Easter Sunday - When Hope Shakes the World

Do not be afraid in the name of the blessed Trinity, one God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing some unusual turbulence on today's flight.

But please be assured, there's nothing to worry about.

Undoubtedly, you've heard such

an announcement before. When a flight attendant says it, it's one thing.

But when the pilot says it, it's something else.

And I'm not sure either one does much for me.

Maybe the same can be true, can be said about the state of the world today.

We are going through an unusual amount of turbulence.

Maybe it applies in your own life.

When my father was dying about a year ago now, I would say to him,

Dad, it's going to be okay.

He said that it helped, but I don't think it was because I was his son.

I think it was because he believed I had a bit of knowledge in this area.

Yet, yet, honestly, do any of us have the authority to say, Do not be afraid.

Can any son, daughter, doctor, priest, pastor, lawyer Make such a claim?

We don't completely know the future, do we?

We don't have an antidote to uncertainty We can't accompany one another all

the way down the road Sooner or later,

every reassurance we give runs into, what shall we say, a stone.

I always worry that the reason for our grand celebration today can be misunderstood.

These flowers, which are just beyond amazing, the bells, the music,

which is just beyond amazing, the trumpets, we say it is for victory.

But I worry it comes across like a grand battalion who has finally won a battle.

We even use this language in our prayers and in our hymns today,

describing this day as a victory.

Yet we mean it differently than the ways of the world. We mean it almost in reverse. worse.

For today is a victory unlike anything you might imagine, a victory that no one expected.

And we see it in the Scripture. We go back to the Bible, even here in the Episcopal Church.

We go back to the Bible again and again and again.

And what do we see in the story? The women find themselves on that first day

of the week at the tomb in the dark, which seems to match their feelings. Dark.

They had watched Jesus die. They had watched the stone seal the entrance.

And now I might imagine that they're doing what we all try to do when it seems as if death has won.

Accept it. Face the facts. Adapt. It was great while it lasted.

At least we have some memories.

That is about the best that any of us can imagine on our own. A stiff upper lip.

If we're honest, this is

the part of the story where we actually live

most of our lives We rarely move beyond

Easter morning We don't expect

to see change We don't naturally recognize the goodness and growth around us

already happening let alone the potential of something that seems beyond reasonable.

Dead means dead in our world.

But we're here today because on one morning, the earth trembled and shook.

An angel descended and sat on that stone meant to keep death shut up.

And the guard, symbols of human might and power, trembled and fell as dead.

And the angels spoke not to the soldiers, but to the grieving women.

Do not be afraid.

I know you're looking for Jesus who was crucified.

He is not here. He has been raised.

Do not be afraid.

Is the calling card of an angel.

Spoken to Mary before she conceived And now to the women at the tomb You see,

naturally, we fear possibilities That we don't create,

By nature, we disbelieve That anything is possible that we didn't make happen,

So this morning, we come to hear a simple truth that the women didn't roll away the stone.

Today is a day of victory, but not that type of victory.

Not the victory where might makes right.

The victory that humans and nations proclaim all of the time.

If you're here in this space today, be careful because someone might think That

you're the type of person Who is radical enough to believe,

That love That love,

can bring peace that peace can rain.

That is victory.

The women did not storm the tomb, muscle up the stone and move it away and rush

in and resuscitate their friend.

Today, we see that God is the one who is able to reach into the places of life

that we have sealed up with death and say no.

No, not today, not ever.

Do not be afraid, says the angel with authority, for the angel has permission to speak for God.

And with God, says the angel, nothing is impossible.

Here is where the possibility of the empty tomb opens up for us.

In fact, it changes everything. Because of it,

we are now free to live and be and act with the type of love and justice that

God is unfolding before us.

And notice what happens to the women on that morning.

When they learn that the tomb is empty, they don't throw up their hands and

say, well, there's nothing more to be done.

They act.

They run. They don't run away. They run toward the possibility of resurrection.

Matthew says they left the tomb with fear and joy.

We know what that's like. We know what it's like when our loved one is dying.

We know what it's like to be in grief and to know the possibility of joy.

They run with fear and joy at the same time.

Because when the ground shook on this morning, everything changed and everything became possible.

And miracle beyond miracle, as they ran, Jesus himself meets them and says, do not be afraid.

We know from the rest of the story that these women and the disciples,

only because of their witness, are about to get to work like never before,

fueled by the endless possibilities of God, made real by the resurrection of Jesus,

knowing all the time that they are doing that which God has laid before them already.

So today, we can look at ourselves in the mirror,

maybe even our loved ones, and say, not so much, it's going to be all right,

but rather that with God, there's always a way when there seems to be no way.

So we hear again this morning, not from me, Though I have a collar on,

I don't have the authority.

Hear it from the angel who sat on the stone and caused the world to shake.

Whatever turbulence you are facing, whatever road you are walking, be it light or dark,

whatever stone seems to be immovable in your life, you are not alone.

And God will not let it be shut up. Forever.

For God is doing a new thing.

Do not be afraid. For Christ is risen from the dead. Amen.

The homily was offered by the Rev. Dr. R. Scott White.

Introductory and closing reflections were shared by the Rev. Amy Peterson.

Musical contributions were performed by Dr. Kevin Seal.

Sermon audio was prepared by Nanette Popa. Production was guided by Kären Marie Frederiksen