This sermon begins our Eastertide preaching series which reflects on how we move from the empty tomb into the world. This sermon establishes that in the resurrection God shows once again that God shows up in our lives and the world.
During the Time with Young Disciples, I talked about how in the Matthew passage when the Risen Christ shows up to the women on the road, they grab his feet. To be able to grab his feet means that he has in fact shown up and they can hold on to him. To go into the world means to be there for people so they can reach out and grab us. I did not explicitly mention that in the sermon, but it was implicit in the sermon.
“Showing Up” April 4, 2021; Easter Sunday; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp; I Corinthians 15: 1-11; Matthew 28: 1-10; Easter 2021 series “Journey from the Tomb into the World”
I Corinthians 15: 1-11
Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters,[a] of the good news[b] that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters[c] at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.[d] 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
Introduction: it is hard to put ourselves in the story with Mary Magdalene and the other Mary as they move toward the tomb because we know what they will find.
What did they expect to find at the tomb? Ian Paul suggests they expected to find: "death, disappointment and desperation.” (Ian Paul, “Capturing the Surprise of Resurrection, April 23, 2019, Psephizo blog; “https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/capturing-the-surprise-of-the-resurrection/)
death - the dead body of their friend, their leader, the one in whom they had put their hopes;
Disappointment - their hope for a new thing led by Jesus has been dashed when he was tried by the authorities and then crucified. the glimpse of a new life died with him.
Desperation - they do not know what to do as they desperately consider life without Jesus, without his leadership, without his wisdom, without his love in their lives. the loneliness has already set in.
I suspect most of us can relate to Mary Magdalene and Mary to a certain extent.
We know what it means to grieve the death of a loved one or a friend.
We know what it is it like to feel disappointed - just think over the last year how much the pandemic has given rise to disappointments.
We know what it means to feel the desperation of dreams unrealized
We can imagine in some ways what the women felt as they arrived at the tomb where the body of Jesus had been taken, even though we already know what they will find.
An empty tomb. Jesus is not there. God has surprised and transformed the world.
That is how the God of resurrection works: As Ian Paul notes, “Into our experiences of death, God brings unexpected life. Into our experiences of disappointment and failure, God brings unexpected hope. Into our desperation in the face of loneliness, God brings his [God’s] unexpected presence.” (Ian Paul, “Capturing the Surprise of Resurrection, April 23, 2019, Psephizo blog; “https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/capturing-the-surprise-of-the-resurrection/)
Move 2: As they race off to tell others what they had discovered, they learn firsthand about the God who shows up.
a. They do not get very far before the Risen Christ overtakes them; he shows up the road, right there with them
b. this is who God is, the God who shows up in Jesus Christ.
1. As the baby in the manger who shows up to live among us.
2. Jesus shows up on the cross to die for us;
2. and now even death and a sealed tomb cannot the Risen Christ from showing up in the world
3. Jesus shows up to the women on the road;
4. Listen to how Paul describes where Jesus shows up.
5. Jesus shows up for Cephas, whom we know as Peter.
6. then to the twelve disciples
7. then to the 500 men and women - the Risen Christ does not care if you are male or female, or where you are on the power hierarchy of society - he just shows up to be with you.
7. then he showed up to James.
8. then to Saul himself.
c. Jesus keeps appearing as his way of saying, “you can't get rid of me.”
1. the kingdom initiated by Christ cannot be thwarted.
2. Not even death can keep God's plan from playing out.
3. Even as Jesus looks to the time when he will ascend to heaven, he promises the presence of the Holy Spirit.
d. God who showed up to create the world;
1. God who showed up to be in covenant relationship with the Israelites;
2. God who showed up in Jesus to live among us has now shown up in the resurrected Christ;
3. And God will keep showing up by the power of the Holy Spirit.
4. If you want proof, look to the empty tomb.
nothing, and no one, can keep God from showing up!
Move 5: of course, looking to the empty tomb and discovering that God is going to keep showing up might be a bit scary.
a. What was the scariest part of the Holy Week/Easter stories?
1. Maybe Judas betraying Christ or the disciples denying and running away from him because we can see ourselves in their actions?
2. maybe Jesus on the cross - scary to wonder that if the world can kill the son of God, what else can happen?
3. Scary to think about Jesus dead in the tomb - the hopes of the world dashed and buried behind a stone.
4. Those all might be scary, but I think the scarped thing of all is the empty tomb because if Christ has been raised from the dead, then the world has been changed and the lives of Christ’s followers are no longer bound by sin and death, and we are called to a new way of life.
b. Jesus also keeps appearing to make sure the disciples, to make sure we understand that the resurrection calls us to be transformed.
a. Exhibit A - Paul’s himself: The Risen Christ appeared to him when he was Saul, and it changed his life.
b. Exhibit B - Peter can go from the one who denies Christ to the rock on which the church would be built.
c. Exhibit C - you and I
1. the Risen Christ keeps showing up, which models for us our calling - to keep showing up in the world with hope and new life and new possibilities.
2. “You know, I like Christianity, but I would not like it without the resurrection. Show me your resurrection.” Zen Master to a Trappist Monk [Carl Scovel, Never Far from Home: Stories from the Radio Pulpit (Boston: Skinner House Books, 2004), 124-125. As quoted by Tom Long, “Tread Marks and Roses: Glimpses of Resurrection,” Journal for Preachers, Easter, 2021, http://www.journalforpreachers.com]
2. Our primary response to the resurrection is not to explain what has happened so it makes sense in a rational way;
3. our response is to show up in the world with and for the resurrected Christ, who is the one who keeps showing up.
d. As we look back one day at our time of pandemic, we will no doubt point to the disruptions it caused, the changes it created,
1. . But, we will also be able to point to when we saw the Risen christ show up.
2. We saw the frontline workers who gave selflessly to treat day after day, those sick and dying with Covid.
3. We saw the resurrected Christ on the FT calls when loved ones who could not be by the bedsides fo their loved ones called and shared their love through technology.
4. We saw the resurrected Christ in those who continued their work, even in the midst of a pandemic, to care for the least of these in our communities.
e. When we look back over the last year, we will remember seeing the resurrected Christ in those who sought justice in the face of injustice;
who showed mercy and love in the midst of anxious, angry times.
That is our calling - to show in the world with and for the resurrected Christ.
Conclusion: The tomb is empty.
The God who keeps showing up has done it again.
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