Easter sermon based on scriptures from Matthew 28:1-10 and Jeremiah 31:1-6. Sermon given at Forest Hills Presbyterian in Richmond, VA on April 16th.
With Fear and Great Joy
It
is a day of great joy! Alleluia,
Christ has risen! Alleluia!
It
is a day of celebration.
As
I began thinking about today,
I
contemplated what you
and I
celebrate
in our lives and all the ways we express our joy.
There
are personal
celebrations
of
birthdays and anniversaries
which
we celebrate with family and friends;
There
are community
celebrations
a
retirement party,
a
high school graduation,
a
wedding;
There
are holidays
and national days of celebration
the
4th
of July,
Father’s
Day and Mother’s Day,
Thanksgiving;
We
celebrate
with
parties and cakes and food,
with
cards and presents,
with
picnics and dances,
with
laughter, hugs, and tears of joy.
Some
of the emotions you
and I
feel during these times are
Surprise
Joy
Pride
Amazement
Love.
You
and I
celebrate today,
we
celebrate God’s everlasting love,
eternal
love.
As
the words we heard in Jeremiah
“take
your tambourines,
and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers”.
and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers”.
These
are joyous words, time to celebrate,
–there
is life after exile and there is hope for the future.
God’s
living faithfulness brings hope to the people of Israel.
They
are celebrating God’s love!
God’s
love in not
limited, there is no expiration date.
In
Deuteronomy 7:9
God’s
love and faithfulness was proclaimed this way:
Know
therefore that the Lord
your God is God,
the
faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty
with
those who love him and keep his commandments,
to
a thousand generations
Now
it is more than a thousand generations
–it
is everlasting
love!
It
is nothing that Israel says or does
that
brings God’s faithfulness;
God
chooses
to love them.
I
have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
God’s
love does not end.
This
everlasting love is present in the New Testament…
Because
of God’s love, Jesus came to be among the people,
to
teach, to heal, to show compassion,
to
suffer and to die,
and
to be resurrected;
to
overcome death, to forgive sins,
to
be the way of salvation for all.
God’s
divine act –Jesus has risen!
From
our New Testament scripture today,
we
heard Matthew’s version
of
the good news of the resurrection.
The
2
Marys
have a surprise as they come to the tomb…
It
is dawn, the beginning of a new day,
however,
they do not know how
wondrous a day
it will be.
They
do not know there will be a reason to be
joyful.
The
2 women are coming in
sadness and in grief;
and
suddenly the earth quakes and before them is an angel.
The
shock of this overwhelms the Roman guards,
but
not the women.
The
angel brings comfort to them,
“Do
not be afraid.”
What
they must be feeling at that moment!
Put
yourself in their place…
their
grief is now mixed with confusion,
they
are awe struck, amazed at what they are seeing,
the
exhilaration of the moment,
the
adrenaline rush they are feeling…
instinct
would tell them to be afraid.
At one time or another we have all had that feeling,
the moment you do not know whether
to run toward something or away from it;
the fear of change and the excitement of something new;
a moment of mixed emotions.
Yet there are the angel’s words, words to comfort and to calm:
“Do not be afraid.”
At one time or another we have all had that feeling,
the moment you do not know whether
to run toward something or away from it;
the fear of change and the excitement of something new;
a moment of mixed emotions.
Yet there are the angel’s words, words to comfort and to calm:
“Do not be afraid.”
The
Gospel of Mark describes their reaction as this:
So they went out and fled from the tomb,
for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Matthew’s
description of the women is different:
no
fleeing, no terror, no keeping silent…
So
they left the tomb quickly with
fear and great joy,
and ran to
tell his disciples.
With
fear and great joy.
They
had not
yet fully overcome their fear,
still,
they are filled with great joy;
Imagine
their hearts beating quickly,
feeling
the wonder of the moment,
excitement
and awe
as they go to
announce the news to the disciples.
They
have a purpose, a message to convey,
and
they run
with amazement and joy in their heart.
The
2
Marys
then encounter Jesus on the way.
They
see with their own eyes,
the truth
of the resurrection!
Jesus
is there, with them,
he
has
been raised
from the dead.
God’s
divine
act of love
did not
end with a life and a death,
Jesus
was raised!
Jesus
gave the women a similar message as the angel had:
Fear
not
Go -Proclaim
the news
Go
to Galilee
They
will see Jesus there.
The
2
Marys
are again given a mission to complete.
They
are the first to
see Jesus,
the
first to worship him,
the
first to be commissioned to share the good news.
In
what ways do we
as Christians
take on our role
as
proclaimers of the good news?
Is
it something done with great joy in our hearts?
The
hard truth is
we
strive to be disciples,
to
follow in Christ’s footsteps;
we
try and sometimes we stumble along the way.
But
in that moment we must remember,
even
when we fail, God’s love is with us.
On
this Easter morning as we celebrate the risen Christ,
Do
you
and I not
long to:
Feel
the exhilaration of the discovery of the empty tomb?
Proclaim
the news of the resurrection?
Embrace
the excitement of the moment,
both
the fear and the great joy?
Celebrate
the love of God?Today we celebrate!
Alleluia,
Christ has risen! Alleluia!
A
celebration of God’s everlasting love…
How
do you
and I
show our joy today and every day?
For
the joy of the resurrection is not
for
today
alone;
The
good news is not
reserved
for Sundays;
God’s
love does not
have limits.
We
live in a broken world,
a
world where there is violence, sadness,
war,
fear, poverty;
a
world where people struggle in their daily lives,
face
uncertainty, and have lost hope.
It
is the good news of God’s love
that
we
as Christians must
share
with others.
It
is God’s living
faithfulness and
eternal
love
that
brings hope.
There
is new life found in the blessing of the resurrection;
the
second chance we are given as our sins are forgiven;
our
hope and salvation.
So
on this Easter Sunday let us resolve to
do
as the women in Matthew did…
Do
not
be afraid;
Go
-Proclaim the news!
We
know of God’s love for us,
a
love without limits.
We
know this love because of Jesus,
because
God chose to love us,
because
of God’s faithfulness, we have hope.
Alleluia,
Christ has risen! Alleluia!
As
Jesus told the women
tell
my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.
You
and I
have faith in the fact that
Jesus
has gone on ahead,
he
is the light, the light of God’s love, the crucified risen light
