Easter Sunday – Luke 24:1-12
April 8, 2007
My Aunt Vic is an avid reader, but there’s
one strange thing about the way she reads. You see, she always reads
the endings of books right after the first or second chapter. It never
stops her from eventually reading the whole thing, but she just can’t
stand the suspense.
To many people, her reading habit is a bit strange. We would never dream of reading a book out of sequence like that. But there are days when we wish we could approach life like that. We wish we could see how things turn out before we have to go through them.
I wonder if the women who came to Jesus’ tomb early on the first Easter morning wished that they knew the end of the story. By the end of the book of Luke, they see Jesus face to face. They watch him eat so they know he’s not a ghost. They have their minds opened as he reminds them of Scripture. They have a first hand encounter with their Risen Lord.
But, as we meet them in the first 12 verses, at dawn on that first Easter morning, they are still seeking. They are still going through the shock of the empty tomb, the fear of angels appearing before them, the frustration of being accused of speaking nonsense – of not being believed by the disciples to whom they’ve told their story.
In many ways, we are in the same place as these women. Our faith assures us of our first hand encounter with our Risen Lord when we die. And even in our earthly lives, we catch glimpses of Jesus at work in the world. We experience the joy and hope of his resurrection in our daily lives.
However, even if we can confidently say that we have found Jesus, we still seek him – we seek to know him better, to see him more clearly, and to live our lives as he lived his. It is this seeking that I want to look at more closely today. By noting how these women sought after Jesus, our own seeking can be affirmed, deepened and challenged.
Their first action was something quite normal and ordinary. They went to the tomb in order to wrap Jesus’ body with spices – a customary and proper thing to do for a dead body in Jesus’ time. Their first action was also very off track. The women went seeking for Jesus among the dead and he wasn’t there.
You see, they were seeking for him in the wrong place. They had come upon a dead end in their search (no pun intended). But God would not let that be the end of their story. Two angels were sent to them. The angels chided them. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” And then the angels proclaimed the Good News of Easter, “He is not here, but has risen.”
These women go out searching for Jesus, but it is ultimately God who finds them. They’re searching in the wrong place and God gets them on track. God does the same for us in our searching. We get off track, too. Don’t we? As we go about our normal and ordinary tasks of work and family and life, the truth is we don’t always search in the right places for Jesus either. Yet, like these women, God finds us as well, and points us in the direction we need to go next.
One of the ways the angels helped the women get back on track in their search for Jesus was by telling them to remember. Remember the words Jesus had spoken to them during his life as he foretold about his death and resurrection. Remember his words and actions at the last supper.
In our lives, there are all sorts of ways we remember Jesus. As we seek him and we put ourselves in places and mindsets of remembering him, we bring him into the present with us.
Some of us remember Jesus as we enter a certain space or place. We see him in nature, through a beautiful sunset, a placid lake or a mountaintop view. We see him in a church sanctuary or a specific room in our house. For others, we remember Jesus as we look out over humanity. We see him in the face of our child or grandchild, as we witness a random act of kindness or as we experience care from someone else.
We, who gather here Sunday after Sunday, remember Jesus in the sharing of bread and wine at Holy Communion. We remember him through his Word spoken at worship and studied during Confirmation, Sunday School and Adult Education. The act of remembering in our search for the Risen Lord keeps us mindful for whom it is that we search. It focuses our search and deepens it.
The final thing that we learn from these women is that the search is never done alone. They go to the tomb together. As their search for the Risen Lord intensifies after their encounter with the angels, they go find the 11 disciples and others to tell them. These women sought after Jesus in community.
We are called to do the same. Even in our society that has become more and more individualistic, we are called to do the same. Don’t get me wrong. Our search for the Risen Christ is on one hand very personal. It is unique to each of us and our personal journeys and circumstances.
But we shortchange ourselves and our search if we allow it to only be that. This Gospel passage and the way Jesus conducted his earthly ministry reminds us that our search for the Risen Christ is also a communal endeavor. It’s communal because two people’s, 27 people’s, 63 people’s, 101 people’s hands are better than one.
It’s communal because when I’m lost or full of doubt, I can piggyback along with someone else for a while who is focused and full of faith.
The women who set out to seek Jesus in his death found an empty tomb. That, in and of itself, was not enough to cause them to express unwavering, resurrection faith. In fact, they were pointing in a totally wrong direction. But, God got them on the right track and it was then that their true search began.
It was then that they began to search for Jesus amongst the living. And, as we know, that search ended with them coming face to face with their Risen Lord. That ending is promised to us, as well. We will see our Risen Lord in big and small ways in the course of our lifetimes. But, in the midst of our finding, is our seeking.
So the question becomes, where are you at in your seeking? Are you on the right track or out in left field? Are you putting yourself in the right places and mindset to remember Jesus? Are you surrounding yourself with people who can help you remember him? Are you in do-it-yourself mode or connected to a community of faith that can support you and be supported by you in your common search?
