Easter Sunday

Easter Day Sermon
Luke 24:1-10, Year C
7:30 a.m. Service
The Rev. Bob Flanagan
St. Matthew's Church
Bedford , New York

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A few days ago I visited the Incarnation Center which is a beautiful Episcopal camp and retreat center located in Ivoryton , Connecticut . I was there looking over the place in preparation for next year's confirmation class retreat.

On the way back, I took a break at a rest stop. While I was looking for a newspaper, I glanced over the selection of paperback “best sellers.” I picked up one that looked kind of interesting. I don't remember the title but it was one of those juicy religious titles like “The Blood of the Covenant” or “The Amethyst Ring and Stone Scepter.”

I flipped it over to read the back cover reviews. The splashy reviews said everything I needed to know about the book. “Stunning revelations about the Church made.” “Secrets hidden for a thousand years revealed.” “New facts reveal that Jesus didn't die on the cross, but he survived it and lived.” Then echoing The DaVinci Code , there was something about his bloodline carried on deep in the heart of France . The book sounded like a typical, bash-the-Church, page-turner.

The argument made by this book is not new. For centuries, people have argued that somehow Jesus lived through the beating, the whipping, the nailing to the cross, the hours hanging from it and finally the spearing of his side. They argue that there is some two thousand year old conspiracy that has to be uncovered. These imaginative stories, like the book at the rest stop, are simply new stabs at the old argument that Jesus did not die on the cross.

In truth, these arguments reveal the underlying tension that is inherent in Easter. They reveal that, even to this day, humanity struggles with the impossibility, the improbability, and the incredibility of Easter. Many people are confounded by the Paschal mystery and hope for a rational and logical solution.

In terms of the resurrection, the Gospels, all four of them, are clear. Mark and Matthew have the almost identical sentence to Luke's, “He is not here but has risen.” In each of the three synoptic Gospels, one or two men clad in white speak these words to the women. Even John follows the same theme that Jesus is not here, but he is risen. In fact, John has two angels in the tomb, and then Jesus appears to Mary, which is even a stronger picture than the synoptic Gospels. John is saying that he is not here, but here he is.

All four Gospel writers seldom follow each other as closely as they do in telling the resurrection account. They each have their own perspective and understanding that they bring to their accounts of Jesus' life and teaching. However, in the case of the resurrection, the Gospel writers make it clear. Jesus is not here, he is risen.

The challenge for you and me is the same as it has been from the moment of the resurrection. How do we come to understand this mystery? How do we come to understand what happened? How do we come to grip with the fact that Jesus of Nazareth on Easter morning reveals himself to the world as Jesus Christ?

As Christians in a post-modern world, where so much can be explained by science and where medicine can cure so many ills, Easter stands as a mystery we must face. This mystery is “woven into the very structure of Christian life.” (Wright, p. 126). The mystery of the resurrection is at the very heart of Christianity and always has been so since the very beginning. Early Christian said, “We exist because of Jesus' resurrection.” (ibid.) The same is true for the Church today. We exist because of Jesus' resurrection.

Therefore, celebrate this mystery. Celebrate the empty tomb. Celebrate that Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead. Celebrate Christ's victory over death, his victory over sin, his victory over Satan. Celebrate because you and I can draw near to God. Because of Jesus Christ, we can offer our personal public and private prayers to God and that he will answer and aid us so that we may flower and flourish fed by the flowing river of God 's love.

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