Gracious and wonderful God, we greet you this new morning with a sense of wonder, awe and triumph. We remember how Jesus loved the early, early morning ,seeking out quiet deserted places where he would pray and open his heart to you. We find ourselves in this garden rejoicing in the message of Easter proclaimed without words — the empty tomb!! Let us, like the women who came to the tomb expecting one thing, be astonished encountering the unexpected. Let us rejoice with them as we hear the message of the young man and realize, as if we should have known it all along, that all things are possible with you. Lord God, today you have swallowed up death, offering in its place, life everlasting. We celebrate the brightness of this new day upon which our perspective of all that is to come has been changed forever. We lift our eyes and arms to heaven in a gesture of praise and thanksgiving for your promise so stunningly fulfilled. Our Abba Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
OFFERTORY PRAYER
We thank you, wondrous and loving God, for this glorious resurrection day. The gifts we bring are more than a gesture of thanksgiving; they are an expression of our trust and confidence in you. By these gifts we believe you will empower your church to carry out wondrous deeds in the name of the Christ. Amen.
EASTER SUNRISE SERMON
Let’s Give ‘em Something to Talk About!
Mark 16:1-8
The Resurrection of Jesus
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ 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.
SERMON TEXT
Far be it from me to accuse the women disciples of Jesus of being obsessive or officious, but, their journey to the tomb on Sunday morning attests to their need to make sure that Jesus was buried properly, that all was correct and in order.
They had witnessed Joseph of Arimathea’s hurried interment of the body of Jesus after obtaining permission from Pontius Pilate to take Jesus’ lifeless body and bury it in a tomb he had hewn out of a rock for his own eventual use. The women probably aided Joseph as he wrapped Jesus’ body in the new linen cloth he had purchased. Yes, and they were present when Joseph, with the help of his servants, rolled the great stone over the entrance to the tomb, so that no one could enter it, and disturb the precious contents it held.
Thinking back to just two nights before he was crucified, Jesus’ body was anointed that evening at the house of Simon the leper in Bethany, by the woman with the Alabaster Flask. She swathed him head to toe with very expensive perfume.
However, Mary, Mary and Salome have their own agenda this morning. Mind you I am not criticizing these women disciples. I believe, like the rest, they were in an ashamed, grief-stricken frame of mind, believing that not enough had not been done to honor the master. And perhaps, they believed that they, themselves had not done enough.
In that way these three women are no different from any of the rest of us. I mean none of us is ever really prepared for the death of a loved one, and particularly the violent death of a loved one. In the aftermath we spend a great deal of time thinking about what we should or shouldn’t have done, what we did and didn’t do. Today these ladies have come to do what they didn’t do on Friday.
Caught up in their plans, as they walked along, they divvy up the tasks and check their supplies to be sure they haven’t forgotten anything. If they have forgotten something they will have to go back and retrieve it.
Not having slept well for days, one of them suddenly remembered the huge stone that Joseph had pushed into place to cover the opening to the tomb. With this additional challenge added to their list, they began to debate whether they should go back and get a couple of the male disciples to help them. Maybe the three of them could manage the roll off by themselves?
Either determined, or just not thinking straight they decided to test their own strength. They began calculating the size of the stick they would need to pry the stone away from the opening. They could shove the stick into the seam between the rock and the opening; then putting all their weight against the stick, they could pry the rock away from the opening and push it over. Or they could prop the stick across another rock and jam it under the boulder, then all three of them could sit down on the stick. Their weight would either break the stick or dislodge the rock.
If they couldn’t move the boulder, then they would return to the house and try to convince James and John, nicknamed the sons of thunder, to come out of hiding and help them. They wouldn’t think of asking Peter who had been curled up like a great lump in a dark corner of the house, unable to speak since dawn on Friday. Judas was gone, having vanished into the darkness right after Jesus was arrested. The other disciples, Andrew –Peter’s younger brother, Philip of Bethsaida in Galilee, Bartholomew son of Ptolemais, Matthew -- the former tax collector once known as Levi, James -- son of Alpheus, Thomas -- called the Twin because he looked so much like Jesus, Thaddeus and Simon the Canaanite also called the zealot, all moped around the darkened rooms, wondering what to do.
