This sermon was shared at St Denys, Evington at a service of Evensong on 16th April 2023, the second Sunday of Easter. Unfortunately, there isn’t a recording available for this service.
There are so many emotions, named and un-named, in Mark’s account of the burial and resurrection of Jesus! Mark tells us that Joseph of Arimathea is ‘bold’, and Pilate is ‘surprised’ to hear that Jesus is already dead. Left unsaid is the shock, sadness and grief of burying a friend and teacher, even more so one whom they believed would save Israel from the Romans instead being crucified by the Romans! Left
unsaid, too, are all the emotions of the Sabbath, the day in-between, the fear, grief, confusion and sadness that comes once the initial shock has happened.
On their way to the tomb, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome are having an
anxious conversation about who will roll the stone away, when they see the angel, they are ‘alarmed’, and afterwards we are told that ‘terror and amazement had seized them’, and they fled, ‘afraid’. The emotions left unsaid are the emotions expressed in the angel’s words. As I read them again, what emotions can you hear?
“Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here(!). Look(!), there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him just as he told you.”
Sometimes, people try to explain away the resurrection by saying that Jesus wasn’t really dead. It’s clear from Mark’s burial narrative that Pilate wasn’t going to let that happen – the Roman soldiers were well experienced in executing people – they weren’t going to make a mistake in this case. Other times, people say, “the disciples stole the body”. It’s not mentioned in Mark’s account, but again, we know from the other accounts that Pilate had already been alerted to this possibility, and guards were stationed by the tomb. Finally, both Joseph, who buried Jesus’ body, and the women who had come to finish the preparations of the body, knew death, they knew that bodies didn’t just disappear! Indeed, in John’s account, we have Mary Magdalene asking Jesus, who she thought was a
gardener, where he had put Jesus’ body. The women themselves would have more readily believed that Jesus’ body had been moved than that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead, and were ‘terrified and amazed’ after their encounter with the angel. Despite all this, word of Jesus’s resurrection spreads. Why? The simplest, and most obvious explanation, is that Jesus really did rise from the dead! When our emotions swirl around, when the challenges and trials of life impose themselves on our minds, how can we make sure we don’t miss the excitement and joy of heaven that was first shared by an angel in an empty tomb? I think the angel’s words give us some pointers.
First, the angel shows the women ‘the place where they laid him’. The angel directs the women to
use the evidence their eyes are showing them. They knew bodies didn’t disappear. We can be sure,
too, that the women knew that the disciples were currently hiding, locked in the upstairs room, too afraid to leave. Looking at that space would have left only one explanation. An explanation that would have been both terrifying and amazing at the same time. That this rabbi, their teacher, had risen from the dead. Terrifying because that meant that this rabbi could only be God’s Son – who else could rise from the dead? Amazing, because that meant that Jesus was alive Ask God to show you the truth, and use the evidence of your eyes. Don’t let emotions, confusing questions or uncertainty sway you. Those things can, and will, pass. The truth of Christ’s resurrection remains.
Second, we can remind one another, and ourselves, of Jesus’ words, and promises to us. The
message to the disciples is that Jesus is ‘going ahead of them’ to Galilee, and that they will see him
there, as Jesus had told them. What promises and words of Jesus do you need to be reminded of today?
Thirdly, the women also needed to be reminded of Jesus’ words, and, once they had been
reminded, their task was to remind others. Are there promises from God that He is asking you to remind others of This week, I encourage you to spend some time praying for those you know, and asking God who you can remind of His promises. Some of those people may not be people who regularly attend church, or would even call themselves ‘Christian’, but many people have heard promises and words of hope, which the pressures and emotions of life have overwhelmed. Some, perhaps, used to follow Jesus closely, but have lost hope, as the disciples had following the
crucifixion. So finally, who can you share the hope of Christ with, and remind them of Jesus’ promises?
repairerofwalls 