| April 19, 2009
You are welcome to reflect on this message
It’s been hard to hear the Easter story this year, with all of the stunning financial revelations and political turmoil of the past few months. Fraud is a word we hear a lot; along with bailouts, handouts, and giveaways. Ex-Gov. Blago, and poster boy Bernie Madoff. And CEO’s getting off. Insurance executives and bankers taking Vegas vacations on the taxpayer’s nickel. Some guy registered to vote 80 times for a pack of cigarettes. Steroids in sports. Elmer Gantry in religion. Fraud is everywhere.
Maybe fraud is not a word we associate with Easter. But there are always those around who want to keep Jesus in his place. It seems so out of place for one whose life was characterized by such amazing integrity and faithfulness to God and good will among the people. Why would anybody want to kill somebody like that, when there are plenty of others who deserve it more?
Jesus’ enemies suspected his friends might come and steal his body, so they had to ensure that the tomb was secure: “Or the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Two frauds: the first fraud is Christmas; and the second is Easter. None of Jesus’ opponents believed he was the Messiah. But they really, really were anxious about that “last resurrection fraud.” Which may be why Matthew deliberately embeds his account of Easter within the crude politics and blatant attempts by the church and state to make sure Jesus stays put. Passover was the time that a threat of an uprising was greatest. So Pilate raised the “national security warning” from orange to red. With pilgrims packing into town to celebrate the exodus ‑‑ all it would take is a tiny spark of political defiance to ignite a revolt against Rome.
That year Jerusalem had to deal with the Galilean, who came from a seed bed of Zionism. Pilate's wife warned him to beware of the whole bloody affair. And he tried his best to avoid a sectarian religious squabble. But how could he remain neutral when a riot is brewing, and he’s the one Caesar will hold responsible if the lid blows off? So he caved-in to the religious and political pressure, sealed his place in the Creed and handed over the prisoner they were so eager to be rid of. “One man for the many,” was how they justified it.
Then the Procurator ceremoniously washed his hands in an act of symbolic futility, hoping it would be the last he’d hear of the volatile Nazarene and his tiny band of Yankees from up north. Case closed! But it was far from over. The next day the religious leaders were back again asking for another favor, "We remember how that imposter said after three days he would rise again. So, give orders that his tomb be sealed and guarded, lest his followers come and steal the body. And the last fraud would be worse than the first. And if we play it safe, soon this charade will be over.”
I find it striking that Jesus’ enemies remembered his claim about the “Third Day” but his disciples forgot. Not that the anti’s really believed Jesus would rise from the dead. Rather they were apprehensive that his followers would concoct a fictitious resurrection tale and “the last fraud would be worse than the first.” But that's giving the disciples way too much credit. They’re too busy laying low, for fear of their lives to try to pull that one off. The instigators begged Pilate to make certain there’d be no resurrection scam, and to have a guard thrown in for good measure. Also they wanted the proper Roman seal stamped into wax at the entrance. The Emperor's insignia would officially make “the Third Day” illegal. As if Caesar's laws could capture the Creator of the universe! So the ever‑cautious politician, grants the request of the religious elite.
Matthew sets before us a clash of kingdoms, as he did in Chapter two, where Herod tried to waste the one the Wise Men called the new‑born "King of the Jews." Now at the end of the story, with the lifeless body of the "King of the Jews" laid in Joseph’s tomb, synagogue and senate conspire to keep him there. It was to be an insurance policy, that would certify the end of Jesus … just in case anybody tried any fast moves. Nobody questioned Jesus being dead. You’d think being dead ought to be secure enough. The Creed declares, he was "crucified, dead, buried...descended into hell." Sounds like a guarantee to me! Even for the disciples, it was over. So they scattered when he needed them most. Only the women stuck with him. God love ‘em ‑‑ the last at the cross, the first at the tomb. Where would we be without the ladies? But even they went there more out of grief than any hope that they’d see him alive. Nobody was expecting Easter! Even though his enemies feared a frame-up.
“On the first day of the week at sun-up, the Mary’s went to see the tomb." They came to the garden in funeral-mode and all heaven broke loose! The earth vomits and convulses, and the mighty stone that secured the tomb is flicked away by one whose appearance is like lightening! That’ll get your attention. The poor guards, stationed there to prevent a fraud had nothing but their pitiful little swords and spears. And behind the scenes, an unholy alliance of corrupt politics and fearful religion is rendered impotent in the face of the one who said, “Let there be light” on creation morning. And everything that seemed nailed‑down was coming loose. The guards were terrified and stunned, because they were way in over their heads and they knew it! Something big was up and they sensed they were on the wrong side of it.
