(Note: Imagine the end of the sermon as a continual call and response to the congregation.)
As Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were going to the tomb, a great earthquake shook the entire scene. This was the second earthquake in just a few days.
The first shook the moment Jesus gave up his last breath. That earthquake was so powerful that it even split the curtain that separated the Holy of Hollies (the residing place of God in the Jerusalem temple) and the courtyard in which the people worshiped and gave sacrifice.
The foundations of the world were shaken by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and so too were the foundations of our lives shaken.
If you have ever experienced an earthquake, you know already know what a bazaar experience to can be.
For those who have not, let me explain. No matter how hard you try, you cannot escape from an earthquake.
With the building shaking, you deem it wise to run outside, away from the potential for ceilings and walls to come down and crush your body. But, what you realize when you run outside is that the ground does not feel any safer than the inside of the building.
As you gaze across the landscape, you realize what you had always thought was solid ground is, in fact, simply particles of dust lying on a trembling plate. The ground moves in waves like a brown ocean and heaves up into the air like a child bouncing a pie tin of sand on his knees.
The shaking, if it lasts long enough, can make boulders rise to the top like gold rising out of the dust in the pan of an old prospector. The ground liquefaction can raise coffins straight out of the ground.
In fact, we read in the bible of the tombs being broken open and the bodies of the faithful rising from the dead during the earthquake that was spawned by Jesus’ last breath.
There is something about Jesus that disrupts the foundations of the world and shakes up all that we assume to be true.
So, what are the truths of the world that seem impenetrable?
How about the powerful getting their way? Insurance companies and their investors always seem to win in the end and leave the everyday guy or girl broke. The rich seem to have more of a pull in the decisions that governments take than any of us. Bombs force the hands of those who battle with guns. And, even a paid ticket on an airline is no promise that you will stay on your plane un-wounded and un-bloodied for your flight.
The powerful get their way. That is a rock solid reality.
What other truths are impenetrable?
How about the fact that when you are in a hurry and cannot spare even a moment of time, that is when you lock your keys in your house, or in your car, or even lose them in your refrigerator. Really, it can happen.
The worst, most time consuming thing will always occur when you have the least amount of time to deal with it. That is a rock solid reality.
How about death? Death and taxes (which you better be getting done very soon I might remind you) are impenetrable realities. Death especially. It is possible to cheat on your taxes and get away with it, but I have not seen a single person escape the reality of stress, suffering, and eventual death.
Just as sure as the sun comes up, so does the darkness of death eventually take hold.
And, all of that can lead to dark nights where we stare into the black emptiness, our minds buzzing and spiraling down into a well of hopelessness. “Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you just can’t win,” you think. The powerful will take your spot on the plane, you will then be locked out of your car, home, and refrigerator, and you will starve to death right in your front lawn. That pretty much sums up life, and you resign to the inevitable.
But here is the thing; when the ground quakes you see things you never saw before. You see that those things that you always thought were rock solid truths are just dust shaking up and down on a plate. What you thought were the foundations of reality, are false, flimsy sorts of ground. The real foundation is found below.
When the earth quakes below Mary Magdalene and the other Mary’s feet, Jesus’ tomb opens wide and reveals the true foundation of the world where suffering, pain, and death are not the last word.
Those are not so rock solid after-all.
“Jesus is not here, for he has been raised,” the angel announces. “Just as he said,” the angel continues.
“Just as he said.” We’ve heard it all before after-all on previous Easters.
We know that suffering, pain, and death are not the last word. We have heard before that the darkness of life is not the true foundation of reality. Rather, Jesus, the giver of new life is the foundation of all reality. “He has been raised!” is the last world inscribed on the bedrock.
The possibility of new life…eternal life is the true foundation that lies solid underneath the dust of death that God simple blows away.
We have heard it before, many times, but we forget because sometimes the darkness is just so dark.
That is why we are hear this fine Easter morning brothers and sisters. That is why we cry out, “Alleluia, Jesus Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” We shout it to the heavens because in God’s created world, if it is spoken aloud, it is so.
To those who feel pushed down by the powerful we shout out, “Alleluia, Jesus Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
To those who feel like their destinies are not their own to control we shout out, “Alleluia, Jesus Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
To those who have been excluded, rejected, and treated less than a child of God we shout out, “Alleluia, Jesus Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
To those who seek peace, but the bombs fall from the sky and they are helpless to catch them before they explode we shout out, “Alleluia, Jesus Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
To the person who has lost their purpose because the grips of death have taken love of their life away we shout out, “Alleluia, Jesus Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
To the child whose innocence has been taken away because they are forced to deal with the harsh realities of damaged adults we shout out, “Alleluia, Jesus Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
To those who are poor in spirit, poor in faith, and just plain poor…who cannot raise themselves out of the miry clay we shout out, “Alleluia, Jesus Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
Because, he is not in the tomb any longer brothers and sisters. The foundations of the world have been shaken, and what we find at the core of the world is not death but life; new life that breaks open our tombs and gives us a fresh start.
Today, you have a fresh start brothers and sisters. The world is not the same as it was yesterday. The resurrections has shaken and blown away the dirt of death from yesterday.
And, what we see revealed under the dust is the heart of God. God's heart gives new life, new love, and forgiveness.
So, take a step on that newly settled soil. Take a step forward on the good soil of the Lord. Take a step forward into a new world, until you see Jesus waiting for you in Galilee or Towanda, or Wysox, or Hawaii…Hey, I figure why not try to find Jesus in Hawaii?
Walk into your new life, meet Jesus in that new life, and follow in the loving ways Jesus desires you to go, because “Alleluia, Jesus Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
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