Cedar Valley Lutheran Church

Easter C            April 20, 2025           Luke 24:1-11

(I skipped verse 12 of our assigned gospel reading because most authorities believe it was added later to bring some closure to the abrupt way Luke originally wrote it. As you will note in my sermon, I think by ending with Luke's skepticism and doubt are a valid way for us to respond to the good news of the resurrection of our Lord.)

 

The story of that first Easter begins at dawn, in near darkness, as women labor with spices and ointments in baskets to a tomb where Jesus was buried. This is always how the discovery of the risen Christ begins … in near darkness, at early dawn. And I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you that the path we travel in life is likewise in near darkness at early dawn. It is often hard to see where we are going. It can be filled with fear and foreboding. The future looks confusing. And the reason it looks confusing is because, like those women, we expect to find death at the end of our journey. And this is where the story of Easter begins and takes us by surprise.

 

The fact is that no one is ever ready for Easter. No one is ready because the last thing – the very last thing – we expect is to discover that the tomb is empty. You see, this day is not about bunnies or springtime or Easter egg hunts. It is about blinding light in the midst of darkness and more hope than we can handle. It is about how God changes everything after everything has already changed so miserably for the worse.

 

I find it interesting that no one on that first Easter greeted the news that God raised Jesus from the dead with shouts of glory and praise. No one, upon hearing that death itself couldn’t hold Jesus in its grasp, responds with, “I knew it! I knew it was going to be just like this.”

 

Take the women who are the first to see the empty tomb. They make their early morning trip with absolutely no expectation that Jesus has been raised. It is only after two strangers dressed in dazzling white reminds them of what Jesus had promised that they recall his words and put the pieces of this puzzle together.

 

And, of course, once they realize what has actually happened, they run back to tell the rest of the disciples who greet their story with complete skepticism. As a matter of fact Luke says that the disciples regarded their news as an “idle tale.” Which is actually a very generous translation of the Greek word, “leros.” It is the root word from which we derive the English word “delirious.” So, more accurately, the disciples thought that what the women were telling them was utterly crazy … complete nonsense … absolutely unbelievable.

 

And really, who can blame them? I mean, resurrection isn’t simply a claim that Jesus’ body was resuscitated … like he was slipped some kind of ancient Eastern potion that made him appear to be dead and then, once off of the cross, was slipped an antidote to bring him around again. No, this claim of resurrection is a claim that God has entered the stage of human history in Jesus to create an entirely new reality.

 

And that should be frightening. That should scare the bijesus out of us. Because, you see, if the dead don’t stay dead, what can we count on and what else is up for grabs? Seen this way, resurrection breaks all the rules. And while most of us will admit that the old rules aren’t perfect – and sometimes downright awful – at least we know what they are and how to maneuver through them. And resurrection upsets all of that.

 

The possibility of the resurrection, basically, ought to throw us off balance – it ought to upset our apple cart – and generally turn our neat and orderly lives upside down. It ought to make us uncomfortable. Which is why I think that if we don’t find Easter at least a little hard to believe, we probably aren’t taking it as seriously as we should. And, I suspect, that’s where most of us are – we have heard this story so many times that it hardly makes us blink, let alone shake us up with wonder and surprise. And that’s kind of sad because this promise, as difficult as it may be to really believe, is huge and when it sinks in and lays hold of us, it changes everything.

 

Which is to say that we should have doubts and questions and downright skepticism along with the disciples. Given the volatile times in which we live, that should very well be a natural response to the good news of Easter. But it is also important to remember that doubt isn’t the opposite of faith. Doubt and faith essentially share the same bed because in the midst of doubt, faith dares to hope. So, maybe celebrating Easter this year in the shadows of these troubling times, is as good a time as any to give thanks to God for the gift of faith. We will never fully understand the mystery of this thing we call the resurrection, but that doesn’t mean it can’t inspire us to live lives of love and promise in the hope that it is true.