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"Easter Sunrise"
On this Easter dawn, as we await the sunrise and as we celebrate
the risen Son, may the grace, mercy, and peace of our Lord Jesus
Christ fill you and abide with you on this Easter Day.
Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
We believe those statements to be true. Christ IS risen! He is
risen, indeed! Alleluia! So, here we are on Easter morning.
There are many things that are true in this world. There are
the normal truths. For example: grass is green; the sky is blue;
it is dark before the dawn.
And then, there are surprising truths. For example: Did you know
that Antarctica, even though it is covered with ice, is considered
a desert? Or, did you know that Coca-Cola would be green if coloring
wasn’t added to it?
But then, there are the un-provable truths: things that can’t be
proved but are nonetheless still true. This is the kind of truth
that brings us out here to this darkened cemetery this morning.
Even though you were not at the tomb on Easter morning, even
though you have not seen Jesus, you still believe that Christ
rose from the dead.
Even though you can’t prove it, you believe it is true. It’s what
Peter says in 1 Peter 1:8, “Though you have not seen [Christ,] you
love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in
Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…”
The inexpressible and glorious joy that fills us today, comes from the knowledge that
the thing we hate most,
the thing that ruins everything,
the thing that smothers our joy,
shatters our hopes and dreams,
destroys every relationships – this thing called death has been conquered.
The message of Easter is that Jesus, Who was crucified, is no longer in the tomb.
Death, which defeats every human creature; death, which always wins
no matter how hard we try to stay alive, could not hold Jesus in the
grave. Jesus over-powered death and came out of the tomb. He is alive!
He is the King of Life!
The message on Good Friday and Holy Saturday was, “The King
is Dead!” But the proclamation and truth of today is, “The
King is Risen!”
And as worshiping Christians we gather on this holy ground,
surrounded by the graves of loved ones, the graves of friends
and fellow members, and we confess this truth, that Christ is risen.
Our songs proclaim this:
“I know that my Redeemer lives;
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, He lives, Who once was dead;
He lives, my ever-living Head.”
In our Gospel text this morning, Mary Magdalene learned to
confess these words in a most dramatic way.
You see, merely an empty tomb does not proclaim the
resurrection. An empty tomb simply means that the dead
body is not there. An empty tomb means that the dead
body is somewhere else.
This is what Mary Magdalene thought when she found the tomb
empty, and then encountered who she thought was the gardener.
“Sir,” she says. “Do you know where the dead body of Jesus
is? Have you moved Jesus’ dead body? If so, tell me, and I
will put Him back in the tomb.”
But when Jesus speaks the word, “Mary,” the reason WHY the
tomb is empty becomes crystal clear. Jesus is alive. He has
risen from that tomb. It is the LIVING Lord, Jesus that
proclaims the resurrection. The tomb is empty not because
Jesus’ body has been moved. The tomb is empty because Jesus
is alive.
Then Jesus tells Mary to go to the disciples and tell them
what has happened. And as verse 18 of our Gospel text records,
“Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have
seen the Lord!’” “I know that my Redeemer lives.”
When Christ comes to life, everything changes. Instead of
lives that work, and struggle, and age, and then, eventually
die, Jesus brings us holy, blessed, and eternal lives.
When Christ comes to life, even this cemetery becomes holy. It
is not a dark and fearsome place now, but a symbol of hope. It
is a place blessed by God with a promise of resurrection. The
cemetery is our victory ground.
So, we gather here and celebrate Christ’s resurrection. We gather
here and celebrate the defeat of death’s power over us. We sing,
we rejoice, we celebrate with the holy meal of Christ’s Body and
Blood. We eat and drink and rejoice, knowing that our enemy, death
has been defeated, knowing that we live in the power and victory
of Christ’s resurrection.
While here upon this sinful earth, we know that death can still
cause us pain. We know that sorrow is still a part of our Christian
walk. But we believe in Christ’s resurrection. We believe that in
Christ’s life no Christian is swallowed up in death.
Though our bodies die and are buried, our souls live on in the
presence of Christ in heaven. And then, when our Lord Jesus returns,
our bodies will be raised up, just like Christ’s body was raised.
Our perfect, glorified bodies will come out of the grave, just as
Christ’s perfect, glorified body came out of the grave. The stone
will roll away for us, as well, because it first rolled away for Christ.
The center of our attention today is not this cemetery. It is not
even the empty tomb. It is the LIVING CHRIST Who stands before us
today in His Body and Blood.
Yes, in this blessed sacrament of Holy Communion the Living Lord Jesus
is here in this cemetery this morning, proclaiming life and salvation.
Receive this bread and wine. Receive this Body and Blood. Receive
your Living Lord Jesus, and know the truth.
Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
Amen.
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