He is Risen! -- A Easter Sunrise Message for 2024

 

GOSPEL — Mark 16:1-8

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 

Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 

and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 

But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

PSALTER (Psalm 107.1-2, 10-15)
O give thanks to the Holy One, for God is good.
God’s steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the Holy One say so,
whom God has redeemed from trouble.
We sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,
for we had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Our hearts were bowed down with hard labor;
we fell down, with no one to help.
Then we cried to God in our trouble,
and God saved us from our distress.
God brought us out of darkness and gloom,
and broke our bonds asunder.
Oh God, we thank you for you steadfast love,
for your wonderful works to humankind.

 

MEDITATION

Forty-five minutes before we gathered this morning, at 6:45, the Sun rose in Skippack. It is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit here. The sun rose in Jerusalem at 5:28 this morning, and it is 70 degrees there.  

If we rewind time by almost 2000 years, we can imagine ourselves waking up early this morning and walking with the women to the tomb. Although it would be around 70 degrees, when you are used to warm days, the air would have felt chilly. The women would have been wearing their robes and cloaks to keep warm. 

I suspect the women gathered up their supplies before they went to bed the night before – they would have had water, oil, and herbs. They needed a vessel with water in it to wash the body off. Jewish people have a custom called to-ho-rah when bodies are ritually washed before being wrapped in a burial shroud. When Jesus was on the cross, he sweated and bled. The women would have wanted to remove his body fluids before his final burial. They also had oil to rub into his body, probably olive oil. They may also have had aromatic herbs with them such as olive, laurel, palm, and cypress to help fight the effects of decomposition. The women loved Jesus and wanted care for his body. They wanted to care for his body as a final act of love for Jesus. 

But, when the women arrived at the tomb, their plans went awry. Jesus’s body was not there. Instead, a strange man dressed in a white robe was sitting in the tomb. He told the women Jesus had resurrected and would meet them in Galilee. The women were shocked by his words and went away afraid to tell anyone what he had said. 

Despite their misgivings and fear, the man’s words were true. Later on that first day of the week, later that Sunday, Jesus began to make appearances to his friends. He was resurrected and they would soon see him. 

I feel for those women. They wanted to do the right thing by tending to Jesus’ body. They wanted to be faithful to Jesus, to the one they loved, to their friend and their messiah. They wanted to tend to his body as a final act to show their love for him. And, they had no idea that Jesus would not be there to receive their gift, to receive their love. 

Like those women, we are called to respond to Jesus with loving actions. In a few minutes, we will walk to the Education Building and gather for breakfast. Our social committee will lovingly prepare food for us, their brothers and sisters in Christ. Our acts of faith don’t always have to be mighty and showy – like those women at the tomb, we can show we love Jesus by wiping off his sweat and wrapping his body…..we can show we love Jesus by making sure there are table cloths are on the tables in the fellowship hall and by making sure your friend’s eggs are cooked just right. 

In our lives, we do not have a lot of opportunities to do the big things – we quite possibly will not donate a stained-glass window to our church or donate enough malaria vaccinations so that we eradicate the virus in our lifetimes. But we can do many little things that express our love to the people we meet each day. We can do many little kindnessses to express our love to Jesus each day. 

In the Christmas carol “In the Bleak Midwinter,” Christina Rosseti wrote: 

“What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.” We do not always have a specialized skill set or luxury goods to donate to the church. We may not be trained as ministers or parish nurses or opera singers. But we are called to give what we can, no matter how humble. We are called to share our time, talents, and treasures with God and with the church.  

 

The women who went to the tomb had servant’s hearts. They found joy in selflessly serving other people, in lifting up the broken, and in bringing hope to the hopeless. We are called to be like them....to share our gifts, to humbly do what we can for Jesus and for the people God calls us to be in relationship with. 

On this Easter day, let us put aside our fears and live lives of service and love. Amen.