To that point, every person who died, stayed dead. But the angel of the Lord doesn’t satisfy our curiosity or utter a single word about what it’s like to die and come back from the dead. Just "Don't be afraid." Don't be afraid to live. Don’t be afraid to die. It’s not the end. And don't be afraid of the earth‑shaking purposes of the living God. Just be glad you can be a part of it. That’s easier said than done when manipulators use the threat of death to get their way. Don't be alarmed...in an unscrupulous world that crucifies its Christ? And the vulnerability of trust? Everywhere we turn, there’s a fraud! How can we not be anxious? We could all stand a little more "security" in a threatening world where death is a gunshot away. Fear of losing our money, our life, our way of life, is what makes us easy prey to the arrogant politicians who would keep us under control by pork-promises of security they can’t provide.
So the first word from the messenger on Easter is an encouragement to the Marys, "Don’t be afraid; you seek Jesus who was crucified. He’s not here, for he’s risen, as he said. Come, see where they laid him. Then go and tell his disciples, 'He’s been raised from the dead and is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him." And they took off as Luke put it: “disbelieving for joy!" I’m not sure how you “disbelieve for joy,” but they did it: muscles taut, hearts pounding, adrenalin flowing, wondering what on earth is going on? Then suddenly they bump into Jesus himself! And I love what he said to them: "Hail!" "What’s up?" And they grab hold of his feet in reverence. Then, he too gets on this "Don't be afraid" kick.
Matthew’s take on Easter is so understated. There are no dramatic eye‑witness accounts of Jesus' leaving the tomb waving to the paparazzi cameras: “Howdy everybody! I’m baaaack!” There’s no mob like on Good Friday. The gospel accounts of the resurrection bear a surprising reticence, as in awe, they intentionally tone it down. Because something so unimaginable is beyond the power of human language to articulate. None of the gospels bother to offer a description or explanation. Because resurrection doesn’t fit into any of our categories of thought and experience. People just don’t die and come back alive.
So Pilate and those suspicious of a sting operation set a guard to secure the tomb as much as was humanly possible. But they didn’t know what they were up against. Nor did they give up without a fight. As soon as the women “go tell” the disciples about the empty tomb, the guards also "go tell" the chief priests. And they were not happy. It appeared as if their worst fears of that last fraud, in spite of their best efforts to prevent it ... had happened. Immediately they set in motion Plan B of the Easter cover‑up. Now all they could do was spin it. So they fashion a carefully worded "official version," and pay the soldiers well to see that they stick to the script. "Tell people his disciples came by night and stole him away while you were asleep." And they said, “We got your back.”
So! Now we see the real frauds. That’s the one thing they were good at. With a cover‑up set in place, and the hush money is paid, the Easter uprising is finally arrested. Or so they thought. But this time the helpless were powerful and the powerful were helpless! What they couldn’t affect was the changed lives of the disciples. People don’t sacrifice themselves for a lie they made-up! Cover‑ups have a way of coming uncovered, because God can’t be stopped by all the swords and crosses and grave stones in the world. No tomb is secure against the over-arching purposes of God. No brutal regime will stand when God declares its time is over. No religion can ritualize it into meaninglessness. No educational institution can intellectualize it away. Because he lives, we too can bask in the glorious grace of God, with a story to tell and work to do, and courage to do it.
Several of us made the trip last year up in the Galilee, where it all began, and where it began again. Full circle. You’re never the same after you’ve visited the Galilee, where Jesus preached the Beatitudes and commissioned the church to: Go and teach and baptize people from all nations. With no assurance; just a promise: “I will be with you always, even to the close of the age." That’s something we can bank on! Even in a fraudulent world, where our attempts to secure our lives with the material, only deepens our bondage, we have the first word of Easter: "Don't be afraid." Isn’t that all we need to hear?
Matthew insists that the resurrection of Jesus is more than just an assurance of life after death. It is God's decisive victory over every earthly power that would seek to imprison Christ in the past instead of following him into the future as the Lord over all of life. Easter gives us the spiritual confidence that belongs to the people of God, that Christ the Impostor, has been vindicated by resurrection. And the last fraud has become the champion of a lasting faith. And that last fraud...is better than the first!
Providence Prayers: 4/19/09
Center our lives in this worship, that we might carry your Spirit to those whose world is falling apart. Surrounded by the chaos of our time, we're grateful for all the clues that point to Thee: For modest victories over big sins; the wisdom of the scriptures to make us better; the desire to keep on keeping on. For our church, not yet without its spots and wrinkles: show us what's negotiable and what’s not; so that our worship won't be stripped of its transcendence, or the gospel reduced to simplistic principles, its witness be nothing more than a prayed‑over version of public relations techniques, an obsession with statistics, fearing more for its own reputation and security than following Jesus.
Grant us mastery over our moodiness, the ability to laugh even on bad days, the determination to trust in Thee when life makes no sense, the courage to resume living alone, when a loved one's no longer around, the grace to admit guilt and the humility to accept forgiveness. In the name of the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world and never leads astray, even our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of all life, who never runs out of life. Amen. Back |
