What stories have you seen about Easter in the news?
{take any suggestions}
Two jumped out at me - and both of them were about Easter Eggs.
In the first story a Doctor Andrew Kelso had written an article advising people not to scoff all their Easter Eggs in one go. There was an uproar. He can’t say that! How inappropriate! This is terrible! What is this nation coming to.
In the second, the Isle of White the local council had organised a children’s Easter Egg hunt. They were holding it in the local Victorian Graveyard. There was an uproar. They can’t do that! How inappropriate! This is terrible! What is this nation coming to?
I am tempted to respond to both these mobs by saying (should I say it gently or should I cause an uproar?) You’ve got it wrong. (Holding up Easter Egg) You have totally misunderstood what Easter Eggs are all about. How inappropriate! This is terrible! What are the mobs of this nation coming to?
Let's start with the second story - the one about the mob complaining about a children’s Easter Egg Hunt taking place in a graveyard. Some of the great great grandchildren apparently in uproar. Now we are probably safe to assume that most of these descendants are like most people in the countries secularists, atheists, nothings - any thing but Christians. But this was a Victorian Graveyard. Given that the Victorian age was a time of great Christian revival in this nation, we can be pretty sure that this was a Christian graveyard, full of Christian deceased who had wanted to be buried ina Christian way.
So what does the Christian Scripture say?
"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark,
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone
had been removed from the tomb……
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb….
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him…."
Ok for those who are still awake - where is today’s Christian set. In a ….? [graveyard]
The account starts solemn and sad
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark,
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb.
Its not just physically dark - She feels dark on the inside. She’s come to the graveyard (according to other gospels some of the other women are with her) and they have come to the graveyard to do one last thing for their friend Jesus. To anoint him as a sign of their devotion.
It’s not just physically dark.
I wonder if you have ever felt like that? Or perhaps you feel like that today?
For Mary Magdalene it wasn’t just the loss of her friend. There was a loss of her purpose - like the other disciples she had spent three years following Jesus around dedicated to his mission. Then there was the fear - fear of the Jewish authorities and the Romans. Why was it that only the women came at first? Why were the male disciples locked in the Upper Room? Because of the fear that they too would be arrested and crucified.
Not just physically dark
Have you ever felt the pain of a loss of a loved one?
Or the pain of a loss of purpose - perhaps if you were made redundant?
Or a fear - a health fear? A financial fear? A fear from bullies? Any sort of fear
It was not just physically dark
Which brings back to Easter Eggs (hold one up) What shape are Easter Eggs? (and don’t say egg shaped!) [take answers]
They are shaped like the the stone in front of Jesus’s tomb
To quote from Mark’s Gospel -
16When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’
It’s dark and not just physically dark - but then the mood changes
"Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone
had been removed from the tomb….
As she wept,
she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels
in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying,
one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them,
“They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where
they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around
and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away”. Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her,
“Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended
to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and
your God’”. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that
he had said these things to her."
The impossible has happened - Jesus has risen from the dead.
[holding up Easter Egg} What comes out of eggs?
[Baby chicks, dinosaurs, duckbilled platypuses]
New life comes out of eggs.
The egg reminds us that Jesus came back from the dead.
[Show Greek orthodox icon of the resurrection - ]
If you look at this ancient Greek Orthodox icon, you’ll see what many parts of the bible tell us - that Jesus doesn’t just come back from the dead himself but that he opens the gates of death - so that all who have died can go to have eternal life with God.
The Easter egg remind us of Jesus bursting from the grave so that we too might burst from the grave to be with God for ever.
Now this account is based on history!
Lots of people have other imaginative theories about what happened at Easter.
Rastafarians believe that Jesus wasn’t born in the Holy Land but was an African probably born in Ethiopia - imaginative and it does remind us that Jesus wasn’t white - but not based on history
Muslim believe that Jesus didn’t die because God couldn’t let bad stuff happen to his prophet so instead God magically switched him and Judas and Judas was the one who got crucified in his place. Imaginative but not based on history
600 years after the events, a Jewish writer posited the idea that the disciples stole the body and then pretended he was alive. Imaginative but not based on history.
