Mark 16:1-8; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Job 19:23-27
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ has changed everything. That is not pious exaggeration. It is the truth upon which heaven and earth now stand. When Christ rose from the dead, Adam’s bones were cleansed in the holy blood of the Lamb. The veil covering the Presence of God was torn from top to bottom, from God to you, so that there is no longer any separation between God and man. The cherubim no longer bar the way to paradise. The strong man has been bound by the Stronger-Than-He. The great dragon of old has been made a toothless lion. And the stone that sealed the tomb, your tomb, has been rolled away.
This is why the Church, in her wisdom, has appointed St. Mark’s account of the resurrection to be read on this most joyous day. At first glance, it seems an odd choice. There is no appearance of the risen Lord. There is no triumphant reunion, no dramatic revelation. Instead, it ends on a note of fear: the women “said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
But that is precisely the point. The women did not go to the tomb expecting resurrection. They went expecting death. They brought spices to anoint a corpse. Whatever Jesus had said about rising on the third day had not taken hold of their hearts. Their minds were occupied not with hope, but with a problem: “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”
And yet, when they looked up, they saw that the stone had already been rolled back. Wholly apart from their faith or their fear, apart from anything they had done or failed to do, their problem had already been solved. That stone was real. It sealed a real tomb that held the real dead body of Jesus. And when it was rolled away, it revealed a reality even more solid: that Jesus who was crucified is not there. He has risen, just as He said.
But that stone is not only theirs, it is yours as well. It is the stone of your sin. The stone of your doubts and fears. The stone of your idols, your anxieties, your guilt, your death. It is whatever keeps you sealed up in the tomb of unbelief and despair. And hear this clearly: just as with those women, your stone has been rolled away, wholly apart from your faith or your fear, apart from anything at all. Your problem has been solved. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ has changed everything.
St. Paul says it this way: “Cleanse out the old leaven.” Cast out the leaven of malice and evil, for even a little leaven leavens the whole lump. In other words, whatever clings to you from the old life, whatever keeps you bound in fear and unbelief, be done with it. It has no place in the new creation that has dawned in Christ.
So ask yourself: what stone do you still stare at as though it remains unmoved? What leaven do you still harbor, as though Christ had not died and risen to put it away? Do not be deceived. The devil would have you believe that the stone still stands, that the tomb is still sealed, that death still reigns. He is a liar and the father of lies. He prowls like a roaring lion, but he has no teeth. Death has been swallowed up by death. The serpent’s head has been crushed. His only weapon now is the lie, and what a tragedy it is when that lie is believed.
But you have something better than your feelings, better than your fears, better even than what your eyes can see. You have the Word of the Lord. Consider Job. Over fifteen hundred years before the birth of Christ, in the midst of suffering and loss beyond what most of us can imagine, he confessed: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.”
That is faith. Not because Job could see it. Not because he could prove it. But because the Lord had spoken, and Job believed that His Word was true. He counted it as an accomplished fact that his Redeemer lives, that He stands, victorious, even over death, and that he himself would be raised to behold God with his own eyes.
That is the same faith given to Abraham. The same faith given to Mary, the mother of our Lord. And it is the same faith given to you. For you have been baptized into Christ. His death is your death. His resurrection is your resurrection. You have been sealed and anointed with God’s own Name, promise, and Spirit. Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
The women at the tomb were afraid. They were silent. But their fear did not undo the resurrection. Their silence did not make it any less true. And by the end of that very day, their silence was broken. The disciples could not help but speak. They testified boldly, even unto persecution and death, because they knew: Christ is risen.
And so it is with you. You are no longer bound to the tomb. You are no longer held captive by sin and death. You are free to live, truly live, even now, in the midst of this valley of the shadow of death. You are free to confess, with Job: “I know that my Redeemer lives.” You are free to speak, to bear witness, to love your neighbor, that they too may not fall prey to the devil’s lies.
And more than that: you are given to eat and to drink. The same Lord who died and rose gives you His body and His blood. “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Here, at this altar, the fruits of the Tree of Life are given to you, healing, forgiveness, life, and salvation.
This is the Day of Resurrection, the eternal Eighth Day upon which the sun never sets. The Son of God has risen, the firstfruits of those who sleep. The strife is over. The battle is won. It is finished. So do not return to the tomb. Do not stand staring at a stone that is no longer there. Do not listen to the lies of a defeated foe. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment