One of the things that I
have learned about children is that sometimes they fear the weather or natural
disasters. Both of our children had a
phase where they were very concerned about tornadoes. Me being the smart dad thought I could allay their
fears so I told them that tornadoes usually happen in wide open, flat places, like
Kansas and Nebraska in a place called tornado alley.
I got out the map and
showed them a map of where tornado alley was and I showed them Buffalo where we
lived and I showed them how far apart we were.
I let them know that tornadoes didn’t typically happen in Western New
York.
That worked well until we
started through farm country in Western New York with the great wide open
fields.
And inevitably the
question would come, “Dad is that a place where a tornado could happen?” No—well
really big wide open places.
“Well what about that
field?”
As a child, I myself had
my own fears of natural disasters. I
remember vividly being concerned about my family’s trip to California and
Arizona in the early 1980’s. I had grown
up hearing about the big one—the earthquake that was going knock California
into the ocean and dislodge it from the continental United States. Luckily for me the trip was uneventful-no
earthquakes—not even a tremble-- that would have probably put me over the edge.
Earthquakes
at their worst are powerful—altering events that can change the landscape
dramatically.
Some
time back there was an earthquake in Chile that changed the coastline
dramatically. From what I understand there
were places where the ocean floor rose up and popped out of the sea—and there
were other places that became
dramatically closer to the coast---I read in some instances more than
1500 feet, a ¼ mile closer to the coast.
What a great way to
increase your property value— ¼ mile from the coast-- Earthquake --voila beachfront property.
The
resurrection story that we just read—recounts an Earthquake in fact Matthew is
the only Gospel to recount an earthquake on Easter morning. The story tells us
that the earth trembles and shakes as an angel of the Lord descends from heaven
to roll back the stone-- to open the tomb to let Mary Magdelene and the other
Mary peek in.
When
the women peek in around the corner they find that the tomb is empty and they
are told Jesus has been raised from the dead. Matthew tells us that they are filled with
fear and joy. That’s Easter.
Karoline
Lewis, a biblical scholar, suggests that the resurrection could be thought
about in terms of an earthquake—An Earthquake shakes foundation and upends
things and changes the landscape-- Resurrection can shake us
and change the landscape of our lives.
My
mother died a few years ago. She had
been sick for a really long time with kidney failure-she had suffered immensely
through dialysis and a failed transplant—and from this medical problem and that
medical problem.
And
toward the end as she was failing our family had to decide was this the time to
switch from radical lifesaving measures that were keeping her alive to
palliative care –hospice where she could live out here last days in as much
comfort as could be provided.
Ultimately,
we decided to take the hospice route and help her transition as comfortably as
possible from this life to the next.
As
I’ve reflected making those decisions
and her ultimate death-- I have come to
realize that what happened on Easter morning helped me immensely during those
difficult last days. It didn’t make it
any less sad, but it was a little bit easier to make decisions about letting
her go-- knowing that there is more to life than the here and now. That death is a gateway to new life. That what
God did for Jesus on that first easter morning—he will do for my mom-he will do
for all of us on the last day.
But
you know what is so wonderful is that resurrection life isn’t just about when
our hearts stop beating and we take that final breath and step beyond this
world but it’s about all of life that God breathes life into everything.
Over
the next few weeks we will read stories here in church about people who’s lives
were dramatically altered because of their experience of the risen Jesus.
Peter,
who denied Christ three times on the way to the cross will be transformed by
the resurrection he will become the the rock on which the church will be built—Peter
will eventually go to his own death—crucified upside, but bravely and
confidently pursuing his call— the earthquake of resurrection did that .
We
will hear stories of Men and women so transformed, so invigorated they will emerge from their own tombs of sadness, their own tombs of fear and doubt as new,
inspired people filled with the love and life of God –they will emerge their
hiding places and begin a movement that will become the church—that has
trickled down to us 2000 years later.
Barbara
Brown Taylor in an Easter sermon she preached many years ago said this, “By the light of this day, God has planted a seed of life
in us that cannot be killed, and if we remember [that] then there is nothing we
cannot do: move mountains, banish fear, love our enemies, change the
world.” [1]
Easter is not the beautiful fragant lilies, it’s not the wonderful
music that lifts our souls to heaven, it’s not the sermon, it’s not the nice
feeling we get today surrounded by loved ones.
It is God raising in us new life—new hope, new perspectives. Easter is God making old things new—Easter is
God blowing life into dead things. God
changing the landscape.
My friends,Easter is an
earthquake that shakes the foundation of our faith and changes everything for the better.
Alleluia, Christ is
risen.
The Lord is risen indeed,
Alleluia.
No comments:
Post a Comment