Luke 24:1-11

Rev. Stephen H. Wilkins

Georgetown Presbyterian Church

Easter Sunday

April 8, 2007

Martin Luther once spent three days in a deep depression over something that had gone wrong. On the third day his wife came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes. "Who’s dead?" he asked her. "God," she replied. Luther rebuked her, saying, "What do you mean, God is dead? God cannot die." "Well," she replied, "the way you’ve been acting I was sure He had!"

Many of us have felt and acted similarly when we encounter deep disappointment and despair. Certainly it is an understandable reaction to expect from the four women who appear at the beginning of Luke’s account of that first Easter morning. They had all the reason in the world to be grim-faced and dressed in mourning clothes, for the death of their Lord was foremost on their minds. They are the same women who watched and wept on Good Friday as Joseph of Arimathea lovingly laid Jesus in his tomb. These women saw Jesus die. And they saw Jesus buried. They came to the tomb expecting to deal with a corpse.

And so it is not so difficult to imagine their surprise on finding the stone rolled away from the tomb’s entrance, a surprise which quickly spiraled into horror when they discovered that the body of their precious Jesus was not anywhere to be found. But there are two strange looking fellows hanging around the tomb. Don’t you think it took a moment for their words to sink in after they spoke to the women: Why do you seek the living among the dead?

But the women weren’t looking for the living. They were looking for Jesus. And the last time they saw Jesus, he was about as dead as dead can be. They weren’t looking for the living. They were looking for a corpse.

Why do you seek the living among the dead?

The women were doing only what was natural. They were only looking for a body, because in all other instances death had such finality to it that they could not possibly expect anything else. You simply do not expect the living to arise from the tomb. It’s just not natural. It defies logic to think that way.

But that’s exactly what we celebrate on Easter, isn’t it? We celebrate the unbelievable. We celebrate, not something that is natural, but something that is supernatural. It is precisely because Easter is unbelievable that it is such a powerful truth. Karl Barth said it so well: Easter is not a natural "therefore," but a miraculous "nevertheless." Because there is nothing natural about the resurrection, it puts our salvation and our hope into the hands of God.

Why do you seek the living among the dead? It is a terrifying thing to encounter the unbelievable. It is a cause of great fear and trembling to consider something that has happened beyond our capacity to understand.

But that is not all that the two angelic figures say to the women. Luke reminds us that they also say to the women, "Remember how [Jesus] told you… that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise." And then we read this: "And they remembered his words…"

They remembered his words!

He said it would happen this way! It is at this point that the resurrection ceases to be a terrifying reality, and instead becomes a source of joy and hope and faith. "When the young men reminded [the women] of the past, reminded them of the things that Jesus had said and done—it was then that their terror turned into trust. It seems that the women didn’t need to understand; they only needed to remember."

It is when they remembered his words that suddenly they found comfort and joy in the empty tomb. It was just as he had said!

They remembered he had said that he would be handed over in betrayal—and so he was.

They remembered he had predicted that he would die a cruel death at the hands of evil men—and so he did.

And now they remembered Jesus had said that on the third day he must arise. And lo and behold, here it is on the third day and guess what—he is not here; he is risen!

When they remembered his words, they discovered the truth that there is nothing that can thwart the plans and the purpose of God.

My friends, Easter is a call to remember. For it is in remembering that we are able to see that what Jesus has said is indeed true. And it is in remembering that we are convinced that God’s purpose will ultimately prevail, that the way of Christ is indeed the way of life.

If Jesus has proved himself trustworthy in the most unbelievable of things, namely that he would be raised from the dead, then don’t you think that Jesus is also trustworthy in the other things that he says to us, even things that don’t always make sense?

Maybe he’s right, after all. Maybe he’s onto something.

Maybe Jesus is onto something when he says, Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Maybe Jesus is onto something when he says, "whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."

Maybe Jesus is onto something when he says, "whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all."

Maybe Jesus is onto something when he says that it is not sufficient to forgive someone up to seven times, but seventy times seven times.

Maybe Jesus is onto something when he says, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me."

Maybe Jesus was onto something when he said, "Come unto me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Maybe Jesus was onto something when he said, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him will not perish but have eternal life."

My friends, remember the words of Jesus, for he has shown himself to be true and worthy of our faith, and he has shown us the way of eternal life. He has shown us that the life he calls us to live, though the world oppose him at every turn, is the life that ends in victory. He has shown us that "God’s purpose will ultimately prevail. Service will triumph over exploitation; generosity will triumph over greed; freedom will triumph over oppression; grace will triumph over sin; and love will be victorious over hate."

About 1930, the Communist leader Bukharin journeyed from Moscow to Kiev. Bukharin was the editor of the Soviet newspaper, Pravda (which, ironically, means "Truth"). He was in Kiev to address a large assembly on the subject of atheism. For a solid hour he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity, hurling argument and ridicule. When he finished, there was dead silence in the crowd, and he looked down upon what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of faith. "Are there any questions?" Bukharin demanded. One man arose and asked permission to speak. He mounted the platform and moved close to the Communist leader. The man looked out over the crowd, first to the right and then to his left. At last he shouted the ancient greeting, "CHRIST IS RISEN!" The entire assembly arose as one and the response came crashing like the sound of an avalanche, "HE IS RISEN INDEED!"

Is yours a faith that knows that Christ is risen?

The angels said to the women, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? Remember how he told you… that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise."

And the women remembered his words…

And when they remembered his words, faith was born in them.

Won’t you remember, as well, so that faith may come alive in you, and so you may know that the way of the risen Christ is the way of life?

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Alleluia! Amen.