As the ladies continued to talk about the challenges that faced them, focused particularly on how best to budge the boulder; they arrived and found that the thing had already been moved. Were they in the right place? Of course, they’re in the right place; that looks like the right boulder. Still planning their tasks, they enter the tomb.
Now I know in the movie “Song of Bernadette” when Jennifer Jones finds herself in that grotto in the south of France, looking up at the face of the Blessed Virgin Mary, everyone sees her smiling radiant face illumined by the light of the Madonna, peaceful and unafraid, but when Mary, Mary and Salome, encounter the young man dressed in white inside the tomb, they know their faces are not smiling, radiant, peaceful and calm; they are terrified at the site of the angel.
They are already on their last nerve, likely the only three who have managed to hold it together to follow through with their final task.
Mark describes them as being alarmed at the sight of the young man seated on the right side. We all know the feeling of alarm. One’s heart rate speeds up; the hair on the back of one’s neck stands on end. We are in fight or flight mode. Adrenalin pumping, alarm causes us to react and make immediate decisions. Mary, Mary and Salome could run screaming from the tomb, dropping their supplies, their arms flailing in the air, never stopping until they arrive breathless at the house where they are staying. However, it seems they are frozen in place, as the young messenger quickly tries to reassure them: “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.” That’s like saying, “This is it; you have come to the right place.” “He has been raised, he is not here. Look, there is the place where they laid him.”
Their eyes are wide, their mouths are dry; they are trembling with fear, their feet are cemented to the floor of the tomb, as the messenger continues –Are they listening? “But go, tell those disciples -- who are moping around in the darkness and Peter, all curled up in a fetal position on the floor -- that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him just as he told you.”
The message that has been entrusted to them, is more important than they know. Just two days ago while with his disciples on the Mount of Olives immediately following the Passover meal and just before Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, he said to his disciples: “You will all become deserters… but after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter only heard the accusation, not the promise and countered Jesus saying: “Even though all become deserters I will not.” I sort of wish Mark’s Jesus had said: “Peter you didn’t hear the rest of what I said.” I wish Jesus had repeated it. Peter never heard it.
But here on the morning of the resurrection the message about Jesus going before the disciples to Galilee is repeated once again to the women by the angel. The message and promise that Peter and perhaps the other 11 never heard, is now given in the hands of the women disciples.
We know Mary, Mary and Salome are obsessive and officious in their work and their commitment. Surely they have listened intently and heard what the angel said. On their way to the tomb they spoke of tasks and things that seemed so important to consider. But now that conversation and the anointing supplies lie in a heap on the floor of the tomb.
As if being released from one of those science fiction tractor beams, the three women turn slowly, exit the tomb and flee seized with both terror and amazement, unable to say anything to anyone because of their fear.
The theme of flight seems to dominate the final chapters of Mark’s Gospel. Mark is merciless in his depiction of Jesus’ disciples. He paints a picture of flawed human beings, who are poor listeners, and knee jerk reactors, unable to follow through on what they promise.
He uses the Greek verb pheugo (fyoo-go) which means to flee away, seek safety by flight, to escape safely out of danger, to vanish, in this the last and final verse of his gospel. He used the same verb in chapter 14: verse 50: All of them deserted him and fled.
New Testament scribes were not fans of the ending of Marks gospel. It seems they were responsible for the added verses. They simply couldn’t live with verse 8 being the end of the story. Like the three women headed to the tomb that morning, the New Testament scribes felt Mark’s account needed to be more complete. You can open any bible and see that there are two additional endings added to the gospel –The Shorter Ending of Mark and The Longer Ending of Mark. Neither of these additions was part of the original.
Let’s think about Mark’s purpose in telling the story his way. His final verses leave us with a question to answer. Mark has expectations of the reader just as the reader, you and I had expectations of the men and women disciples of Jesus. Are we to be left disappointed and let down by the fear that gripped the men and women who followed Jesus and ultimately deserted him?
As we find ourselves in the emptiness and incompleteness of this story, I think Mark issues us challenge. He is asking if we will flee, if we will be too afraid to speak the message of the resurrection. What will be your answer to Mark’s question?
He certainly has given us something to talk about. It is up to us to keep the talk alive: “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth. He has been raised, he is not here.” Hallelujah!!!
AMEN!
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