St Mark 16:1-8/2 Corinthians 15:51-57/Job 19:23-27
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Beloved in the Lord, how do we even begin to express the joy of this feast?
We heard old Job – a type of Christ because of the unjust suffering that Satan inflicted upon him – cry out with certainty of his conviction. I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold and not another. My heart faints within me!
Job knew, he knew, that there was no way the God of justice and mercy would abandon him. Even though he endured such misery and sorrow, even though he deserved death, even if his body rotted to pieces in the grave, he knew there was One who would call him from the grave, One who would redeem his fallen flesh and restore it to life again. He knew this Redeemer lives.
And so our Lord was the ultimate innocent sufferer. He was truly innocent, for there was no stain of sin in Him – not in His thoughts, His words, or His deeds. And yet He allowed Himself to suffer; to suffer horribly and then to die.
The women thought that was the end of Him. They loved Him, but the most they thought they could do was care and tend a body; His soul departed, now three days gone. They worry about moving the heavy stone. And it is nothing compared to the stone they feel upon their own hearts. Death has cut them off from the One they loved. That stone was sealed. That way blocked. No way out. The end.
The shock, then, the wonder, at the stone being rolled away from the entrance of the tomb. It wasn’t only that stone – the stone on their hearts began to move a little, too. They entered the tomb and saw the young man dressed in white – and suddenly their hearts are quaking.
Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.
Shock. Fear. Alarm. They are common responses throughout Scripture to the presence of holy ones. And so the first words out of the messengers’ mouths are usually, “Don’t be afraid.” But this particular “don’t fear” is even bigger than that. For IF, if what this angel says is true, then what on earth is there ever to fear, ever again? If Christ is risen, raised in glory to a life that never ends, then death is not the end.
If Christ is risen, then nothing else matters; if He is not risen, then nothing matters.
If the Crucified One has been raised, then the sins of the world are absolved.
How did the people of Israel know that sins were forgiven on the Day of Atonement? When the High Priest came back out of the Holy of Holies alive! And you didn’t need to yank out a dead body with the robe tied around his waist. When he still had a pulse, you breathed a sign of relief and knew that the sacrifice had been accepted. The blood paid the price.
So too with our Lord’s resurrection. How does St Paul say it? He was put to death for our sins; raised for our justification. And if sins are forgiven, than what hold can death have on you? If He who took your sin has given you His righteousness; if He grants you His victory over death by grace, in Him, than why fear anything at all? Especially death? Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
The open grave of Christ laughs out joy and gladness and hope and comfort to us.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves a bit. This was not all made clear just yet. The women were astonished and seized with fear. Maybe it was the sleepless nights, maybe it was the startle of the angel, but they ran away trembling.
Their mission was rather simple: Go, tell His disciples and Peter, that He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.
Did you hear it? Just as He told you. The messengers of Christ are always reminding His disciples of what He has already told them. But they run away, shaking with fear. At first they say nothing to anyone. Who would believe them? Christ raised. Satan robed. Death cheated. Sins wiped out. The resurrection. The renewal of all creation. Nothing to fear. Not now. Not ever. It was too much for them.
But this is the very truth proclaimed by the Church today; by young men dressed in white. Christ is risen, nothing else matters.
Do not be disappointed that this Gospel text lacks an encounter with the risen Christ. They see Him again. But the facts of the resurrection are still here! The empty tomb. The eye-witnesses. The confirmation of His Word: Destroy this Temple and in three days I shall raise it up.
It is a shock, yes; a surprise. The Gospel is always a surprise! The proclamation that God laid the sin of the world upon this righteous Man who suffered and died in our place and in blessed exchange has given us His innocence – that is the greatest of all shocks! What a surprise!
The resurrection is the vindication that the sacrifice of Christ was accepted. Death has been undone. The devil has been left with nothing more than an empty grave. For here is a life of true human flesh and blood that is forever beyond the grasp of the grave. And He’s just he beginning!
All who are joined in a life together with His life, through water and Spirit, that is, through Holy Baptism, hold fast to His Word and promise and receive a foretaste of that unending life that is theirs already now and awaiting them in eternity.
This is why St Paul says with such joyous exclamation: Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep (that is, die), but we shall all be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body put on immortality.
Job knew this. By grace, you know this.
People loved by God, Christ is risen just as He promised. Just as He told you. Job’s Redeemer lives. Your Redeemer lives. God has given you the victory through Him.
And even today He comes to meet you with that risen Life under the bread and wine that are His Body and Blood. There you will see Him, just as He has told you. The tomb is empty; don’t go there. Run, instead, to the Sacrament to embrace your crucified and risen Lord.
For here He comes to nourish you and give you His resurrection Life. By this you are strengthened to live in the joy of His victory – a life unafraid, a life stronger than death, a life resting in the joyful love that the Blessed Trinity has shown you, a life that is even now a foretaste of the Feast that awaits.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Beloved in the Lord, how do we even begin to express the joy of this feast?