Twenty years ago or so Dan Brown made millions with his book positing that Jesus never died but instead married Mary Magdalene producing a blood line that survives through the Knights Templar to today. Imaginative - but not history.
The truth - the fact attested by outside sources - is that Jesus was crucified for being a threat because he was too famous. He was (according to Roman Practice) crucified in a public place - where all could see this famous person being killed. When he was dead they put a spear in his side to check he was dead - and what was described as “blood and water” came out - what modern medical science knows is the serum and the red cells separating after death. He was buried in a grave - with a huge stone rolled in front of it so heavy that perfectly healthy people thought they could not move it - let alone if he had somehow managed to survive (which he didn’t). The Roman and Jewish authorities wanted him to stay dead - they could have said “oh we moved his body” if they had done so - but they didn’t because everyone knew where he was laid. The disciples - not one of them recanted of their story that they had seen Jesus alive. Even though that meant death for all but John who faced life imprisonment.
Contrast that with the Mormons where 12 original disicples said they had seen the book of Mormon descend from heaven on gold tablets - and 11 out of 12 of them later said - we made it all up. And unlike the disciples - they didn’t face the threat of death.
And what about the 500 peeople who saw the risen Jesus on one occasion - of Whom Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 says “some of whom are still alive” - ie when he was writing you could check out the story with them.
The easter egg is NOT an easter bunny - its fairy tale for children. Its a reminder of something that happened in history. Something that brought such joy that people were no longer afraid of death - and were willing to be murdered for upholding the truths of this joy filled message.
Now one of the most theologically correct Easter Eggs is the Kinder Egg.
Now obviously there is a surprise in the middle - like the surprise of Jesus bursting from the tomb - like the surprise of the joy and new life be brings to us.
But there’s more.
The outer chocolate is dark
Early in the morning while it was still dark Mary Magdalene came to the tomb
Not just physically dark.
But inside the chocolate is bright.
6 The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
“7 The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9)
This is the Easter Message - - through his resurrection Jesus takes us from a place of darkness {holding up kinder egg and turning chocolate around} to place of joy and hope. Amen?
Now where was today’s story set? In a…
[take answer from congregation: graveyard]
Romans used to be scared of death. They built their grave yards outside the city wall where the ghosts could not haunt them. Somehow the walls keep the ghosts out.
Now I know the latest instalment of Ghostbusters is out at the cinema - I haven’t seen it yet, i’m sure it is a great film. The Romans would have loved it because they were scared of Ghosts.
We Christians are not afraid of ghosts! we bury our dead around our churches in the middle of towns because we know our loved ones are with Jesus. As 2 Esdras puts it - they are resting in peace and will rise in glory!
Amen? [amen back from congregation]
The only reason that since Victorian times, some graveyards have moved back out into the country is we ran out of space in the middle of our towns.
So a story in the papers about an Easter Egg hunt happening in a graveyard. Well where was the Easter Story set - in a graveyard
What shape is the Easter egg- like stone of a tomb
And what comes out of an egg - new life
For bible believing Christians - like the Victorians were and like we are here - where could be more appropriate place to hold an Easter Egg hunt than in a Christian grave yard to remind children that death is no longer something that needs to be feared because Christ has conquered death.
And as for the other story of how long we should eat Easter eggs for Doctor Andrew Kelso may have been advising people not to scoff all their Easter Eggs in one go purely for health reasons.
But we Christians don’t celebrate Easter for just one day. Something as important as this message (hold up kinder egg again) that Jesus has turned our darkness into light - you spend one day talking about it and then forget it. Just like the 40 days of fasting in Lent, we celebrate Easter for 40 days. Make sure you have enough Easter Eggs and spread them out because (holding up egg) for 40 days we need to be saying “Alleluia Christ is risen. He is risen indeed Alleluia!”
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A cheeky request
If you have read all the way to the end of this sermon, presumably you have found it helpful. If so, (if you are happy to do so) please give the sermon a five star (or at least a four star) rating. The better star ratings a sermon gets, the higher it comes up search engines. So you are helping me (thank you) but you are also helping other people get to read this. Thank you.
[if you really hated the sermon - what you read this far and you really really hated it?... Really? ;-) ]
