March 31, 2013 Cycle C
They had been working for days and then God the Father tired of hearing them bicker said, “I am going to set up a test that will run two hours and I will judge who does the better job.”
Then Jesus and satan sat down at the keyboards and typed away. They worked Word, they excelled at Excel, they pounded out Power Point Reports, they sent out emails with complicated attachments, and they downloaded. They researched on the Web, they used Photoshop, but ten minutes before their time was up lightening suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder clapped, the rain poured and of course all the electricity went off.
Satan at that point stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld, and Jesus just sighed. Finally the electricity flickered back on and each of them restarted their computers. Satan started searching frantically and screamed, “It’s all gone. It’s gone. I lost everything when the power went off.”
Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started making pdf files of the past two hours of diligent work. Satan observed this and became enraged. “Wait. He cheated. How did he do it?”
God just shrugged and said, “Satan, you of all fallen angels should know: Jesus saves.”
In all the bad news and failures of the world comes Jesus. Jesus saves! Jesus has Risen! He is truly Risen Alleluia! And we gather today to share in His Resurrection. That is what we believe.
So we come today to recognize that every year, we might just hear the Easter Gospel a bit differently. It all depends on where we have been this past year, since last Easter. And where we have been in our own journeys to Jerusalem and Calvary. It all makes an affect on what we hear and how we hear it. The word spoken by the angel resonates with us with different meanings as we move and change through our lives.
If you are celebrating the safe return of a lost son or daughter, the empty tomb is the assurance of God’s protection during the darkest nights and along the most dangerous roads.
If you are here today and are mourning the loss of a parent, spouse, or a child, or a dear friend, the angel’s question about “seeking the living among the dead” may be the first light of hope to illuminate your broken heart: namely the promise of the Risen Christ that has lovingly taken your loved one to the dwelling place of His Heavenly Father.
If you lost your job, or if you and your family are struggling financially, the moving of the immoveable rock is a sign of God’s grace enabling you to realize what is truly dear and important to you. For in the sight of the stone rolled away, God extends His hand to lift you out of your despair and to help you realize the abilities and gifts you have to live your life with meaning and purpose.
The compassionate women who came to anoint the body of the beloved Rabbi, who first heard the Good News and then became the messengers of the Good News, are God’s exultation of a loving humility and selfless generosity.
And in the midst of all of us is the Risen Jesus Himself, who takes up our crosses with us, who opens up the tombs that entrap us, who walks among us in every expression of compassion, in every act of generosity, in every experience of reconciliation and peace.
For you see every Easter a different piece, or player of the Easter story, can speak to our hearts and spirits. It can allay our fears and anxieties depending on the circumstances and situations that we are dealing with. Our individual hearts respond to specific elements of the story. Our spirits rise to the many implications of what has taken place that Sunday morning. But if we are willing to hear it, and if we are willing to see God speak to us in the words of the angel, in the open grave, in the simple kindness of those who carry the myrrh.
Whatever road you are traveling this Easter morning, whatever burial clothes you are struggling to free yourself from, and whatever cross you are struggling to carry, I pray today that you find reason to hope. May that hope free you to recreate your life in Easter joy, peace, and amazement.
Amen. Amen. Msgr. Tom Adrians, Pastor Christ the King