We heard old Job – a type of Christ because of the unjust suffering that Satan inflicted upon him – cry out with certainty of his conviction. I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold and not another. My heart faints within me!
Job knew, he knew, that there was no way the God of justice and mercy would abandon him. Even though he endured such misery and sorrow, even though he deserved death, even if his body rotted to pieces in the grave, he knew there was One who would call him from the grave, One who would redeem his fallen flesh and restore it to life again. He knew this Redeemer lives.
And so our Lord was the ultimate innocent sufferer. He was truly innocent, for there was no stain of sin in Him – not in His thoughts, His words, or His deeds. And yet He allowed Himself to suffer; to suffer horribly and then to die.
The women thought that was the end of Him. They loved Him, but the most they thought they could do was care and tend a body; His soul departed, now three days gone. They worry about moving the heavy stone. And it is nothing compared to the stone they feel upon their own hearts. Death has cut them off from the One they loved. That stone was sealed. That way blocked. No way out. The end.
The shock, then, the wonder, at the stone being rolled away from the entrance of the tomb. It wasn’t only that stone – the stone on their hearts began to move a little, too. They entered the tomb and saw the young man dressed in white – and suddenly their hearts are quaking.
Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.
Shock. Fear. Alarm. They are common responses throughout Scripture to the presence of holy ones. And so the first words out of the messengers’ mouths are usually, “Don’t be afraid.” But this particular “don’t fear” is even bigger than that. For IF, if what this angel says is true, then what on earth is there ever to fear, ever again? If Christ is risen, raised in glory to a life that never ends, then death is not the end.
If Christ is risen, then nothing else matters; if He is not risen, then nothing matters.
If the Crucified One has been raised, then the sins of the world are absolved.
How did the people of Israel know that sins were forgiven on the Day of Atonement? When the High Priest came back out of the Holy of Holies alive! And you didn’t need to yank out a dead body with the robe tied around his waist. When he still had a pulse, you breathed a sign of relief and knew that the sacrifice had been accepted. The blood paid the price.
So too with our Lord’s resurrection. How does St Paul say it? He was put to death for our sins; raised for our justification. And if sins are forgiven, than what hold can death have on you? If He who took your sin has given you His righteousness; if He grants you His victory over death by grace, in Him, than why fear anything at all? Especially death? Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
The open grave of Christ laughs out joy and gladness and hope and comfort to us.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves a bit. This was not all made clear just yet. The women were astonished and seized with fear. Maybe it was the sleepless nights, maybe it was the startle of the angel, but they ran away trembling.
Their mission was rather simple: Go, tell His disciples and Peter, that He is going before you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.
Did you hear it? Just as He told you. The messengers of Christ are always reminding His disciples of what He has already told them. But they run away, shaking with fear. At first they say nothing to anyone. Who would believe them? Christ raised. Satan robed. Death cheated. Sins wiped out. The resurrection. The renewal of all creation. Nothing to fear. Not now. Not ever. It was too much for them.
But this is the very truth proclaimed by the Church today; by young men dressed in white. Christ is risen, nothing else matters.
Do not be disappointed that this Gospel text lacks an encounter with the risen Christ. They see Him again. But the facts of the resurrection are still here! The empty tomb. The eye-witnesses. The confirmation of His Word: Destroy this Temple and in three days I shall raise it up.
It is a shock, yes; a surprise. The Gospel is always a surprise! The proclamation that God laid the sin of the world upon this righteous Man who suffered and died in our place and in blessed exchange has given us His innocence – that is the greatest of all shocks! What a surprise!
The resurrection is the vindication that the sacrifice of Christ was accepted. Death has been undone. The devil has been left with nothing more than an empty grave. For here is a life of true human flesh and blood that is forever beyond the grasp of the grave. And He’s just he beginning!
All who are joined in a life together with His life, through water and Spirit, that is, through Holy Baptism, hold fast to His Word and promise and receive a foretaste of that unending life that is theirs already now and awaiting them in eternity.
This is why St Paul says with such joyous exclamation: Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep (that is, die), but we shall all be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body put on immortality.
Job knew this. By grace, you know this.
People loved by God, Christ is risen just as He promised. Just as He told you. Job’s Redeemer lives. Your Redeemer lives. God has given you the victory through Him.
And even today He comes to meet you with that risen Life under the bread and wine that are His Body and Blood. There you will see Him, just as He has told you. The tomb is empty; don’t go there. Run, instead, to the Sacrament to embrace your crucified and risen Lord.
For here He comes to nourish you and give you His resurrection Life. By this you are strengthened to live in the joy of His victory – a life unafraid, a life stronger than death, a life resting in the joyful love that the Blessed Trinity has shown you, a life that is even now a foretaste of the Feast that awaits.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
RSS Feed