Matthew 28:1-10
Ever watch children play tug of war?
First one side, then the other, lots of screaming and shouting … until one team slowly gains the advantage … and finally one last pull, and the game is over!
In my mind’s eye, I see something like a tug of war going on early in the morning of that first Easter … I can see God’s angels on one side of the stone pushing it away, and a host of demons on the other side, pushing to keep the stone in place!
Bear in mind that Satan didn’t want Jesus to die on the cross … for the moment therein Christ dies, Satan’s hold on the world would be shaken; something new and good set into motion the steps of Satan’s doom and the end of all darkness.
Satan didn’t want Jesus to die on the cross.
Satan hoped that Jesus would be distracted … diverted … choose an easier way of it.
Look at the temptations in the wilderness … “feed the world, and you’ll have them eating out of your hand … dazzle them with tricks, and you’ll have them lining up to buy your book … and, by the way, bow down and worship me,” said Satan, “and I’ll give you the kingdoms of the world – no muss, no fuss; no sweat, blood or tears … I can make it easy for you.”
The last thing Satan wanted was Jesus to die on the cross.
Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, captures this moment powerfully: when Jesus dies, Satan falls to his knees on Calvary and howls like a mad dog … for in that moment, the tide is turned, the Evil Kingdom invaded … to set the prisoner free, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor!
Satan didn’t want Jesus to die on the cross.
And now, if Satan can’t keep Christ from the cross, maybe Satan can at least keep Christ in the tomb …
Don’t let Him out to tell the world about hope … don’t let new life into this world …
Keep it dark, keep it cold; keep it filled with hatred and suspicion … divide race against race, gender against gender, creed against creed, neighbor against neighbor … build up greed and tear down kindness … let folks join the church but never join Christ … fill the world with noise … create hungers that no one can satisfy … lure people with hopes and dreams that are nothing more than straw … tell people they can live forever, and then fill them with secret fears and deep anxieties … stress them, pummel them, drive them … until they’re bone-weary and tired of life.
If Satan can’t stop Jesus from going to the cross, at least Satan can keep Jesus in the tomb!
But the tug of war didn’t last all that long …
Matthew puts it well … “there was an earthquake” … and uses the adverb: “suddenly” … “suddenly there was an earthquake” … unexpected, unplanned, unanticipated … out of the blue, from nowhere.
Some of us know all too well what an earthquake is like … some here remember the Northridge earthquake, 1994 … some here remember the 1971 San Fernando earthquake … some even remember the 1933 Long Beach earthquake … and just the other day, Morrey was telling me about the San Francisco earthquake … naw just kidding.
Things change with an earthquake … things changed Easter morning; God took creation by the shoulders and gave it a good shake …
When our lives change, we sometimes say, “I felt the earth move.”
A young bride said to me several years after the ceremony, “When you pronounced us husband and wife, I felt the earth move.’
Transition … change … we don’t always like it … we settle in and settle down … we find our place and make our peace … and then something comes along – earthquake … we find ourselves in a new place, a new world, a new time.
A new job, a new town, a new relationship … maybe we left the old willingly … maybe we were ushered out: “Here’s a pink slip for Christmas” … or worse, “you loved one isn’t going to make it” … the earth moves.
Suddenly, there was an earthquake … God shook creation from it’s slumber, God awakened the world to its possibilities … God aroused the powers of life and love.
We live anew … because of Easter.
We live in a new community ...
Our eyes upon Christ …
We engage the world with all the skill and compassion …
We forgive as the Amish did when their community was assaulted with violence and death … we leave vengeance to the LORD, because we’re not smart enough to handle it.
We love unconditionally …
We confess our sins with assurance …
We confess our faith with confidence …
We are Easter people …
We enjoy this world …
We relish a sunset and celebrate the sunrise …
We enjoy good food and fine drink … we go bowling and we cheer on the Dodgers … we watch March madness and throw a good party … we’re Easter people.
