“One Big Rock”
Luke 24:1-12
Isaiah
65:17-25
Picture if you will, three individuals
waiting to enter heaven. Before they were allowed to enter, St. Peter,
who according to tradition stands at Heaven's gate, asked each one individually,
"Tell me, what is the meaning of Easter?"
"Uh," struggled the first.
"Isn't Easter the holiday when all your family gets together to
eat turkey and then you all watch football afterwards?"
St. Peter shook his head. "No,
no, no ... that's not what Easter is."
So St. Peter walked over to the second
one. "Tell me, what is the meaning of Easter?"
The second was a bit more self-assured.
"Easter is that holiday where you set up a tree and decorate it
and that man in the funny red suit comes down the chimney and ..."
"No, no, no, that's not what Easter
is either."
St. Peter was feeling very discouraged.
He walked over to the third. "Tell me, what is the meaning of Easter?"
The third one smiled with self-assurance.
"Easter is the holiday when Jesus was crucified and then they buried
him in a tomb and he stayed there for three days, and on the third day
..."
"Stop," St. Peter interrupted.
"Don't go any further. Let me go get the other two." He summoned
the first two to come and listen to the third one's definition of Easter.
"Okay, start over again and tell these theologically challenged
individuals the meaning of Easter."
"Easter is the holiday when Jesus
was crucified and then they buried him in a tomb and he stayed there
for three days ..."
"Go on," said St. Peter.
"And then on the third day, Jesus
rose from the tomb ...""Yes. Yes." said St. Peter.
"And if he saw his shadow, it was
six more weeks of Winter!"
You all saw that coming, didn't you?
We all saw it coming, and yet, the question
remains. What is the meaning of this holiday we call Easter? You know,
I'm supposed to have an answer to that question. I'm a preacher. I attended
theological school. I have now had almost 9 years as a Minister of the
Word and Sacrament, so it should be quite easy for me when it is my
turn at the gate and Peter asks me, “What is the meaning of Easter?”
What does it mean that the big rock in front of the tomb was rolled
to the side and the inside was empty?
It's very simple, I will say…what?
At this moment, I am not quite sure what I will say at that time. I'm
pretty sure that I won't say six more weeks of winter, but what will
my answer really be? What would yours be?
If we go to Luke's telling of that resurrection
morning, and we accompany the women to the tomb where they had laid
Jesus, and if we hear the words of the two individuals dazzlingly dressed,
what do they say? If you want to know what Easter is about? Remember.
Remember his words. Remember he told
you this was going to happen! You see! He was right! You know what,
just like this empty tomb validates his prediction of death and resurrection,
so too does it validate his life and ministry.
Remember when he fed the thousands who
sat hungry on the hillsides of Palestine? He was right to feed them,
because hunger in body or in spirit has no place in the Kingdom of God.
Remember when he healed the lame man
on the Sabbath? When he gave sight on the Sabbath? When he touched those
who were unclean by the rules of the day? He was right to do so, because
the love of God transcends human rules and sickness has no place in
the kingdom.
Remember when Jesus challenged the temple
money changers for their greed? And the authorities for their hypocrisy
and injustice and self interest? He was right to do so because injustice
has no place in the kingdom of God.
When Jesus responded to violence and
the exercise of human power with obedience to God and a message of God's
peace, he was right, because violence and trust in human power verses
trust in God has no place in the kingdom.
Remember when Jesus embraced the children,
and the marginalized, and the excluded? He was right, because God's
loving embrace for all God's children is what the Kingdom is all about.
Remember when he said that his death
would not be the end? Remember?
When both the enemies and followers
of Jesus saw that one big rock rolled in front of the entrance to Jesus'
tomb, they thought it was the end of the story. But Easter says wait
a minute, God is just getting warmed up. You think that big rock is
going to get in God's way? No way.
But that was just the beginning. If
you look at all 4 of the gospels, you will notice that none of them
contain a description of the resurrection itself. Moving that one big
rock in front of Jesus tomb, and raising God's faithful son, the act
itself, is not the focus of the story. The story is really more about
how the disciples will respond to the empty tomb.
The stone that enclosed Jesus' tomb
was not the only stone that needed to be removed on Easter. Though the
big rock in front of Jesus resting place had been rolled out of the
way, the stone walls that enclosed the minds and souls of Jesus' followers
were still very much in place.
The stone of the tomb, heavy, immovable
the authorities thought, was no big deal. But the stones that make up
the walls of our reality, the stones that we use to build walls that
divide us, the stones that we pick up out of fear, to protect ourselves
from strangers and from the dangers of human life, these stones are
metaphorical in nature, yes, but they are so much more difficult to
move. This part of the Easter story continues until today. Here we get
into the meaning of Easter for today.
We pick up these stones throughout our
lives. These stones are shaped by addiction, by broken relationships.
They are stones of spiritual, emotional, and physical hunger, stones
of violence and hatred, stones of excessive materialism and greed, of
prejudice and personal and national self-interest, stones of illness
and unemployment, of missed opportunities and failed expectations. These
stones come in all shapes and sizes and they are in ready supply.
We build walls with these stones, level
by level, and the walls get higher and higher until we are completely
enclosed. It gets dark, like the inside of a tomb. We think that we
are safer.
When God comes and rolls away the stone
from Jesus grave on Easter, and proclaims that everything that Jesus
taught and did is true, we still remain hidden behind our own walls.
We remain enclosed in our own tombs, silent and afraid.
This morning, our situation is just
like it was in our story. The stone, that one big rock that they used
to try to keep Jesus in the realm of the dead, was already rolled out
of the way. The tomb was already empty! The emphasis of the story
in all the gospels is not on the resurrection itself but upon its discovery
by those who are open to its invitation.
This morning God says, “Don't look
for the dead! Don't be dead!” God has not only rolled away
the stone in front of Jesus' tomb. God has rolled away that one big
rock in front of yours. Look for the RISEN savior. Step out into
the light and experience life!
Step out of our your tomb into the light
of God's day. The rocks of war, and of human pain and fear are not the
final word. We are set free. If we receive the Easter invitation, we
can step out and breathe deeply the fresh air of new life. We can feel
the warmth of the sun on our faces.
And then we can peek into the tombs
of our neighbors in need, and invite them to come out too. Come on out!
Come on out into the light!
When we emerge into the light, we discover
that there is indeed a peace that cannot be shaken, there is indeed
a hope that cannot be conquered, there is indeed a journey of fellowship,
of love, and of deep significance. This is the meaning of Easter.
The Easter story is not about a material
rock that existed long ago. It is about removing our present rocks,
the ones that stand between ourselves and God, between you and me, between
conservatives and liberals, Americans and Iraqi's, Israeli's and Palestinians,
rich and the poor, gay and straight, between humanity and the environment,
and between ourselves as we are and ourselves as God created us to be:
whole and at peace.
There is the little bit of liturgy that
we practiced at the beginning of our service this morning. “Christ
is risen! He is risen indeed!”
How big that “indeed” is! It is
so important that when we come to this place and hear the good news
that Christ is risen, we respond with our own lives, “Christ is risen
indeed!”
In this word “indeed” we discover
the real meaning of Easter.
Christ is risen indeed! So we will continue
to search for God's eternal truth and make it a word on target for today.
Christ is risen indeed! So we will work for peace until we end war.
We will continue to work to end hunger in a world that makes plenty
of food. If Christ is risen indeed, then we will reach out to those
whom the world rejects, because Christ is indeed alive in my life, and
in yours.
“Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”
April 8, 2007
Rev. Paul Heins
First Presbyterian Church
Logan, Utah