As you answer these questions, may your search be ever deepening, powerful and encouraged by the people around you. Amen.
To many people, her reading habit is a bit strange. We would never dream of reading a book out of sequence like that. But there are days when we wish we could approach life like that. We wish we could see how things turn out before we have to go through them.
I wonder if the women who came to Jesus’ tomb early on the first Easter morning wished that they knew the end of the story. By the end of the book of Luke, they see Jesus face to face. They watch him eat so they know he’s not a ghost. They have their minds opened as he reminds them of Scripture. They have a first hand encounter with their Risen Lord.
But, as we meet them in the first 12 verses, at dawn on that first Easter morning, they are still seeking. They are still going through the shock of the empty tomb, the fear of angels appearing before them, the frustration of being accused of speaking nonsense – of not being believed by the disciples to whom they’ve told their story.
In many ways, we are in the same place as these women. Our faith assures us of our first hand encounter with our Risen Lord when we die. And even in our earthly lives, we catch glimpses of Jesus at work in the world. We experience the joy and hope of his resurrection in our daily lives.
However, even if we can confidently say that we have found Jesus, we still seek him – we seek to know him better, to see him more clearly, and to live our lives as he lived his. It is this seeking that I want to look at more closely today. By noting how these women sought after Jesus, our own seeking can be affirmed, deepened and challenged.
Their first action was something quite normal and ordinary. They went to the tomb in order to wrap Jesus’ body with spices – a customary and proper thing to do for a dead body in Jesus’ time. Their first action was also very off track. The women went seeking for Jesus among the dead and he wasn’t there.
You see, they were seeking for him in the wrong place. They had come upon a dead end in their search (no pun intended). But God would not let that be the end of their story. Two angels were sent to them. The angels chided them. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” And then the angels proclaimed the Good News of Easter, “He is not here, but has risen.”
These women go out searching for Jesus, but it is ultimately God who finds them. They’re searching in the wrong place and God gets them on track. God does the same for us in our searching. We get off track, too. Don’t we? As we go about our normal and ordinary tasks of work and family and life, the truth is we don’t always search in the right places for Jesus either. Yet, like these women, God finds us as well, and points us in the direction we need to go next.
One of the ways the angels helped the women get back on track in their search for Jesus was by telling them to remember. Remember the words Jesus had spoken to them during his life as he foretold about his death and resurrection. Remember his words and actions at the last supper.
In our lives, there are all sorts of ways we remember Jesus. As we seek him and we put ourselves in places and mindsets of remembering him, we bring him into the present with us.
Some of us remember Jesus as we enter a certain space or place. We see him in nature, through a beautiful sunset, a placid lake or a mountaintop view. We see him in a church sanctuary or a specific room in our house. For others, we remember Jesus as we look out over humanity. We see him in the face of our child or grandchild, as we witness a random act of kindness or as we experience care from someone else.
We, who gather here Sunday after Sunday, remember Jesus in the sharing of bread and wine at Holy Communion. We remember him through his Word spoken at worship and studied during Confirmation, Sunday School and Adult Education. The act of remembering in our search for the Risen Lord keeps us mindful for whom it is that we search. It focuses our search and deepens it.
The final thing that we learn from these women is that the search is never done alone. They go to the tomb together. As their search for the Risen Lord intensifies after their encounter with the angels, they go find the 11 disciples and others to tell them. These women sought after Jesus in community.
We are called to do the same. Even in our society that has become more and more individualistic, we are called to do the same. Don’t get me wrong. Our search for the Risen Christ is on one hand very personal. It is unique to each of us and our personal journeys and circumstances.
But we shortchange ourselves and our search if we allow it to only be that. This Gospel passage and the way Jesus conducted his earthly ministry reminds us that our search for the Risen Christ is also a communal endeavor. It’s communal because two people’s, 27 people’s, 63 people’s, 101 people’s hands are better than one.
It’s communal because when I’m lost or full of doubt, I can piggyback along with someone else for a while who is focused and full of faith.
The women who set out to seek Jesus in his death found an empty tomb. That, in and of itself, was not enough to cause them to express unwavering, resurrection faith. In fact, they were pointing in a totally wrong direction. But, God got them on the right track and it was then that their true search began.
It was then that they began to search for Jesus amongst the living. And, as we know, that search ended with them coming face to face with their Risen Lord. That ending is promised to us, as well. We will see our Risen Lord in big and small ways in the course of our lifetimes. But, in the midst of our finding, is our seeking.
So the question becomes, where are you at in your seeking? Are you on the right track or out in left field? Are you putting yourself in the right places and mindset to remember Jesus? Are you surrounding yourself with people who can help you remember him? Are you in do-it-yourself mode or connected to a community of faith that can support you and be supported by you in your common search?
As you answer these questions, may your search be ever deepening, powerful and encouraged by the people around you. Amen.