Jesus and Easter

Jesus and Easter: What Happened?

Homily for Intergenerational Service

27 March 2005

Most dead people don’t come back to life. Was the resurrection real? The resurrection itself is never the subject matter in the Gospels. Instead, there are stories about the resurrected Jesus appearing, speaking, and doing certain things. There are stories about the empty tomb.

Who went to the tomb at daybreak when the Sabbath was over? In the Gospel of Mark, it was Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salomé. Matthew named Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary.” Luke added Joanna and “some other women.” But Salomé was dropped, probably because Matthew and Luke had never heard of her.

Mark writes that the women come to the tomb and find that the stone has been rolled away. They go inside and see a young man in white clothing who says, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place where they laid him.”

So the empty tomb is used as proof of a resurrection in the oldest written form of the story. Luke begins with the women’s discovery of the empty tomb. They are dumbfounded, and then two men come tell them why it is empty. Matthew’s story is a little different: he introduces a military guard into the story, to show that the disciples could not have stolen the body.

There are other conflicting details. The idea of a literal reawakening from the dead, therefore, makes some of us ignore the idea of resurrection entirely. Maybe we are asking the wrong question.

Paul knew the contents of the Christian message. Otherwise he would not have persecuted Christians. On the road to Damascus he experienced a conversion, which he described only in vague terms. Paul then accepted the contents of the Christian message and went on to become its most prolific defender. We do not really know what happened on the road to Damascus; we only know the result.

Jesus had died and his followers were rather in a state of shock. No one saw the resurrection happen. They saw the empty tomb. They tried to live as Jesus had taught them when he said things like, “All of you are God’s children. There is no rank among you, no higher value for male or female. God is a place of refuge for you. The kingdom of God is among you.”

These are powerful messages. The followers of Jesus already knew how it felt to have faith in a God such as this. Their faith led them to believe that Jesus lived, and that God had raised Jesus from the dead. We do not really know what happened in the tomb. We only know the result.

We do believe in rebirth--the very reason Easter comes in Spring. The tough seeds that have been dormant have responded to warmth and rain to break through to light—the resurrection of life. We believe in a creative power that moves one person, then another, then tens, hundreds, and thousands of people to rise up against injustice and hatred—the resurrection of justice. We believe that our loved ones who have died live on in us—the resurrection of love. We believe in the creative power lying within us as individuals to overcome pain with courage for tomorrow—the resurrection of hope.

Easter is a time to celebrate the resurrection of the spirit. It may be the spirit of Jesus or some other beloved individual who brings a message of God’s love. It may be the natural cycle of death and rebirth, or the collective voices of justice, or the memory of those we love, or the personal power of healing. May we all experience a renewal of the spirit so that we can joyfully say, “We live!”

Amen