We have spent Lent and Palm Sunday following a preaching series based on the phrase, "When God does...., then we...." Easter was the final sermon in that series.
I preached this sermon twice (8:30 and 10:50), but made changes before the second time I preached. the text in red was taken out of the sermon the second time; the text in purple was added the second time. I think the second sermon worked better. At least if flowed better for me.
It was fun to combine April Fool's Day with Easter, although it had its own set of pitfalls. The knock-knock joke worked just like I wanted in the first sermon; it did not go as well in the second sermon. Hard to know why one set of listeners responded one way and the other did set another way.
”When God Plays a Joke, Then….” St. Andrew, Denton; 4/1/18; Easter Sunday; Mark 16: 1-8
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Introduction: April Fool’s Day and Easter!
it does not happen very often. In fact, it has not happened since 1956. Why do I know this? Because on March 31, 1956 my parents were married and part of their wedding story is about getting married the day before Easter.
In fact, this week my mom was telling on of her grandchildren that she could not remember Easter being on Aril 1st since the week-end she was married. not quite believing her, my niece looked it up on the Internet. Indeed, it has been 62 years since April Fool’s day and Easter coincided.
it invites us to observe the Scottish tradition of telling a joke to being the Easter service because the resurrection was God’s big joke on the world.
So, I have joke to start the sermon. It’s a “knock-knock” joke. since I know the joke, y’all get to do the knock knock part.
Ok, Go. (congregation is supposed to say "knock, knock" and then I did not answer - this went on for three times)
(In a stage whisper) he’s not going to answer. He is not longer there. the tomb is empty.
Ok. let’s get back to the joke God played.
Move 1: When God plays a joke on the world, pay attention to the punch line
a. Christ is Risen.
1. A punch line above all others.
2. A punch line we could never imagine adding to a joke, unless
3. Unless you are a God and you are going to overcome sin with death.
4. Unless you are a God who is going to transform the world.
5. Unless you are a God who is going to transform people’s lives.
6. Then, and only then can you use the line: “Christ is Risen,” and really mean it.
b. We live in a world where the words that people say are not the words that people mean.
1. In politics, we continually play a game of saying one thing and meaning another.
2. Let’s not just pick on politicians. What about parent/child conversations. In my case, father/daughter.
I have spent years trying to decipher answers to my questions.
“Are you dating that guy?” “No, we are just talking.” That sounds good to me, until I realize that I have no idea what “just talking means!”
c. When I was in about 4th grade, in a play at North Texas State University. I was a newspaper boy. Walked on one side of the stage and off the other announcing the headline. I think I did it twice each performance.
“Break a leg.” I didn't know what that really meant, that it was a common saying among actors and actresses; that it meant “good luck.” Much to the surprise of this college actress, I immediately blurted out, “and you go throw up.”
She then explained to me that “Break a leg” is really a phrase that means “good luck.” A few nights later before the final show, I found the same actress, and tried to really impress her with my actor savvy by telling her “Break a leg.” That night during the curtain call she fell off the platform and broke her leg.
“Break a leg.” Words that do not mean what they say, and when they did, I quit saying them.
d. “Christ is Risen” – words that mean what they say.
1. when the women arrived the tomb was empty - Christ is Risen.
3. they are not sure what to do with it - but still Christ is Risen.
4. We may not know exactly what to do with a resurrection, but Christ is Risen.
When God plays a joke, pay attention to the punch line.
Christ is Risen.
Move 2: When God plays a joke on the world, then we better go big and go bold.
a. Crucifixion played out in a public place.
1. As you may know, at least two places in or near Jerusalem claim to be the place where Jesus was crucified.
2. We visited both spots on our recent trip to Israel.
3. in one of the places, their rationale for why it was the correct place for Jesus’ crucifixion was because it was at a major crossroad in the time of Christ’s death.
4. that fit the Roman pattern for making a crucifixion a spectacle for all to see as a way of encouraging those who passed by and saw someone dying on the cross to think twice before doing something that might cause them to be crucified.
5. Which means when God raises Christ from the dead it gets played out on the big stage.
6 Which means it demands a big and bold response.
b. Most of us remember Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a dream” speech that we gave at the Lincoln Memorial. It might be the most memorable vision shared about the purpose of the civil rights movement.
what you may not know is that King has not planned on sharing his dream that day. he had written a speech for the occasion that would give fresh analysis and articulate the case for the situation confronting African-Americans in seeking freedom and justice.
he began his speech sticking to his text – undoubtedly a powerful analysis. sitting near him however, was the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who had heard King share about his dream. Apparently, she wanted him to tell everyone about his dream, so she shouted out to him – “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” He kept on with his speech. She shouted out again, “Tell them about dream.” (4) he hesitated for a moment, then moved his notes to his speech aside, and launched into sharing his dream. (Joseph Harvard, III. Journal of Preachers, "Preaching the Easter Texts: Can I Get a Witness," Easter, 2014, p.3) and http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mahalia-jackson-the-queen-of-gospel-puts-her-stamp-on-the-march-on-washington)
1. to make powerful change, King had to go big and bold.
2. He moved the country not with his analysis, but his dream..
c. We are all here this morning for different reasons.
1. Maybe your family member is playing one fo the instruments.
2. You were here Good Friday when the story ended in Christ’s death and you want to hear the rest of the story.
3. Family tradition to gather on Easter and go to church.
4. Maybe you are in a slump in life and need something to change in your life.
5. Want you simply want more out of life.
d. We gather here for different reasons, but we all hear the same good news - the tomb is empty;
1. God has over come even death;
2. anything is possible.
3. The Risen Christ is alive and in our midst.
4. Dream big and live boldly.
5. imagine what God with the power to resurrect can do with your life.
6. Then go for it.
When God plays a joke, then we better go big and go bold.
Move 3: When God plays a joke on the world, then we get to choose whether to laugh or not. we get it or not
a. The Gospel of Mark, in my opinion, is the best gospel account of the resurrection to read on April Fool’s Day.
1. Why? Because in the original text of Mark it finishes at verse 8 just like we heard it this morning.
2. No stories of seeing Jesus. No resurrection appearances. Just the empty tomb.
3. The early church church could not stand the ambiguity of ending, so they probably added the rest of Chapter 16.
3. But I can see the big smile on Mark’s face as he ends the story in vs. 8.
5. Are they going to get it? Are they going to hear the empty tomb and have the faith to believe Jesus has been raised from the dead.
b. The tomb is empty — what are you going to do?
1. Paul lays it out for the Corinthians in his letter we read this morning.
2. Either Christ has been raised from the dead, or we are all stuck in our sins and have no hope.
3. Like us, Paul cannot prove the resurrection, but he recognizes the importance of the choice.
4. The tomb is empty. Do you get it?
b. Do you know the history of Aprll Fool’s Day?
1. Hunt the Gowk - 1st April
On this day people would play tricks and tell lies to catch each other out. But the jokes had to stop at mid-day. Now called April Fool's Day, hunting the gowk was originally sending someone on a foolish errand.
2. the young man in the white robe tells the woman to go and tell Peter and the others to go on to Galilee.
4. Will going be a fool’s errand?
5. Is it a foolish errand to follow after Jesus?
Conclusion: Christ is Risen. What are you going to do about it?
It’s April Fool’s Day. The tomb is empty. God announces Christ is Risen. Do you get it? Amen.
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