April 8, 2007 - Easter Day C / Luke 24:1-12
The Rev. Stephanie E. Parker

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.

You know, I have to confess right off the top that preparing a sermon for this glorious day has been a great struggle. Those of you who are used to hearing my sermons throughout the year may find this hard to believe, but I couldn't think of a thing to say-quite frankly, I wondered if I had perhaps already given my best Easter sermons so what more could I say; or what could I say that was new?

Then in the midst of my struggle I realized something. I realized that it was not that I had nothing more to say about this amazing and glorious morning, but that I was in fact stuck-I was stuck at the foot of the cross. Earlier on, as I planned the Stations of the Cross, which we did on Friday night, I was full of inspiration-in fact I was like a kid in a candy store-I had more ideas than we had time. But when it came to this sermon-nothing! I LOVE Easter morning---and yet, nada--zip!

So I resorted to what we all do in times of desperation-as I was sitting in front of my blank computer screen, with the cursor taunting me, "write something, write something!" Well, I prayed. And I have to tell you this was no eloquent prayer. It was essentially the threefold: Dear God, help me, help me, help me! I just have a few of hours to get this sermon on paper and I've got NOTHING!

Well, as often happens when we go to God in times of desperation, an answer came. In the moments of interior silence that followed my fevered prayer, God's love and grace touched me with understanding. I realized that I was struggling with the Good News of the resurrection because my heart was currently in a Good Friday kind of space.

You see, last week my nephew lost his father. This tender young man of thirteen, whose life has already seen more brokenness than I think anyone should experience in a lifetime, received the hard news that his father had committed suicide.

Now, we all suffer loss and tragedy in our life, it's part of the human condition, and a part that I think often calls out the very best in us, it is a paradox of God's amazing grace, that sometimes our greatest challenges call us to become our best selves.

But, this last week, I've found myself wondering how much this young man was expected to bear and at what point would his astounding resilience and courage finally give way to a despair that could not be overcome.

And, you must know that I did not ask these questions of God-I know that God in Christ is this boy's best hope, because I understand that we are an Easter people. I know and believe in the power of God that brings life out of death. In my years I have both personally experienced and witnessed in countless others God's power to create life out of death.

The women who have come to Jesus' tomb as the sun is struggling up over the horizon are about to encounter this very mystery. Their lives and their hopes have been crushed by the events of the last three days. Their beloved teacher and friend, this man in whom they had so much hope and so much expectation, has just been put to death as a common criminal.

The other disciples, whom they have respected, have shown themselves to be nothing more than cowards, traitors and deserters. In the midst of their despair all that they know to do is to attend to the tasks that are before them. So, as soon as custom allows they return to the tomb with the spices that they have prepared so that Jesus might finally be anointed properly for his burial-something that was not allowed them immediately following his death.

They too are still locked in Good Friday. As they arrive to find the rock rolled back and the tomb empty, save for two men that are there---and I love this-in the Greek it can be accurate to say that they encountered two men who were dressed in lightening! These two messengers are there and they ask the women a most puzzling question: "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen!"

You see, this is our eternal Easter question, "Why do we look for the living among the dead?" Or, in another translation of today's Scripture, "Why do you look for someone who is alive among the corpses?" As an Easter people we live the paradox of grief accompanied by joy. When life hands us a death, either literal or metaphorical, we know that in Christ new life always follows death.

We see it all over God's creation. A seed is buried in the darkness and out of that darkness new life springs forth. This is God's will and God's way. Think of it, we crucify the King of Peace and God's response to the worst that humanity can do is to raise up for us a Savior, a Savior who defeats death once and for all.

And not so that our failure to receive God's Son can be punished, but so that we may understand that God's love for us has no bounds. God brings life out of death to show us that there is nothing we can do that puts us outside of God's redemptive power. Easter teaches us once and for all that death does not have the last word. God has the last word and that Word is Love.

Now, the pain that life sometimes holds will tempt us to search for life among the dead. If we lose someone we love to death or even to betrayal, we will often find ourselves wandering the grave yards of our lost hopes and dreams even as we wonder why we can't move on---why do we look for the living among the dead.

If we lose a job or we fail in our pursuit of a long held dream, we can become ghosts who do nothing more than haunt the ruins of our former life, never moving on to what is surely next for us---why do we look for the living among the dead?

Here is the truth of our lives as an Easter people: The tomb is empty, is not here, he is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia! This is not a simplistic proclamation meant to send us off on some philosophical quest for happiness in the midst of our distress. This is so much more! The empty tomb and Jesus' later appearances to his followers is God's promise that there is no death we can suffer in this life that has more power than God's ability to raise us to new life.

This is the foundation we stand on when we feel like our lives might be crumbling. This is the light, the light of Christ that peeks into the darkness of our despair and says hang, hang on----I promise you there is life after death. Not just survival, but life, full resplendent life. I know this because I have lived it. My life has shown me that God does create victory out of defeat, and I know many of you whose lives have borne witness to the same.

Paradoxically, that is also why, on this glorious Easter morning that gives me much joy---- I know I must remain just a while longer in my Good Friday pain. I'm going to sit here for a while because this is where someone I love very much is living right now. I'm going to sit in this place of sadness and grief with him, as his companion, because I know what he has yet to learn-- that God will have the last word on his suffering and grief and that Word will bring new life and hope.

You see, this is the other great gift we celebrate on this glorious day. As an Easter people we have already met those wonderful men dressed in lightening and we have encountered the risen Christ---and because of this, because of this, we have the distinct gift of pointing to the empty tomb and telling a grieving world, He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia! Amen.