Go and Tell

Sermon for Easter Vigil, April 11, 2020

The Day After the Sabbath

It was the day after the sabbath. The sabbath was when God took a rest. For six long days God worked. God made light out of nothingness. Then God made space and time. It was like a dome that held back chaos so that elegant order might unfold. Cosmic dust coalesced into planets and took their place among the heavenly bodies. Galaxies, black holes, quasars, comets, and solar systems populated the dome of creation. That was just four days. Finally life emerged from primordial soup. Random strings of molecules danced and jostled for millennia until the steps of the dance followed predictable steps. Soon both ocean and sky filled with swarms of living things. 

Finally life crawled out onto the land. Human beings become aware of themselves. They took up agriculture, formalized languages, and created civilizations. God loved this creation so much that God entered into the creation personally as a human being. His name was Jesus. Jesus taught and accomplished much. Then he died on a cross and was buried. He gave himself to save others. That was the end of six days for God. Billions of years for the creation. On the seventh day God rested. Finally. Jesus lay still and dead in a tomb hewn from the earth in a garden. It was a Saturday. A sabbath. God had been through quite a lot: betrayal, denial, and crucifixion. His body and spirit had tired out. Jesus was dead. 

A Series of Unusual Events

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the grave. A series of unusual events transpired. There was a severe earthquake. That was scary and the women felt their stomachs turn. Then an angel of God appeared to them. It flashed like lightning. The women were knocked to the ground. The angel shone bright white and removed the stone to Jesus’ tomb and sat on it. That was an image the two women would never forget. The angel of God crossed its legs, folded in its wings, sat on that stone and looked just as natural as could be. The angel instructs Mary and Mary that Jesus has risen from the dead, and will be on his way to Galilee. They ought to go and spread the word and not be afraid. 

So Mary and Mary rush off feeling both scared and joyous. They have complicated emotions. Then, Jesus meets them on their way. They take hold of his feet and worship him. Finally they understand that this is God’s presence with them. He was there at the dawn of creation and now stood with them again, a new creation. Jesus tells them to go tell the other disciples that he will meet them in Galilee. What an unusual series of events!

Anything is Possible

There is so much that we do not know about the world. We are swimming in mystery. The nice thing about experiencing something new, different, or unusual is that it causes you to look at the world in a new way. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like everything about the world as it has been. There are some things that really bother me. Is this all there is? Is this as good as it gets? Or, is it possible that something really good could happen, that we have not foreseen or anticipated? What if it gets better? If you search your heart and your mind, then I am sure that you will find deep questions and longings. Only God truly knows what is possible. In fact, with God, anything is possible. Even the dead are not truly dead. In God they are just resting. They have tired out, but God can and will breath new life into them. 

I have had experiences like these. Have you? Have you felt the earth move under your feet? I have seen flashes of lightning that knocked me off my feet and scared me. Have you been caught in a storm and seen the hairs on your body stand up fearing that lighting could strike anywhere any second? I have seen boulders move and roll. Yes, I have even experienced the living Christ speaking to me. In my humble opinion earthquakes, lightning, and boulders aren’t nearly as overwhelming as one word uttered by God. Have you ever heard God speaking to you? I bet you have. If you haven’t heard God’s voice in your head, you might pause and listen with your heart. 

Go and Tell

Sometimes we forget the wonder of what is possible with God. Our minds too easily forget the mighty acts of God and we lazily think that the world will just keep on being like what it has been recently. But it won’t. Soon the impossible and the unusual will be here. In fact, they are already here at the doorstep, at the threshold, flashing light lightning, rolling away boulders. Now more than ever, you need to share how you have been surprised by and encountered God. The world needs to hear it! So let me be the first to follow my own advice. 

Just a few days ago I was doing the dishes. The dishes are my spiritual discipline. I held the tattered porous sponge in my right hand. The soapy foam was warm as it rolled over my fingers. I held a plate in my left hand and scrubbed it counter clockwise. In the other room the children watched TV. Then all of a sudden I felt God standing there beside me. I went into the laundry room and he followed me. I began to weep. I reached out to hold him because I was looking for comfort. I asked him, “Why”? “Why was there so much suffering?” As I trembled and clung and cried I could tell that he was slipping away. But before he was gone he left me a message. He said, “Go. Tell my brothers and sisters that I go before them in Galilee, San Bernardino, New York, Italy, Spain, Iran, and China. Tell my disciples in Upland, Rancho, Ontario, Fontana, Pomona, Claremont, and Glendora. I go before them. So there you have it. You’ve been told. Now it’s your turn. Where have you seen God? Go and tell. Amen.