Trinity Presbyterian Church of
Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008
Rev. John An; Rev. David Williams
Scripture Lesson: Matthew 28:1-10
Many wise souls throughout history have talked about fear.
President Franklin Roosevelt said
“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks said:
“Knowing what must be done does away with fear.”
Philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said:
“Don't waste life in doubts and fears; spend yourself on the work before you.
All of these great souls had one thing in common:
None of them had anything invested in today’s stock market.
If you have anything invested in the markets, you’ve probably seen it.
Watching the reactions of investors over these past few weeks
As the market surges and retreats like waves at a high tide
Makes many of us feel like a child that first time on a diving board.
Maybe you’ve seen that moment.
They’ve never jumped before.
It’s totally new and frightening.
They go out to the end of the board.
They look waaay down at the water.
And then they freeze.
They’re too scared to move.
“Jump!” shout their friends from the side of the pool.
But it looks so far!
“Climb off the board!” shout the people behind them.
But then they’d be embarrassed.
So they just stand there,
Just listening to the yelling.
What to do?
Many of us feel that way whenever we’re confronted with change.
There’s the terrifying possibility we might lose.
We might lose money.
We might lose face.
We might lose ourselves.
In the face of something we do not know,
We do not act.
From the Gospel of Matthew today we hear such a story.
It’s the story of the first ones to learn of Christ’s resurrection.
We hear that Mary Madgalene and the other Mary are on their way to the tomb.
They go to mourn the friend and the rabbi that they loved.
But people are already there.
It’s a detachment of guards, sent from Pilate to insure no mischief takes place.
Something unlike anything any of them had known before.
The stone rolled back
But the bright presence remained.
Every single person there felt afraid.
Of course they did.
But how did they express their fear?
Those guards “were like dead men.”
Fear overcame them.
Fear consumed them.
They could not move.
They were frozen and trembling.
The women felt that fear, too.
But they also had faith.
That faith meant that their fear did not control them.
What was happening was terrifying, but it was also good.
They saw the joy of that first Easter moment.
They felt fear and uncertainty in their hearts at this new thing.
But it did not consume them.
Even though they felt that fear, they were able to respond.
They heard that message, and left with “fear and great joy.”
Though fear was still in their hearts, they weren’t frozen.
They moved.
They acted.
And from faith, they left the empty tomb.
They didn’t leave slowly, either.
Hearing that message became the starting point of a new journey of faith.
It was, at first, a mixed and disorganized thing.
They still struggled.
They still felt uncertainty and fear.
But as they rushed down that path
Driven by equal parts terror and elation
They encountered Christ
And he drove their fears away.
All living faith is like that encounter.
All Easter faith is like that encounter.
It begins with the hearing.
But then comes the response.
Sure, there can be uncertainty.
Sure, there can be fears.
But despite those fears, you must be moving.
Despite those fears, you must be acting.
You can’t let yourself be paralyzed by doubt.
You can’t let yourself be frozen by overanalysis.
In that Easter moment, great and pure joy is offered up by God for your life.
Anything and everything can become new again.
Just set yourself down that path.
Let the joy begin to overcome your fears.
Trust that as you act and as you move
You’ll reach that point on the journey when your fears will be cast aside.
You’ll hear that welcome voice.
You’ll hear that welcome greeting.
“Do not be afraid.
Go, and tell what you’ve seen.”
He is risen.
He is risen indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment