Sermons for the Month
Death Is Certain … But Not Final!
DATE: April 16th, 2006
SERVICE: The Resurrection of Our Lord
TEXT: Mark 16:1-8“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
We all know the old maxim that there are only two certainties in life, death and taxes. It's a particularly appropriate saying today as Easter weekend and the due date for filing income tax returns fall at the same time. In mid-April we are reminded of the certainty of taxes, but the certainty of death is a reality year-round. However, and this is an important however, there is a huge difference between death being certain and death be final as the women in today's Gospel reading discovered. In the Gospel of Mark the same women who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus go to his tomb early on Sunday morning to anoint the body and prepare it for final entombment. They are "on edge", of course, since they witnessed the brutal death of their beloved Jesus on Friday and also because the task at hand is not a pleasant one. Usually the process of anointing and wrapping the body would have taken place immediately after death. But because Jesus died on a Friday, and the Sabbath began at sundown, his body was tended to in a cursory way. They had to wait until light dawned on Sunday to properly tend to their Lord and, at that point, it was bound to be disconcerting. Their willingness to do so is a sign of their devotion. And, their nervousness is enhanced by the fact that the men who followed Jesus are in hiding, afraid for their lives. So, we can imagine that they approach the tomb with trepidation. There is no hint in the account we read that they thought anything but that death has the final word; it's a certain reality. Or is it? Suddenly certainties do not seem so certain on that Sunday morning. Take the tomb, it should be blocked by a heavy stone door, but instead it's open. Then there's the body that should be lying there, it's missing. The men are in hiding, for good reason, and yet a young man dressed in white robes is sitting in full view. And, an amazing word is spoken, the one who they saw die has been raised. Jesus is alive. How disquieting - and if that's not an understatement I don't know what is - how disquieting it must have been to have that which is absolutely certain - death - become uncertain. Suddenly death is a beginning, not an ending. This is a concept that is so familiar to us that we forget how amazing it is. Even children "get it". Recently my colleague here at Faith, Carolyn Wagar Hier, substituted at a church in the area on a Sunday morning. She returned with a great story that I'm borrowing for today. The Gospel lesson for that week included John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." So, during the children's sermon, she asked the assembled kids what they had to do to become a really good athlete. There were plentiful answers ranging from "work out" to "drink lots of water." The next questions focused on what one has to do to become a good musician. There were very appropriate answers like, "take lessons" and "practice". So, feeling that they were ready for the "big" question she asked, "And what do you need to do to go to heaven?" There were terrific answers. One child - a Lutheran to the core - said, "be baptized" and another one said, "believe". (I gather, though that he or she did not elaborate on what one should believe.) The next one proclaimed that "doing chores" was the ticket, which of course brought a laugh and a comment that this might be something of which parents could take advantage. Getting back on track, Carolyn said, "Those are all important, but what is the most important thing you need to do to go to heaven?" A cute little girl, about 6-years-old, raised her hand and when Carolyn called on her said loudly and clearly, "You have to die!" Indeed. What an amazing reality - death opens the door to continuing to live life in the presence of God rather than slamming it shut. And that's possible because Jesus is alive, having been dead, and promises that eternal life is a certainty for us too. We are so accustomed to this truth that we may take it for granted, but that was not the case for those women whose world was shaken. Naturally, they were afraid. Mark says in verse 8 that they fled from the tomb, seized by terror and amazement, and they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid. Actually, the correct translation is a double negative for emphasis, "they said nothing to no one". And although some Bibles include other endings for the Gospel, most scholars say that Mark's writing ends with verse 8, "they said nothing to no one because they were afraid." Well, we think, that's not a great witness, is it? In Matthew's account the women ran to tell the disciples. The Gospel of Luke says they told the 11 and all the rest. John proclaims that Mary Magdalene reported the empty tomb to Peter and another disciple. Why would Mark leave it at, "they told nothing to no one"? We'll never know the real reason, of course, but perhaps Mark wanted it to be clear that everyone - both men and women - struggled to believe. Perhaps he wanted to present the idea that this is an on-going story that continues beyond when he wrote it down and that we who are reading and hearing it are responsible for continuing it. We must take the step of faith beyond the tomb that Mary Magdalene, Mary and Salome struggled to take. We are to proclaim that Jesus is alive and with us now, and that while death is certain, it is not final. In a way our faith is a balancing act. We know that our Lord is here with us now and yet will be there in glory when we experience a resurrection like his. He has the ability to create new life in his wounded hands and yet is present to hold us with those hands when we are wounded and he renews us. These certainties are so important to me that I remind myself of them every Sunday morning on my way to church. A couple years ago BOUND, the congregation's praise band, made a CD. On it is the song, "Redeemer", which will be shared during Holy Communion today. I listen to it every Sunday because the lyrics remind me of the significance of Jesus being alive. Let me share some of them with you. "The very same God that spins things in orbit, comes to the weary, the worn and the weak, and the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken, they conquer death to bring me victory. I know my Redeemer lives, I know my Redeemer lives. Let all creation testify, let this life within me cry, I know that my Redeemer lives." Yes, my sisters and brothers, there are two certainties in this life, and they are not necessarily death and taxes. They are that Jesus died. And, he is alive.
AMEN