Easter: Facts and Fiction 3
The Faith of Resurrection
Matthew 28:11-15
I was watching the late news the other night, and like any normal man, I was flipping between two stations every time a commercial came on. It happened that both news stations were covering the same story but each of them told it a bit differently. The story was about a house fire and what happened to the people inside the building. One station interviewed the neighbors who reported what they heard and saw. The other station began with some information about the prevalence of house fires this time of year and then switched over to the hospital emergency room where a reporter gave the latest information on the injuries.
Having worked as a chaplain with the police department on crime scenes, I know how many different ways that people can look at the same scene and see things differently. I also know how quickly rumors can start flying. The job of the police and the job of reporters are to get to the truth and dispel the rumors. That is also the job of Christians when reading the Bible, when sharing our faith experience and when we live our lives with integrity.
Our scripture story tonight was about one of the rumor mills that developed after the crucifixion of Jesus. The authorities wanted to manage some crowd control so they spread a rumor that someone came to the tomb and stole Jesus’ body. This was a believable rumor evidently because it persisted for years after the event. The gospel of Matthew wasn’t written for about fifty years after the time of Jesus so it was a rumor with which they were still familiar. It was the kind of rumor people wanted to believe. It made sense. If you want to explain away the resurrection of Jesus, this was the perfect way to do it.
What we learn from the stories about Easter tells us a great deal about the spiritual process of the people telling the stories and early communities who heard them. We tend to blend all the stories together and make it seamless but if we really look at each writer’s version on their own we sometimes learn things that help us see ourselves in the story. Mary Magdalene wants to hold on to Jesus. Thomas won’t believe until he sees physical proof. The disciples on the road to Emmaus grasp things when Jesus breaks bread at the table.
We sometimes think of faith as something which we believe and certainly affirmations of our faith are important. But on a deeper level – and perhaps more primal – faith is simply being open to the Presence of God. A moment ago we sang, “In you, in you I find my peace. In you, in you I find my strength.” Peace, strength and hope are all found in that deeper awareness of the Presence of God. At this level it is not something you know, it is something you experience. It is not something you lock into concrete, it is something in which you participate. It becomes part of who you are – part of the story of your life.
To help you learn more about the different experiences that Easter played in people’s lives from the Bible, I have an Easter Quiz for you to take home. This is based on something Mike Haase used to use with a youth group in his former church. Bring it back with you next Wednesday. The instructions say place an x next to the statement you believe is biblically correct. All of them are correct. What I want you to do is locate which book of the newer testament each response is from. (Hint: not all answers are from the gospels).
Have fun with this. There will be prizes next Wednesday night for the person or persons who get the most correct answers. The main thing I want you to notice is that they didn’t all experience resurrection in the same way. They didn’t all talk about it in the same way. But for all of them, the power of Easter changed them when they looked through eyes of faith.
Resurrection faith at its most basic is the ability to look at any situation, any problem, any obstacle and know in your heart that since God is present something good can come out of it. It may not be what I expect. It may not be how I want it to turn out. It may have some painful moments. Still with eyes of faith no problem is too massive, no journey must be taken alone, God’s grace sustains us, hope gives us courage to move forward and the Spirit goes with us every moment of our way.