Sermon for Easter Sunday
Be Not Afraid!
By The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer -
It must have been terribly frightening, that first Easter morning.
The two Marys, Mary Magdalene, and Jesus’ mother, Mary, are on their way to Jesus’ tomb. Now, life for Jews under Roman rule in Jerusalem was never easy, it was always hard. The Romans were to be feared, wanted to be feared. Crucifixion, the Romans’ favorite punishment, was public and brutal. It is quite possible that the two Marys, as they walked to Jesus’ tomb, had to pass others who had been crucified, whose lifeless bodes still hung on their crosses. You can imagine them staring at the ground to avoid looking at the horror around them.
And, the two Marys had additional fears. Jesus, Mary Magdalene’s friend and Mary’s son, this Jesus had been crucified, murdered, by the Roman authorities. Jesus’ male disciples were in disarray, in hiding, fearing the same sort of punishment by the Romans that was given to Jesus.
And, now, to make matters even worse, the other gospel writers tell us that there were rumors around that Jesus was now not in his tomb. Perhaps his body had been stolen and burned?
How could it get much worse? The women were full of fear for Jesus, for their male disciple friends, for themselves. They really did not know what they would find at Jesus’ tomb that morning, but it was their best guess that it would be bad and even more fearful.
Fear, as they say, was in the air.
Fear was in the air.
That was nearly 2,000 years ago.
Let me state the obvious: Fear is REALLY in the air in 2020. And not just for some of us, fear is in the air for ALL of us.
And there is lots to fear: Will I get sick? Will my loved ones get sick? Will I die from this terrible COVID-19 disease? Will someone I know die from this terrible disease?
And, if I luck out, do not get sick, do not die, will I still even be able to survive? And, if I luck out and few if anyone from my family and friends get sick or dies, what sort of life will I have in the future? Will I have a job? Will I be able to pay my rent or mortgage? Where will I live? When will I be able to get back to school, back to work? Will my family have enough to eat?
Will we ever get back to how it was just two months ago?
This Easter Sunday, there is a lot to fear. For all of us.
Fear, as they say, is in the air.
Fear is in the air.
The women headed to Jesus’ tomb that first Easter morning.
They were full of fear. At first, their worst fears appeared to be true – an earthquake, the tomb stone door rolled away almost by magic and then an angel who looked like lightning. And, the Roman guards were so frightened by all of this, they looked dead.
But, what does the angel say to the women? “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has been raised.
And how do the two Marys react to this news? Matthew tells us that they “left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy.’
Fear and joy.
Isn’t that a wonderful reminder that fear and joy are not opposites but, as with doubt and faith, can be experienced at the same time and, indeed, might be inseparable?
Fear, as we have noted previously, seems quite frequently “in the air” these days and for all kinds of reasons. Jesus’ resurrection does not spell an end to fear for those who follow him, but rather makes it possible to experience joy amid what might otherwise be crippling fear.
Resurrection, that is, does not simply answer or end problems, but rather creates something new. Our Christian faith does not remove us from the hardships, limitations, and challenges of this life, but creates for us possibilities that simply would not be available had God not intervened, first in the raising of Jesus and again by entering into our own lives.
The Easter acclamation, “Christ is Risen,” is an invitation to lay hold to the resurrection power of Jesus to see more possibilities in the people and situations around us than others might see.
Because of Christ’s resurrection, we can seek the presence of God and the mixture of fear and joy that always attends encountering God.
On this Easter Sunday most of us will be staying safer-at-home. And our fears will not be, they are not far from the surface: education, employment, illness, and loneliness, worry for our family and friends and neighbors. Christ’s resurrection does not wash those realities away, but Christ’s ressurrecion makes it possible to experience joy in the midst of them as God continues to create something new.
“Do not be afraid” also includes an invitation, even a command – “come and see… go and tell.” And this command is not a burden to be accomplished but a gift to be opened and delighted in. The resurrection of Christ creates the possibility to do spontaneously and joyfully what otherwise would be impossible.
My dear friend and mentor, former ELCA Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson has written that, as Christians, “Be Not Afraid” is part of our DNA. By this Bishop Anderson was saying that the Christian answer to fear is not simply comfort but also invitation to a life of courage.
The message of Easter is not that everything will be okay. The message of Easter is “here is the life and work God is giving you.”
Despite all of the fears we may have in 2020, the God who raised Jesus from the dead is not done yet. Not done with the world God loves so much, and not done with you and me who are the children of God, who are those who God also loves so much.
In other words, Easter is not over. Christ’s resurrection was not a once-and-done historical aberration, but rather reflects the dynamic and ongoing nature and work of the God we meet in Christ.
Theologian Karl Barth once said that “the goal of human life is not death, but resurrection.” That does not mean that death is not a fearsome reality, only that death does not have the final word.
The promise of the resurrection is not simply what God has done, but what God is still doing, still leading us forward into new life and possibility and forgiveness and love.
As Bishop Anderson said so well, as Christians “Be not afraid” is in our DNA. “Be not afraid” is there even in the face of all the possible fears we can have, do have, in 2020.
Matthew tells us, “Do not be afraid …. Jesus has been raised.”
Yes, there is a lot be feared in 2020. But, because of Jesus’ resurrection, there is also joy and courage in and for whatever lies ahead for us all.
Easter is not over, it is on-going. Thus, perhaps the best response for 21st century Christians to make to that good news is the 1st century response, “Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed!”
Come and see. Go and tell. Have joy and courage. Be not afraid.
Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed.
Amen.
The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer
Senior Pastor - Mt. Olive Lutheran Church
Santa Monica, California
April 12, 2020
