We Need a Little Easter

Gary Shoemaker

Mathew 28: 1 to 10

Easter Sunday - March 23. 2008

When any preacher approaches Easter, it’s a little like that early prospector who came up to the edge of the Grand Canyon and said, “Wow, something happened here!” Something happened on that morning when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb. What they had expected to find, who they had expected to find, what they had anticipated doing... had all changed. Something happened here! The stone was rolled away, the angel announced that Jesus was not there, in fact he had been raised from the dead. Now for us, who’ve heard this story hundreds of times, who live in a very different time and culture, it’s difficult to understand the impact that this announcement would have had on these women. These very same women, who just a few hours earlier had stood there and watched as Jesus died a slow and painful death. These women were coming to keep vigil at the tomb because, let’s face it, they felt they had no where else to go... Their hopes, their plans, their teacher, their messiah had been taken from them. They were in no way ready to move on with life. His death was still at the forefront of their existence. They were still reeling from the emotional tumult of the past few days. The triumphal entry, watching Jesus violently tip over the tables and cause an incredible scene at the temple, listening to his words in the Upper Room, seeing him arrested and put to death. In other gospel accounts the women were coming to continue preparing the body for its entombment. They were doing the nitty gritty work surrounding the death of a loved one. But instead... the angel (the angel! - How often do you have a conversation with an angel???) - the angel said, he’s not here... he’s risen. Now go and tell the others and he’ll meet you in Galilee. As they were on their way to do just that, as if that wasn’t enough of a shock... suddenly Jesus appears to them and says... ‘Hello’ I’d like to have taken a reading on the blood pressure of these women at this point. Can you imagine? Have you ever been shocked? Have you ever been shocked by news so good that you could hardly believe it? If so, then you’re getting an inkling of what these women went through. And that, my dear friends is the foundation of our movement. That moment of indescribable joy and wonder is the reason we’re joining millions of others sitting in sanctuaries nearly 2,000 years later singing about a resurrection and listening to a sermon about this risen Lord. It happened in a moment, and yet it has provided hope and meaning for eternity. Understanding and celebrating Easter is a little like swallowing the antidote for what ails us. It’s a shot in the arm containing a vaccine against what pulls us down in life. You’ve heard the song... “We need a little Christmas... right this very minute” Well I say that we need a little Easter right this very minute, we need a little Easter in our lives. Most of you are aware of the fact that Easter has come early this year. Are you aware of just how early? It’s the earliest Easter that most of us will ever see, unless you happen to be 95 or older, you’ve never seen an Easter this early in the year. The last time Easter fell on March 23 was in 1913. The next time that Easter will come this early will be in the year 2228 - in 220 years. I don’t know about you, but I’m not making any Easter brunch reservations for year 2228. So... Easter came early for us this year... big woop. Well, I don’t know about you, but I needed Easter to come early this year. It’s not been an easy year for me thus far. I’ve had to deal with some pretty crumby stuff in the past few months and I needed Easter to come as quickly as possible. I know that some of you needed Easter to come quickly in your lives as well. I know that some of you have been through the fires in life and you need to experience the refreshing joy of Easter. Thank God for Easter. Thank God for that moment of joy when the angel announced that Jesus was no longer held in the grips of death, but had risen. We need a little Easter, right this very minute. Our church needed Easter to come as quickly as possible this year. We’ve been dealing with some pretty weighty issues over the past several months, and I’m glad Easter came early this year. We needed it. We need to be reminded that we are following this Jesus who took on the greatest enemy of all... death, and triumphed over it. It sort of puts a lot of things into perspective, doesn’t it. It reminds us to appreciate all of the resurrection moments that surround us constantly. Resurrection moments like the article that our class read last week which thanks God for the fact that even though our particular Christian movement welcomes a broad range of theological and political views, which creates a great diversity of opinions and perspectives, we’re held together by a sacred covenant. A covenant which binds us to one another in a church that can allow for differences as well as allowing individuals the strength of their convictions. I don’t know about the rest of the class, but that was a resurrection moment for me. I thank God for a movement which gives a living testimony to the rest of Christianity and the world that Christian Unity is not an impossible dream, but a journey, a rather messy journey at times, but a meaningful and important journey. That’s a resurrection moment. Another one comes from the awareness that we, though we might be small in number, can create some incredibly meaningful spiritual experiences and make a concrete difference in our lives and in our community. I don’t know about you, but I don’t go to church to be entertained, I don’t go to church to blend in with the multitude. I go to church to get closer to and worship my God and my Savior Jesus Christ. I go to church to challenge myself to follow Jesus in the best way I possibly can. I go to church to have significant and meaningful relationships with my fellow travelers along this path called faith. And in this place, that’s happening. It’s not always easy, it’s not always neat and tidy, but it’s always worth it. That’s a resurrection moment. Our world needs a little Easter. For instance during our hour of worship, the country will have spent in excess of 14 million dollars to wage war in Iraq. That while our deficit rises to record numbers, that while there are pressing issues of hunger, poverty, race relations, human rights, homelessness, global warming... the list goes on and on. We need a little Easter don’t we. We need a whole lot of Easter. We need a whole lot of the Spirit of God to come and fill us and lead us. Well, the good news is this... Jesus is raised from the dead and God’s Spirit is available in an unlimited supply. The big question is this... “what are we gonna do with that good news?” “What are we gonna do with that unlimited supply of God’s Spirit?” How are we gonna take what God has made available to us and use it to make a positive difference in the world? The women who left the tomb on that morning long ago had to take the next part of their journey one step at a time. That’s all God asks of us. One step at a time. One ‘resurrection’ step at a time. One ‘building God’s realm’ step at a time. One ‘go ye into all the world’ step at a time. One ‘creating a better world for our children’ step at a time. One ‘building justice and dismantling racism’ step at a time. One ‘I don’t know how to do it, but I’m willing to try’ step at a time. One ‘I may not agree with you, but I love you and will work with you’ step at a time. One ‘I can’t do this on my own, but I’m willing to be used by God’ step at a time. That’s a resurrection moment. Jesus came, he taught, he loved, he reached out in grace, he gave, he provoked, he showed us a new way, he pushed us, he challenged us, he gave his life for his convictions... And then... A resurrection moment. We need a little Easter, right this very minute. And we got it. Thanks be to God. Amen.