P.O.P. 4/16/06 “Frightened by Easter!” I Corinthians 15:1-11; Mark 16:1-8

Frightened By Easter!

          We meet Salome only at the cross and empty grave.  She is one of many women who followed Jesus at a distance during his public ministry.  She shopped for food and cooked for Jesus and the disciples. She loved Jesus as much as did the disciples.  At the cross only one disciple dared show his face; however, several women joined Jesus’ mother to watch and weep.  Madeleine L’Engle penned a poem on Salome at the cross.

“Under the cross I sit and, time-bound, wait

for time to fit the crossbeam to the upright, knowing

the end.  He staggers, he is here, his weakness growing.

Flesh and wood shudder under the icy blowing.

Oh, Lord, is this how all our hopes must end?

Pushing through dark, in fiercest concentration,

it is now, as he stands beneath the crossbeam’s weight

that he strengthens, stretches, now he carries nothing,

it would seem, except himself.  It is too late

for me to bear it for him, carry his beam,

and not the beam in my own eye, blinding, blowing.

Oh, God, the hammer, the nails.  Lord.

He is stretched out, his strong arms

nailed to the crossbeam,

his dust-darkened feet to the upright.

Is there only time, this sky-darkened time?

As night turns to morning,

Will his dawn never break again?”

          Three hours pass and it is finished.  Her heart and the hearts of her friends are broken. They follow Joseph of Arimathea to see where he buries Jesus.  It is now Friday evening, Sabbath begins and they must wait.  They wait through the night and then all of black Saturday – dark not by lack of sunlight but by crushed hopes and deep, heart wrenching grief.  They believe his dawn never will break again.

          Sunday morning a dawn broke and Salome joins Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James on a journey to the grave.  They start in the dark and arrive at the tomb just as first light turns black to gray. Mist rises from the ground. Have you ever been to a cemetery in the half-light of dawn or dusk?  Scary, isn’t it! Yet these women approach the grave confidently.  They have a job to do, a final act of loving devotion to the man they saw as elder brother, wise teacher, compassionate friend; one they hoped was the Messiah of Israel. They come not afraid but in love and grief. They come to do women’s work.  Funeral parlors didn’t exist and first century Palestine was full of death: mothers bathed their dead babies, sisters the mothers who died giving birth, mothers the sons killed in battle and daughters the fathers killed at a slave master’s hand. 

          They bring expensive spices to anoint the body.  Imagine entering a tomb to wash a body lying dead for two days.  TV’s CSI may fascinate but the touch and stench of death repels most of us.  Yet for them death held not fear, only sadness.  As they make their way to the cemetery their one worry was “who will roll away the stone?” blocking the entrance to the grave.  When they arrive at the tomb they find their worry was for naught.  I’m not sure that on seeing the opening I’d go boldly into the cave as they did.  I’ve seen too many horror films and often wonder why dumb teens run into dark scary places alone?  You and I have more sense than that! 

Yet they came to do their duty and entered the tomb.  Only now do the surprises begin! “Who is this stranger in white?  He doesn’t belong here?  Where is Jesus’ body?”  Mark wrote, “They were alarmed?”  As fear begins to set in the white clad messenger responds, “Do not be alarmed,” and tells of Jesus resurrection.  He commands: “Go, tell his disciples… that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”  They run away “for terror and amazement had seized them.”

I want you to ponder this: they can wash a dead body but fear resurrection; they can handle the stench of rotting flesh but not the sweet smell of new life!  On the one hand there is amazement, now that I understand! Jesus lives!  WOW!  Amazement stops me in my tracks; my eyes grow wide and I stare; my mouth may even drop open.  Yet they also experience terror. Terror overwhelms them and they flee and in silence hide. 

Maybe we should let Easter terrorize us! Look at what we’ve done to the holiday!  Easter bunnies and colored eggs, children running about on sugar highs, pastel outfits and lots of flowers. Easter is beautiful and the gospel is wonderful good news!  God raised Jesus from the dead and death for all time has been swallowed up in victory! Alleluia! But we hear this story every year – to the point where our jaws no longer drop and our hearts no longer skip a beat as we ponder the empty tomb.

For Salome and the two Marys the news is too good to be true!  For if it is true then the rules of society, the rules of human nature no longer apply. That’s scary!  With the promise came a command. The women must go and tell the disciples and then go with them to Galilee!  This is not a job any first century woman believed she could or should do! What man would listen to her?  Women’s job was to take care of the children and men, do the chores and be a tender presence in other’s lives. They could wash and prepare a body of burial but no one ever gave them such a difficult job before! They had to go and tell the men back in Jerusalem that they were wrong! They had to give them instructions!  First century women didn’t give men instructions!  Easter changes everything, the empty tomb had the effect of an earthquake: the foundations, rules and certainties that govern existence no longer hold!  Of course fear seized them!

On Monday I realized CE committee had forgotten to plan for today’s Easter egg hunt; but I knew I could find someone to do the job and my first call produced a yes! Thanks Susan.  Raise your hand if you think you could organize an Easter egg hunt for 10 to 15 kids!  Chickie prepared communion for Thursday and today.  Raise your hand if you think you could do that job.  Building and Grounds plans a workday in May!  Raise your hand if you can put down mulch, sweep a sidewalk or pull weeds! (Did you get those names Herb?)  Now, raise your hand if you could leave here today and tell five friends what Jesus’ resurrection means to you!  Could you sit and pray with a church member during the last hours of her life!  Raise your hand if you could preach next Sunday!  Raise your hand if you would lead a Bible study in your home if getting caught by authorities meant imprisonment?  Easter makes demands on the lives of believers; challenges us to new ways of living: we must go the second mile, forgive others, and be willing to die for what we believe! If you accept the title Christian, if you are truly Easter people then much is required of you!  The world’s ways are no longer our ways.  You will be different: following where Christ leads, helping bring a hurting world back to wholeness.  “Don’t be alarmed,” the messenger says, “for Christ has been raised and goes before us.  He bids us meet him in Galilee, in other words he bids us meet him back home in the world, back home where people along for the good news.  Where is the risen Christ calling you today?  What new task has he in store for you?  Do not be afraid for Jesus lives and has conquered death! Believe and live the Easter life.