Tag: Easter

Confronting Fears at the Tomb

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Biblical Text: Mark 16:1-8

So much of Easter is the Hymns. I hate chopping them out, but the truth is they just don’t record as well. The place is not mic’ed up for that. But when the text of the day is Mark’s Easter account, you get to preach on something unique. Mark has the two Mary’s and Salome running from the tomb in fear. And that is where the gospel ends. (The early sermon examines that.) But that ending has a deep existential meaning to all of us. We are all confronted with a couple of fears. The obvious one is fear of death. But without dismissing the dread that creep up, you get to a certain age, you’ve made your peace. But the other one is fear of not being in control. Coming face to face with a man who controls death and who has something for you to do is running right into our lack of control. It is also running into the answer to that. That is the fear Easter addresses in Mark, but we all have to make a decision about that. The sermon expands on that.

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A Simple Story

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Biblical Text: Matthew 28:1-10

I love the Easter story in Matthew. It is just such a living memory. Not that the other Gospel aren’t, but as this sermon starts out, the meaning you attach to a story changes, deepens, layers, over time. The resurrection in Matthew is such an early memory. The meanings haven’t really started to accrue. It’s just bragging, let me tell you what happened. That’s what this sermon attempts to do. Tell the story. Invite you to the meaning slowly.

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Today is Different (Easter)

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Biblical Text: Isaiah 65:17-25

The inspirations for this sermon were the Isaiah text, Chrysostom’s Easter sermon and a common conversation we have in confirmation class on the distinction between mercy and grace. Easter is grace.

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New Creation Day

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Biblical Text: Mark 16:1-8

This Easter Day sermon picks up from the Good Friday one. One of Good Friday’s ponderings was on the Cry of Dereliction – “My God, Why have you forsaken me?” We probably all hear that in a certain way. This sermon attempts to point out the history of why we do, and why that history is wrong. Easter is the answer to the challenge of that cry. Easter is the eschatological inbreaking of the Kingdom, the first day of the new creation. This sermon proclaims what that means and what it asks of us.

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Come and See; Go and Tell

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Biblical Text: Matthew 28:1-10

The recording is the full (2nd) service. The resurrection account in Matthew has an interesting pattern. There is a “come and see” portion. The angel bids the Mary’s to come and see the empty tomb. Jesus greets them and they grab his feet. There is proof of the resurrection. “Come and See”.

The second part of the pattern is “Go and Tell”. The angel tells the Mary’s to go and tell the disciples. Jesus as bids them go and tell. When you have seen the power of the resurrection, go and tell.

The final part is the promise. “You will see him”. Today we see by faith, although it is not a faith without proof. The tomb was empty. Jesus had feet. Tomorrow we see.

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This Morning Is Different

Biblical Text: Mark 16:1-8
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I didn’t do my normal word cloud for this, instead above is the Icon of Mary Magdalene. She was one of the Mary’s that went to the tomb to spice the body. The icon captures both of those things. In her left is the jar of spice, but in her right is that bright red egg. That egg is a very ancient symbol of the resurrection. That bright red is the blood that bought this day.

The sermon focuses on the uniqueness of Mark. It ends with Mary running from the tomb afraid. It is an existential question. We know what happened with Mary. She took courage and told the others. Mark’s point is a question to us. We’ve seen the empty tomb. We’ve heard the resurrection. It demands we live in hope. Do we take courage? Or do we stay in fear? This Morning is different. Choose to live.

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Broken Things Risen Things

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Biblical Text: Luke 24:1-12
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Preaching on Easter is a unique experience. You do get the full joy. A full house. The best music and hymns. The core message. But you also get the full foolishness of the gospel. As if some loser 2000 years after the event could possibly have anything to say. At least the Orthodox just get in the pulpit and repeat Chrysostom. Likewise the proclamation is unique, sui generis, not replicable until well it is replicated. All examples and illustration and props are gone. All you can point at is Christ. He’s risen. Any eloquence you might have, any cunning or logic is stripped away. He’s Risen. This is how God fixes broken things. After the cross, resurrection. And there you have it. He’s either defeated death, and it will be given to you at the right time, or his hasn’t. I’m just the messenger telling you what I’ve been told and believe. He’s risen. Broken things will rise.

Recording note. I would love to have left some of the music on, but the gap between the live experience of Easter music and our poor recording of it is just too much. So, it is just the lessons and sermon. Come to church next week. We will still be singing the Easter hymns on the octave.

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The Deleted – No Longer

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Text: Luke 24:1-12
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He is Risen. Alleluia!

So much in our world we deal with by deleting, or attempting to delete by shoving in some memory hole. We delete everything from pixels to inconvenient people. And we all eventually become inconvenient.

God does not delete. God does not deal with problems by covering them over. God deals with problems (like sin) by absolution…by transfiguration…by resurrection. That is the conflict of Easter and the triumph of our Lord. Sin, the World and Satan want to erase, delete and hide. Christ rolled back the stone and lives.

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