After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 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. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “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; there you will see Him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to Him, took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me.” (Matthew 28:1-8)
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It’s kind of like the Super Bowl, the Grey Cup, the World Series and the Stanley Cup Finals all rolled up into one gigantic event. I’m talking about Easter. It’s hard to grasp the significance of Easter to the church. Christmas may be more popular and more emotionally satisfying, but Easter still takes centre stage. The birth of a baby we can grasp fairly easily, but the resurrection of a dead man to life? That’s much more challenging. Resurrection confronts us on so many different levels doesn’t it. It’s not logical. It doesn’t make sense. It can’t happen. It defies everything we know. And yet, if we’re Christians, we’re also confronted with the reality that this illogical, non-sensical, impossible and inexplicable event is the centrepiece of our faith. And so, every year, we gather to try to figure this out. In fact, every Sunday we gather we try to figure this out, because, really, every Sunday is Easter. We may not be able to fully understand the Easter event but we still gather to celebrate it, because as Paul wrote, “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” And, as I mentioned to those who gathered for our Sunrise service earlier this morning, even the original disciples didn’t “understand” the resurrection. If they had, they would presumably have told us about it. But, instead, they tell us nothing about the resurrection, settling for describing for us the reality of the empty tomb. So, for them so long ago but confronted by the immediate reality of resurrection, they chose not to worry about “how” it happened; they chose to content themselves with proclaiming “that” it happened and with puzzling over “why” it happened. That’s our guide. I don’t know “how” the resurrection happened, other than to say by faith that somehow God caused it. I do believe “that” it happened, and I constantly reflect on “why” it happened.
In 1967, Richard Avery and Donald Marsh wrote a song called, very simply “Every Morning Is Easter Morning.” Its first line reads “Ev’ry morning is Easter morning from now on! Ev’ry day’s resurrection day, the past is over and gone!” Here’s really what the gospel is about. It’s not about explaining the resurrection in scientific, rational terms. The gospel writers couldn’t do that. Neither can we. The gospel - like this song - talks about the impact of the resurrection on everyday life, because really it’s not even enough to say that every Sunday is Easter - really, every day is Easter for a Christian. Every day we live in the light of the resurrection and with the hope of the resurrection; resting in the promise of the resurrection and challenged by the call of the resurrection. We’re here today not to explain or to understand, but simply to proclaim: “Christ is alive. He is risen indeed!” And in the midst of that simple but profound proclamation we’re challenged to live as if it means something to us. We seek to learn how to be modern day disciples proclaiming an event that happened long ago.
In the world around us, Easter is about bunnies and chocolate and eggs. But for Christians, Easter is about being challenged to be a disciple. Christian discipleship needs to be a way of life that keeps us connected to the grace of God and that empowers us to live according to God’s will. Christian discipleship means to grow in the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Christian discipleship means showing concern for the poor and the marginalized. It means loving my neighbors both far and near as myself. It means generous giving of my money and other resources. It means developing within ourselves a spirit of servanthood, as I said last Sunday, so that our words and our actions are focused on serving God and others and not just on what’s best for us.
Long ago, John Wesley wrote what is now called the “Covenant Prayer.” In some Christian traditions, a new year begins with a “Covenant Service,” where the gathered are asked to make the public commitment to serve God. This is Wesley’s prayer:
“I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”
That’s a tough job. That’s a tough covenant. But it really is what we commit to when we commit ourselves to Christ. As much as Easter might be the Super Bowl and the Grey Cup and the World Series and the Stanley Cup Finals all rolled up into one event, faith isn’t a game, and it’s purpose isn’t to make us feel good. It calls us to surrender ourselves fully and in whatever circumstances. That’s tough. So - how is it possible? How can we find the faith we need to do that? On our own, we probably can’t. But we’re not on our own.
It’s Easter that gives this faith. The God Who raised Jesus from the dead is the same God Who is active in our lives and the world now, and that God can do anything. Living by faith isn’t easy when we face not only our own weaknesses, but also a world that sometimes is filled with greed, hatred, poverty, anger, dissension, bitterness, war, terrorism, sexism, racism. But Easter promises us that our faith isn't vain. Our faith isn’t wishful thinking. Our faith is grounded in the reality of God.
Paul explains Easter so well in 1 Corinthians 15:
“brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.”
This is our faith. This is our life. Even when we’re confronted (as we are on a regular basis) with everything that seems wrong with the world - we remember! Even when we're confronted with pain and heartache in our own lives - we remember. Make no mistake about it, there are people with us today with hearts that are broken and spirits that are crushed for a whole variety of reasons. We don't know who you are. We can't tell by looking at you. But I know you're here. And if your hearts are broken or your spirits are crushed, I have good news for you. Easter is God’s answer that light triumphs over darkness, Easter is God’s answer that good triumphs over evil, Easter is God’s answer that joy triumphs over sorrow, Easter is God’s answer that hope triumphs over grief, Easter is God’s answer that laughter triumphs over tears, and Easter is God’s answer that life triumphs over death. That’s the good news of Easter! That’s what Easter really is. It’s not an event in history. It’s hope, and it’s a way of life to be lived not just one day a year - but every day, because, really, every day is Easter.
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