"On to Galilee" Mark 16: 1-7; Acts 10: 34-42

This Easter sermon is the finale of the "journey" that I have been preaching through Lent.  The series did not have to include Easter, but as I read Mark's Easter story, I discovered the disciples had to journey to Galilee to meet the Risen Christ.  That seemed a natural fit for a conclusion to a series on journeys.

I am indebted to Bishop William Willimon's Easter sermon "To Galilee" that he preached Easter, 2007 (Collected Sermons of William Willimon, Westminster John Knox Press, 2010.  248-252).  He preached the sermon as the visiting bishop, who had been invited to preach that Easter morning by the minister whose son had committed suicide on that Good Friday.  At the heart of the sermon was the question, "Why did Jesus go to Galilee?"   That question stuck came to mind as I read the Mark passage for this year's Easter sermon.

Galilee probably caught my attention because in our Lenten Bible study on Jesus' journeys I was reminded of the important role Galilee played in Jesus' ministry.  Jesus walking on water and calming of the waters took place on the Sea of Galilee; Capernaum, a fishing village in the Galilean region, was the home to several of the disciples and the sight of many of Jesus' miracles; Nazareth, Jesus' hometown was in the Galilean region; Galilee played an important role in Jesus' ministry and in the lives of his disciples.

I asked the Bible study where they thought Jesus would go to once he was resurrected.  The initial response was that Jesus might want to go back to home or to where the disciples were.  Thus, Jesus returning to Galilee makes good sense.  I'm going to play with that idea a bit in the sermon and consider some other possibilities:  Jesus could have returned to gloat over Pontius Pilate?  Or to the temple in Jerusalem to show off to the religious authorities?  Or maybe scampered off to heaven as quickly as possible to avoid another confrontation?  If you did not know Galilee, where do you think it would have made sense for Jesus to go after his resurrection (here's your chance to make it into the sermon!).

But he goes to Galilee.  the place of his ministry and his home.  does he go there for comfort's sake?  Or does he have something else in mind?  In some ways it speaks to what Jesus was about -- he returns to the place he had done ministry, the place where the disciples live.  the resurrection was not a disappearing form reality, but transforming reality.  Jesus does not run from the real world, but instead returns to it.  the resurrection matters less as a theological supposition or theoretical possibility and more as a testimony to the power of God to transform our lives even as God can transform death into life.  how does the resurrection matter in your daily living?

Christ is risen.  He is risen, indeed.

peace,

richard