Easter Sunday

Matthew (28:1–10)

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. The angel’s appearance was like lightning, with garments white as snow. The guards shook with fear and fell as though they were dead.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell the disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, with awe and great joy, and ran to carry the good news to the disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Shalom,” he said. They came to him, embraced his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell the disciples to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”


Reflection -- by Zelda Kennedy

Last year, a member of our community invited me to the Crystal Cathedral to experience their Easter pageant performance. It was grand! Yet, it wasn’t the first time I experienced a major production of Easter with people dressed in period costumes and with real animals. In North Carolina it’s done on an outside stage. The reenactment of the crucifixion seems so real that, for some, it is almost unbearable to witness. However, for me, it was always just a performance.

Therefore, as I watched the performance at the Crystal Cathedral, my reaction to the story surprised me. I was surprised by my emotions, which were traumatic. During the crucifixion, while listening to the performer sing, “Were you there, when they crucified my Lord,” a profound sadness that seemed to reach the core of my being, overpowered me. It was an experience that continued to haunt me during my ministry. While reading Trauma and Grace, by Dr. Serene Jones, I learned that “trauma is an act of overwhelming violence that is visceral.” Finally, I had words to help me understand my feelings. I could also imagine what the followers of Jesus might have felt at Calvary, and the days following.

Therefore, I want you to visualize Mary Magdalene and the other Mary on their way to the tomb with trauma still fresh in their minds and bodies. I want you imagine their sadness and perhaps confusion. I want you to visualize them wondering just what were they going to do at the tomb? They certainly could not enter the tomb because guards and a large stone blocked the door.

The scripture tells us they were met by an angel, who reported that Jesus, who was so horribly crucified, was gone – resurrected and, while that is the Easter message, this scripture tells us much more. It tells us that the very women, who were on the margins of their society, were now at the center of the gospel message. Jesus, still radical and countercultural, chose them to be the bearers of the good news! Jesus chose them to disclose the message of Easter.

One of my colleagues once preached, “Easter is not bunnies and butterflies. Easter is about a body that somehow got loose. . . Easter is about a Jesus, who while alive was so radical, so countercultural that the prevailing culture killed him. He is not flow, he’s counterflow. Easter is about a Jesus, who spoke about forgiving one’s enemies as a condition of being forgiven ourselves, so that we may be made whole . . . of treating everyone with respect. Easter is about continuing the ministry of Jesus – feeding the hungry, helping the poor, visiting the sick, caring for and protecting the children and others in need.”

We shout at the Easter vigil, “Alleluia, the Lord is risen; the Lord is risen indeed,” because the Jesus, who was radical, countercultural and risen, invites us to be the same. So, I ask you to experience this Easter as a time of promise and great expectation as we live into our resurrection and offer the following excerpt from the Franciscan Blessing.

May God bless you that you remember
we are all called
to continue Jesus’ redemptive work
of love, forgiveness and healing
in God’s place, in and through God’s name,
in God’s Spirit, continually creating
and breathing new life and grace
Into everything and everyone we touch.

During Holy week, consider one or all of the following:

¨ Be more kind to family and friends.

¨ Forgive - yourself and others.

¨ Work toward helping to shape this community, city, nation.

¨ Prepare for an amazing Easter!