Easter Sunday
Mark 16:1-8
Listen ! What do you Hear?
16:1 ¶ And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.
2 And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen.
3 And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?"
4 And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; --it was very large.
5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed.
6 And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him.
7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you."
8 And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid.RSV
Listen; it is Easter!! ’What do you hear? Listen to the sounds of spring, what do you hear? Listen to the sounds of the organ, the music, the piano, what do you hear? Listen, God’s voice is speaking to you this morning, what do you hear? Listen, what do you hear this morning, this Easter morning?
Listen: I hear terrible Captain Sepulcher and his standard bearer Corruption talking over the situation on the night that Jesus Christ was buried.
Listen: Corruption says to Sepulcher,"Hold fast to that Man in Joseph’s tomb. There is a rumor that He proposes to break forth, break out from the grave; do not let Him go until I can securely lay a hold of Him.
But Corruption fails to touch Him during all those hours in the tomb.
Listen: Hell cries out, "Hold fast to that Man. Hold Him, if he comes out He will make a hole in the walls of death through which all prisoners of Hell will escape. Hold him Captain Sepulcher, if you let this man go, you are not Satan’s friend.
Listen: I hear the seal break, I hear the watch of death slip away ! I hear the grip of death breaking it’s hold. I hear the door of the tomb open.
Listen: I hear terrible Captain Sepulcher try to tighten his grip upon this man , but he cries out in vain, "I cannot hold him, I cannot hold him. "
Listen: I hear a rustling, a moving, I hear the sounds of new life, I hear the sounds of death moved aside for the eternal sounds of life, wholeness. I hear the sounds of the Easter Resurrection, I hear, I see, I am convinced that Jesus is alive
JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN.....HE IS RISEN INDEED!!
Listen: What you hear this morning in all the sounds of this Easter Day is the sounds of the Resurrection, the sounds of new life, the sounds of freedom and release, the sounds of wholeness, the sounds of grace and love, the sounds of forgiveness and worship, the sounds of joy and celebration.
I hear, I feel the power of the Resurrection. I hear, I feel new life, I know that my Redeemer lives.
I feel, I hear, I am in contact with the new life that he has brought upon this land. I see that life, that newness as I watched the darkness, the emptiness, the coldness of the Good Friday chancel change into the brightness, the newness, the beauty, the joy of this Easter morning. I hear the sounds of the resurrection in the sounds of worship, in the hymns of praise, in the piano music of bells and the excitement of offering a hymn of praise to God. I see, I feel the power of the Resurrection as I look over the faces of this congregation, you are smiling, happy full of good cheer for our Lord has risen.
Also, I hear the sounds of the past, the pest life, the past events of this Lenten season. As we have come now into the power of the resurrection, we bring that past , we bring the sounds of the past with us to experience a new life, a redeemed life, a changed life.
We bring the sounds of Peter’s denial, Peter’s guilt. We bring the greed of Judas, the sounds of his hopelessness. We bring the sounds of our questions of why ,our doubts of faith. We bring our halting love of God, our sounds of wanting to love God, but our unwillingness to surrender our selves, our control of life into his hands. We bring our sounds of traditions and rituals which stifle our joy of worship, which turns our worship into a duty instead of joy, excitement and celebration.
Listen: we bring into the power of the resurrection all of the sounds of the past, all the sounds of this Lenten Season where we have felt, heard and experienced our separation, our rebellion, our sinfulness in the eyes of God. We bring all of that into the redeeming power of the Easter Resurrection so that those sounds may experience new life, so that those old sounds, may be changed into new sounds of joy, hopefulness, strength and courage as we live now in the he power of the greatness and goodness of the freedom of the Easter Resurrection.
I would like to look at just one of those sounds from the past and see how it was transformed by the Easter Resurrection.
Do you remember Peter’s sounds from the past? Do you remember his shame, his guilt, his sorrow at betraying his master? Do you remember how difficult it was for him to stand tall for the master in that court yard? How easy it was to betray Jesus, to tell others he didn’t know the Master? Do you remember the pain, the sorrow, the guilt in his voice and in his actions?
Peter has been transformed on this Easter morn.
Our gospel text reminds us of the special message Peter received from the angel as the angel spoke to the woman: "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee, there you will see him, as he told you."
Go tell the disciples and Peter. Peter was forgiven, he was included again in the band of followers. Peter had not been forsaken because of his betrayal, but in this message he knew he had been forgiven by the master, he knew that forgiveness was now his, he knew the love and the mercy the master felt for him. His life was turned from sorrow, pity, guilt, anger at self turned now into joy, acceptance, love and happiness.
But go, tell his disciples and Peter, Peter was now included, Peter had been forgiven, Peter was been given a special message from God, that now he was included again. The sounds of his betrayal, the sounds of his lying had all been forgiven. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, it had all been forgiven. Peter was free, Peter was released, Peter could feel and hear those Easter sounds of chains breaking, or new life springing into the world. Peter could feel the power of the resurrection that freed him form his guilt and shame. He was free again to serve the Master. Free again to join the band of followers with all his guilt and shame washed away by the power of the Easter Resurrection.
And that same power of forgiveness is here today for us in the Easter Resurrection. We have been forgiven, accepted as God’s people through the Resurrection. We have been forgiven and been given new life, an eternal life by the power of the Easter Resurrection.
We are free and forgiven people. We can hear the Easter message like Peter did. But go, tell his disciples and fill in your name. You and I have been given that special message, too. We are now Easter people. Forgiven people. God’s people. Christ’s children.
A closing poem by a lady in one of my congregations sums the sounds of Easter:
Today I saw the sun on Easter rise---
As the colors of lavender, pink and gold
Tinted the eastern skies.
And I thought of Jesus suffering on the cross
So our sinful souls might not be lost.
I saw a little church on a quiet street,
I’m sure God watched
As his people knelt by their seats--
Praying for forgiveness and asking for his love---
And blessings
Today I heard the song of a tiny wren,
I know God listened---
To hear the message of joy
That came from the heart of his little feathered
friend.
I heard the sound of a baby,
I’m sure God sighed--
And wondered if this little child by and by
Would take Jesus into it’s heart
Or would it forget and from him depart.
A beautiful Easter Lily I did see,
A remembrance of a love for you and me
God saw this symbol of his Son
Whom he sent to die for the sin of everyone.
This eve I saw the Easter sunset--
Beauty to Behold, ,
All the bright colors of pink, red, orange and gold
God blessed--
His children who on this joyful day gathered--
To give thanks for all the things that really mattered
For the Son that he sent from above
To fill this earth with forgiveness and love.
I saw all these things this Easter Day
Then, I remembered the little babe who in the manger lay.
Upon whose innocence the star shone so bright--
That long ago Christmas night.
I thought of his few short years on earth
And of the love He had shown,
And all the hurt and grief that he had known,
That he died that dark day upon the cross
So all who loved him might not be lost,
Then he rose again and with thankful hearts we can say----
Alleluia, on this joyous Easter Day.
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale April 10, 2003