We pay attention to the other; we pray for one another.
We make life good for everyone … we share our abundance; we campaign for justice … if someone’s homeless today, we’re all homeless … if someone’s hungry today, we’re all hungry … if someone has lost their way, we’re all lost … because we’re in this together …
The story of a footrace in the Special Olympics … runners dashing for the finish line; one of them falls – they stop, they turn, they help their friend up, and arm-in-arm, they cross the finish line together.
That’s our reality … the earthquake that changed the world.
Matthew says: “an angel of the LORD descending from heaven …”
Here’s the first lesson of the day … only God can move the stone away … we can only go to the tomb and weep; we cannot set the prisoner free nor break the bonds of death …
We apply our best science, and write our finest books, yet we cannot crack the code of death, we cannot roll the stone away … but God does … and God alone.
And what God does, God does well:
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our LORD (Romans 8:38-39).
An angel of the LORD came down and rolled the stone away.
The second lesson of the day, “Don’t be afraid.”
If death is the final enemy, fear is its companion … and anger its consort.
Fear lurks behind every angry moment… the fear of loss – the fear of losing our place, our dignity, our self-respect, our purpose – losing identity, security; losing control, losing our dreams; losing our protective cover …
Show me an angry person, and I’ll show you a person frightened … a person chased by some demon of the mind or soul …
I know it from my own life … whenever anger raises its ugly head, its body is a body of fear … I’m afraid of something, but identifying it can be mighty hard.
What am I afraid of?
What are you afraid of?
Ever since Adam and Eve scuttled off into the bushes when they heard God strolling in the Garden, fear has plagued the heart and clouded the mind.
Fear drives discrimination and war … fear drives the competitive insanity we witness in a market system without restraint and moral compass … fear pits nation against nation; fear builds the bombs and launches the attack; fear of the other builds walls higher than needed – it’s fear that turns us away from the sorrow of Darfur; it’s fear that condemns the beggar on the corner as a no-good lout who outta go and get a job … it’s fear that slams the door on gays and lesbians … it’s fear that excludes those whom we perceive to be different … folks like James Dobson and Pat Robertson play upon our fears – talk radio is full of fear and anger … fear always leads to anger … and anger always deepens our fear!
The child hitting a playmate who touches her toy … resentment against a family member or a friend … an explosive temperament fueled by too much adrenaline … raised voices and angry gestures … the thief in the night; the mugger in the alley – the dictator in his palace; the pimp on the street – all rooted in fear.
But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid” because there’s another reality at work here … something greater than fear … something true and good … the old is passing away; the new is here … take it, live it, follow it … open your heart as wide you can; open your mind to the glory of God … do justice; love kindness; walk humbly with God.
Third lesson: “You’ll find Him.”
“You will find Him” … not in yesterday’s sorrow, but in tomorrow’s hope … He’s ahead of you, already there, and you’ll find Him.
“You will find Him” … not at the tomb, but in the love of life.
“You will find Him” … not in hatred and anger, but in kindness and peace.
“You will find Him” … in every intention to do good, every prayer, every act of forgiveness … every moment of mercy, a charitable deed … a smile and a positive word … a firm handshake and a warm embrace …
“You will find Him” in the morning, and you will find Him in the evening … you will find Him at the beginning and you will find Him at the end … He’s the Alpha and the Omega … He is our All in all.
“You will find Him.”
Ask, and it will be given you.
Search, and your will find.
Knock, and the door will be opened for you (Matthew 7:7).
Fourth lesson: “He has been raised as He said.”
His Word is good!
This salvation business is in God’s hands, and God handles it well … He said it, and He did it!
Can we not trust Him?
Can we not love Him?
Can we not go with Him where’re He leads?
The answer is “Yes!” Ten thousand times over …
We trust Him … His word is good.
We love Him … His word is pure.
We go with Him … His word is true.
He has been raised, as He said!
Amen!
