Easter People - Sermon for Easter Sunday 2015

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Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who makes us Easter People. 

 

Have you ever had one of those moments when you have a plan to do something, but then think, well, I probably won’t be able to get it done? So you don’t even try? 

 

Frankly, that happens every time I think about cleaning my garage. Or this is the year I’m going to get into such and such hobby, or I’m going to stop procrastinating so much. And well, we all know what happens with most new years resolutions. There’s a reason we make the same ones year after year. 

 

There’s a Calvin and Hobbes strip where Calvin doesn't do a book report and gets up in the middle of the night to do it, but then sees that it’s snowing and thinks, well, it will be a snow day! And it is! But, he still doesn’t do it during the snow day, but lucks out when he doesn’t have to give his report the first day when school is back. And yet he still doesn't do it. Calvin’s rather blocked about how to handle getting homework done. 

 

Now this all seems like a rather odd way to begin a look at the Easter story, but I was rather intrigued by something in our text this year. Something that shows so much about who we are. It’s right at the beginning. If we remember from Good Friday, after Jesus dies it’s Saturday, the Sabbath Day, and they don’t have time to anoint his body with spices for burial, so they plan to come back early the day after, Sunday, to do so. Mary Magdalene, and Mary, Mother of James, and Salome get up early to set out on their way. And then we get these two verses. These are the ones I was intrigued about. “2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 

 

They had been saying to one another. “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 

 

Before they left to go to the tomb they were sitting in the upper room most likely, thinking, how are we going to get into the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. That very large stone is in our way, and we can't move it on our own. And they decide, let’s go anyways. 

 

I’m fascinated by this little bit in our text, because like I said, it shows so much about who we are. About how many times we have these stones in our lives that we think completely control us, they are so large, there is no way to move them, or to avoid them, like with the two Mary’s and Salome, they seem to block our path, keeping us from moving towards our goal. And they could throw us into a situation like we found in our first stories, where we simply then give up.  

 

But, the thing I’m really intrigued by here is that these three women don’t give up. They trust that a solution will be found, that this block, this large stone in their path will be moved. 

 

Now, There are two main kinds of stones that we face. Those that are thrust upon us by things outside of us, obstacles in our way that we have no real control over, and those that are self-inflicted, not real obstacles but ones that we place upon ourselves, telling ourselves that we are unable to accomplish anything, that we are unworthy. And to both kinds we think, I'll most likely fail.  

 

We ask, how may we overcome these obstacles, how can we move onward? 

 

What do we learn from these three women? And think we learn to trust, we learn to look to God.    

Because on Easter, we see that God overcomes the ultimate obstacle, and it’s not some rock, it’s death itself. And we see that for God all things are possible. All things may not be possible for us, even with God on our side, there are unfortunately obstacles in life that we cannot overcome.  

 

The message here on Easter is not that with God we can overcome all obstacles, it is that with God no obstacle can overcome us. Even if that obstacle leads to our death, God has overcome that, God, through Jesus, will raise us on the last day.  

In the resurrection, which we are connected to in our baptism, we are washed us clean of all that could destroy us. Christ's resurrection gives us new life. In this glorious moment we become Easter people.  

 

So, as Easter people we can go forward to face our tomb stones, the things that seek to overwhelm us, not with the guarantee that we will overcome, but with the promise that we won’t be overcome ourselves. 

 

As Easter people, I think that’s what we learn from these women in our text, they may not have really understood what Jesus had been telling them about his death and resurrection. That they will become Easter people, but they are certainly Easter people in their actions. They knew that they wouldn’t be able to move that stone, but they took the step of faith, of going where it may be impossible for them to go further, but still they went.  

 

And maybe if they showed up and the stone wouldn’t move they would find someone. But, if they hadn’t gone? That stone would have always blocked them, even though it had been moved. 

 

To share Christ risen, to be Easter people, we have to go out. We have to not let the thought of stones, and blocks, and obstacles overwhelm us. We have to take the step of faith. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step when you don’t even see the whole staircase.” 

 

I am reminded of listening to Millard Fuller speak once, Millard founded Habitat for Humanity in 1976, and he spoke at a National Ecumenical Christian Student gathering that I attended in College. He told the story of a regional director talking to him once. The director was having a problem, he needed to start building a house, but he couldn’t raise the money needed to finish it. Millard told him, well, start it anyways. When people see that you are in trouble they will be more willing to give. In other words, take the step of faith. 

 

You People of God, you Easter People, today is the moment of the resurrection once again, Christ is risen, our salvation is achieved, our baptism is fulfilled, we are restored, are we going to stay stuck in our upper rooms, afraid of the world? Or are we going to face our fears and take a step of faith, Christ by our side, rocks or no rocks? 

 

Alleluia that Christ walks with us! Alleluia that we have the example of these women to lead us!! Alleluia that Christ is risen! Alleluia that we have been made Easter people. Amen.