April 16, 2006

Jane Knowles

Easter Sunday
     1 Corinthians 15: 1-11     
John 20: 1-18

Easter day! Alleluia. Christ is risen; he is risen indeed. Alleluia.

So What? What does it mean for you and me? Well this is the happiest day in the Christian calendar; more than Christmas, more than harvest festival, more than any other day for today we celebrate the fact that come what may we all have a future. We don't have to fear death any more.

On Friday I was preaching about the presence of fear all around in all those trying to put Jesus to death, but today that is behind us. We need not fear any more; and it is fear that is the opposite of love, not hate or bitterness but sheer blinding crucifying fear.

Jesus suffered so much, and we have particularly been reflecting in these last few days on exactly what he suffered. I think the hardest thing was that he was betrayed by his friends, and there was one wobbly moment when he cried out “My God My God why have you forsaken me?” After that, it was courage and resolution lit up by love all the way. He showed us that whatever the world throws at us, there is a way through. We don't have to be defeated by it, we just have to follow his example and always it is to love others as ourselves. It might mean that we have to suffer for what we believe to be right; it might mean we have to suffer for the sake of others, but through the suffering there is triumph and there is literally a light at the end of the tunnel.

Now of course it is difficult for us to believe that Jesus literally rose from the dead and different people have different interpretations of that, and so I love that passage in Corinthians in which St Paul states in a factual way as the result of eye witness accounts what happened; “Christ died for our sins; in accordance with the scriptures.” “That he was buried; that he was raised to life on the 3rd day, according to the scriptures; that he appeared to Peter and afterwards to the twelve and then to 500 of our brothers and in the end even to me Paul.” and remember that Paul's letter was probably written before any of the gospels, in about 54 AD to members of the church in Corinth who had been discussing the nature of the risen Christ, soul or body.

But all that is looking back at the events, from our historical perspective. Let us look again at the Gospel reading. It tells us with great drama that Mary Magdalene, couldn't wait through the night any longer and so went to the tomb when it was still dark, early in the morning. In the little villages where I minister we still bury the dead in the churchyards surrounding the churches and I know that people visit the churchyards very frequently, many every day following the death of a loved one, and of all the things that people get upset about it is the condition of the churchyard, and their particular graves and so imagine Mary Magdalene on that first Easter day, arriving at the tomb in great grief and anguish; the end of it all; all that promise had come to nothing; her beloved was dead, and she was in agony.

So imagine her thoughts when she saw that the grave had been disturbed and the body gone; and then imagine that through her tears, and we all know that looking through tears, light and colour can be enhanced and changed, looking through the tears she saw two angels, and she was so convinced of their presence that she was able to talk to them, and then, she turned round and still through the tears, in desperation asked the gardener “where have you taken him.” All he had to say was “Mary” and that was enough. Then she knew!

For some reason part of my journey this year has been a desire to know the face of Christ. I don't know why I want that, and others may think me stupid or immature, but that is what I have been desiring; but I can see that we don't need that. Jesus the perfect man died on a cross and appeared to so many subsequently, and instead of that becoming some spooky story in a little sect somewhere far away, it is the news that has changed the world, not just then but for the subsequent 2000 years.

Jesus Christ is risen today; he calls us by name; we need fear death no more; life doesn't stop. We have a future. Come what may there is hope; we are all children of God whoever, and whatever he or she is, and we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, and just as the earth consists of stardust so by definition we are god dust, made out of God for there was nothing else he could make us out of, and isn't that a wonderful thought? We are connected.

Today I feel particularly privileged and happy because not only am I connected to all the people back home who I know will be celebrating, some on a little hill, welcoming in the dawn of Easter day, but also with all the people here. The love of God goes right around the world. We are connected; we are an Easter people and today we celebrate. The news is so great that it cannot be contained and so just as the bubbles need to fizz out of this bottle, so we can fizz with the excitement of Easter Day. Have a very happy Easter.