Easter Sunday, Cycle C - Luke 24:1-12
Pastor Gayle M. Pope

From Death to Life!

It is early dawn, and the women are already off to the tomb, according to Luke’s account – that time of day when it is still a little on the dark side, when the night hasn’t completely turned to day.

The setting matches the mood of the women as they go. Their hearts are still clouded by the darkness of death; there is uncertainty about just how they will get into the tomb, but there is also expectation.

They are on a mission, with spices in hand. As sure as the sun is about to rise, they are about to anoint the dead body of their Lord.

They come to the tomb, see the stone rolled away and walk in. Still in the shadows, their sadness and uncertainty turns to confusion. They do not find the body they are expecting to find.

Suddenly, there is a glare of light. Two men are standing there in dazzling white clothing. “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember what he told you.” And the women DO remember his words. Finally, the light dawns. Jesus is alive!

They go and tell the others, but the others don’t believe them. They are still in the dark. Peter goes to see for himself, though, and Luke tells us, “He saw the linen cloths by themselves and then he went home amazed at what had happened.”

What HAD happened? LIFE had happened to death. “Why do you look for the living among the dead? Remember what Jesus said. Remember what he told you.” That’s what the angel said to the women when their mission reached a dead end.

We are like these women. We know Jesus. We have heard his words. We want to serve him and we make our plans about what we are going to do for him and how we are going to live our lives as his followers.

But, even though we believe, we walk in semi-darkness. We do. We have faith. We have rites and rituals. We have the best of intentions. But things don’t always turn out the way we expect.

The women headed to the last place they had seen Jesus. THEY were going to take care of HIM. But he wasn’t there. He is a LIVING Lord who cannot be kept in a box.

Jesus is alive and moving about on this earth. We think we can go looking for him, but instead, he comes looking for US. He is not dead – confined to our notions of what God should be like. He is not under our control. He is not in the last place we left him. He is alive.

What does it mean to serve a LIVING savior when you live among the dead?

It means sometimes being disoriented and perplexed. It means our plans and intentions are sometimes misdirected and interrupted. It means that, even when we do get on the right track, and we pass along the Word to someone else, they might not believe us. It might sound to them like an idle tale until they see for themselves.

It means we’re not in control of how or where or when God works, or what God does. But God IS AT WORK around us and beside us and before us.

When we look for God and can’t find Him, we have the command to remember what he told us. Return to God’s Word. Here, in the Bible, is where we find that Word. Or here in this place where it is proclaimed and given in bread and wine. Or here, in our hearts, when we pause in prayer and listen for the Holy Spirit.

And when we DO tune in and catch on, we will be amazed. We will see that God is at work in Christ defeating death. Making things new.

We know, by faith in Jesus, God has forgiven our sins and given us new life. We believe that, because Jesus died and rose, we too will live with him forever in heaven. That promise gives us hope for eternity. We can be 100% sure that we are going to heaven, just because we believe in Jesus.

But we can also be 100% sure that Jesus is alive among us now and, if we listen and watch, we can see God at work in Christ defeating death and making things new all around us, just as sure as we see the new green shoots spiking up from the cold earth.

Tony Dungy, the coach of the Indianapolis Colts, gives us an example of what it means to see God’s hand at work, even in death.

He lost his 18-year-old son to suicide in December of 2005. In his first speaking engagement after his son’s funeral, at the 19th annual Athletes in Action Super Bowl breakfast a couple of months later, he talked about the pain and the lessons from his son’s suicide.

“He was a Christian,” Dungy said, “and is today in heaven. He was struggling with the things of the world and took his own life. People ask how I could come back to work so soon. I’m not totally recovered, I don’t know if I ever will be, it’s still ever-painful,” he said. “But some good things have come out of it.”

Some of those good things include people having received sight from his son’s donated corneas, and people who heard the eulogy Dungy gave for his son and were inspired to renew relationships with their own children. But best of all, are people who have come to know Christ because of the witness of faith Dungy shared.

In that speech, Dungy said, “If God had talked to me before James’ death and said his death would have helped all these people, it would have saved them and healed their sins, but I would have to take your son, I would have said no, I can’t do that.

“But God had the same choice 2,000 years ago with His Son, Jesus Christ, and it paved the way for you and me to have eternal life. That’s the benefit I got, that’s the benefit James got and that’s the benefit you can get if you accept Jesus into your heart today as your Savior.”

From the tragic death of Dungy’s son, God has brought new life. That is what God does. Death and darkness never have the last word.

When you feel like your faith has reached a dead end … when darkness and despair seem to have the upper hand … when confusion overcomes clarity … you are not alone. You are in the company of the all the saints of God who have lived on this dark earth.

At times like that, return to God’s Word and remember God’s promises. Be patient. Jesus is alive and he will find you and give you his peace. Amen. Alleluia!