren’t perfect. And to complicate things, you both face the challenges and difficulties life will throw at you.

Just because you’re “in love” doesn’t mean you won’t have difficulties, and trying times. On the contrary. Because you’re in love, you WILL face trying times and difficulties—because those are the things that will deepen your love, and will shape your soul.

God says to you in the Resurrection, LIFE FOR YOU WILL HAVE MORE YES’ES THAN NO’ES—BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THE NO’ES HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED! The no’es will still come—but now they’ve lost their power. Now the no’es are something to learn from, to grow through.

It’s like what God says in a scene from the movie, Evan Almighty. God, played by Morgan Freeman, is talking to Evan’s wife, and says,

Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives him patience? Or does he give him the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?  [[hom, 3/1/09]]

To all who dare believe the Easter message, remember this: today is only the beginning.

You take the Easter message into all corners of your life, you discover the power to grow, to develop, to overcome your problems and learn in the process. You discover how the hope embodied in the Risen Lord enables you to dream in new ways.

When the women ran away to tell the disciples, do you think that was it? No. They would return to their husbands. Their children. They would prepare meals, tend to the house, talk to the neighbors. They would form new relationships in the new church, and assume leadership roles for the first time in their lives. And in the process, they would see hope in former places of despair; they would experience liberation in former places of oppression; they would discover love in former places of hate; they would embody patience in former places of anger.

You ever get a “no” when you were expecting a “yes,” remember this: the “no” is just an opportunity to search for and discover a greater “yes”.

THAT is what Resurrection means!

Now, I could end the sermon right here, but there’d be one point missing. It’s something easy to miss, unless you read very carefully the Easter story.

Look at this:

But the angel said to the women, "Do not be AFRAID…” [vs. 5]

The mysterious stranger in the tomb says there’s nothing to fear any more! Jesus is risen! Go tell his friends! Rejoice! Be happy! DON’T BE AFRAID!”

And then we read,

[The women] left the tomb quickly with FEAR and great joy. [vs. 8]

How natural that is. When confronted with the greatest news of all time, they can’t give themselves over to it. Their joy is still mingled with FEAR. Can it really be true? Am I being set up for a fall?

Isn’t that human nature? Why is it, when we get good news, we start doubting it? I hang up the phone after I hear, “Sure, I’d love to go out with you!”, and I think, “Is this a practical joke? What’s the catch?” There’s always a catch. Life’s not like that. It’s too good to be true. I want truly to give myself over to an unqualified “Yes!”, but there’s still a part of me that’s fearful.

What I need—what you need—what we need to hear this morning is Jesus.

Jesus said to them, "Do not be AFRAID…” [vs. 10]

It’s not the angel saying this. It’s Jesus himself. And that’s the difference. You take out the “fear,” then that leaves the women feeling only one thing: GREAT JOY.

You can only experience Resurrection in your life if you trust Jesus, and give up your fear.

We humans too often enjoy the taste of melancholy bittersweetness. The taste of the way things were, and the way we want to keep them—unruffled by the loss of control that believing the living Lord brings.

You can only really experience the resurrection of the dead if you’re willing to give up control. It doesn’t do you any good to say, in the good times, “I trust you Jesus!” and then, when things get tough, say, “Just kidding!” and you try to take over your life again. You can’t have it both ways. Either you trust that Jesus knows what he’s talking about, and you live beyond your worry, live beyond thinking that your happiness depends on what you do. Either you trust Jesus, or you’re honest with yourself and say, “Well, I’d just as soon pass on this—I’d rather stay ‘in control,’ and worry, and stay scared.”

Not much of a choice, is it?

Today, on Easter Sunday morning, may we make the right choice.

Jesus said,

Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.”

What will you say?

WE TRUST YOU, LORD!

Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.”

WE PUT OUR HAPPINESS IN YOUR HANDS!

Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.”

WE TRUST YOU CAN RUN OUR FUTURE BETTER THAN WE HAVE RUN OUR PAST!

Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.”

WE LIVE, CONFIDENT THAT THE LIGHT OF YOUR PRESENCE DRIVES AWAY ANY DARKNESS!

Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.”

AND IF HE SAID THAT, THEN WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?

What are we waiting for, indeed? It’s time to pick up the phone, don’t you think?