Saint James UCC of Hamburg, NY

Luke 24:1-12; Romans 8:31-39

Preached by Rev. Robert Matlack
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The story is a familiar one. There are no surprises for us as we hear of the women visiting the tomb of Jesus on Easter morning. But, for them what happened was a total surprise, utterly unexpected, and absolutely amazing. Come, let us seek to walk in their shoes for a few minutes, that we too might experience the wonder and the awe that were theirs on that first Easter.

Luke's gospel just says the women, Mark and Matthew talk about Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and perhaps others, but in any case a few women who were followers of Jesus went to the tomb with some spices that they had brought to anoint the body, to prepare it for burial according to the Jewish tradition.

Why they waited until the third day is not clear. Perhaps it was fear, the same fear that had caused the disciples to flee. Perhaps it was discouragement, for they had never really expected something like this to happen. But in any case, this is their Lord. They cannot let Him go to His death without these symbols of respect and love, however discouraged and disillusioned and afraid they might feel. In their minds, this is the last thing they can do for Him. He has done so much for them, this is the last gift that they can give Him.

Their visit seems to be on impulse. It's not carefully planned out with all of the other followers, for in fact the followers are all scattered. Rather, this is the visit of a few women who got together and decided that this was something that must be done. In the midst of the confusion and the fear and the panic, this was something that they must do. They hadn't even thought ahead to how they would roll away the stone at the entrance to the tomb. They just knew that they must go there.

When they arrived with all of their fears and trepidations, they found something amazing, something that they never expected to see. The stone, the giant stone sealing the entrance to Christ's tomb, had already been rolled away. In wonder, the enter the tomb to see - not Jesus lying there - but two men in bright shining clothes.

These men bring them an amazing message. "Why are you looking among the dead for one who is alive? He is not here; he has been raised."

Of course the women were terrified at the sight of these heavenly visitors, just like you or I might be. Their appearance was totally unexpected. They came to anoint a body, only to find that there was no body there. Instead, they found these angels, these messengers from God speaking to them of strange and wondrous occurrences.

They were afraid, but not with a fear of physical harm or arrest like the fear that had sent them fleeing when Jesus was arrested and then crucified. This fear was different. It was the fear of God. It was fear, but fear that included awe and reverence, for they knew that they were in the presence of God's messengers, that God's power had been at work in amazing ways. They experienced the fear of God that comes from seeing God's power and will revealed for all to see. They were in the presence of the Holy, the Almighty One. In an amazing and absolutely unexpected way, God's power had broken the power of death itself. Jesus had risen.

When the women returned from the tomb, they told what had happened to the eleven remaining disciples, and everyone else that they could find. This was amazing, startling news that needed to be shared, and share it they did. But as you can imagine, they found that it's difficult to convince others that a miracle has taken place when they have not yet seen any signs of it. The disciples responded with disbelief. Their reaction was as if the women were crazy, and they had no idea where in the world they had come up with a story like this.

So Peter decided that he would go and check this out for himself. Probably he was thinking that they he could put these wild stories to rest, but he too was utterly amazed when what he found confirmed everything that the women had said. Jesus was not there. He had gone. He had risen from the dead - just as He had said that He would!

God's amazing grace reached out and touched the world again. Those who thought that they could kill Him and put an end to this new kingdom, the kingdom of God, were once again proven wrong. You see our power, human power is helpless in the face of God. Even the powers of evil are as nothing. Death itself, that finality that looms before all of us, it too is as nothing.

In Jesus Christ God's victory is complete. Our victory is complete. For in Jesus Christ God has reached out and touched each of us, changing our lives forever, and giving us a wondrous gift, an unexpected gift, a gift that we haven't earned and certainly don't deserve, for we have been given the gift of true life. However we try to deny it or ignore it or even when we pretend that it doesn't exist, God offers us a gift of life that has no ending.

Well over a century ago there was a Hanoverian countess who was a noted unbeliever, and was especially opposed to the idea of resurrection, as perhaps any unbeliever might be.

This lady died when she was only about thirty years of age. Before her death she gave strict orders that her grave should be covered with a slab of granite; that around it should be placed square blocks of stone, and that the corners should be fastened to each other and to the granite slab by heavy iron clamps. On top of this was placed the following inscription: THIS BURIAL PLACE PURCHASED TO ALL ETERNITY MUST NEVER BE OPENED.

This countess did everything that human power could do to prevent any change in her grave. But a little birch tree seed sprouted, and over time one of the roots found its way between one of the side stones and upper slab and grew there. Slowly but steadily it forced its way until the iron clamps were torn asunder, the granite lid was raised and ended up resting there on the trunk of the large, flourishing birch tree.

In the death and resurrection of Christ we are reminded that God has the last word. The obstacles, the difficulties that we encounter in life, the plans that we make, these are not the last word. We may not see any way out of the dilemma in which we find ourselves, but that doesn't mean that God doesn't see a way. We may not see any signs of hope, but that doesn't mean that God doesn't offer us that gift or that hope doesn't exist. We may try and shut God out, even trying to deny God's very existence, but in the end those efforts are futile, and we can't change the reality of God, but suddenly, miraculously, God can change everything, making everything different, everything new.

As the Apostle Paul says so well: "nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below - there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord."

The Jewish leaders found that they were helpless in the face of God's power. Even the might of Rome, which was certainly the greatest empire of it's era, the power of Rome which stood behind the crucifixion could do nothing. The followers of Jesus were amazed and helpless, for God's power is greater than anything on earth, greater than anything that we can even imagine..

In Jesus Christ God has come into the world and given us an amazing gift of grace. God's love is revealed for all. We can try and deny it - like the Hanoverian countess, but our denials are empty and powerless. God will be God. God's will will be done. All we can do is to respond in amazement and joy as the women did at the tomb, returning love for love and sharing the good news of God's Amazing Grace, grace that has come to us in Jesus Christ, for in Jesus Christ we are told in the most powerful way possible that nothing - not even death itself - can separate us from God's love.

Thanks be to God!

Amen.