Easter Sunday

March 27, 2005

Matthew 18:1-10

(a homily incorporating the Children’s Message)

“All Cracked Up!”

     It’s good to have the children up for the Children’s Message, but today we’re going to do something a little different with this time.  We’re going to consider this message for all of God’s children - the children of God here, on the steps, and the children of God in the pews, too.

     In my paper bag today I have an egg, a honest-to-goodness real chicken’s egg.  We’ve all seen eggs like this at home and usually we see them used for cooking.  I really like omelets and that might be where this egg is heading!  But if this egg had stayed on the farm in a hen’s nest, what do you think would have become of it?  That’s right, it might have produced a baby chick!

      Have you ever wondered why eggs are such an important part of our Easter celebration?  They remind us of new life and Easter is all about new life.  We often see colored eggs at Easter time.  What do all the colors remind us of?  Rainbows?  Flowers?  We look forward to springtime and the spring rains that help flowers grow and bloom.  These things remind us of new life.

     I have colored eggs in my bag for you this morning and they are noisy eggs!  They rattle a lot, which means they have something inside, not a baby chick, but jellybeans!  What would Easter be without jellybeans in our Easter eggs?  And jellybeans come in different colors, so they can remind us of new life, too.

     We had a very long winter this year and we’re all ready for spring, for rain and flowers and jellybeans and new life!  When we look around at the world in winter, we don’t see flowers or leaves on trees, do we?  Everything looks pretty dead, doesn’t it?  Cold, bare, dead.

      But now spring is here (I know because my allergies are starting to act up)!  I also know because it’s getting a little warmer.  I haven’t seen any yet, but my daughter says there are crocus flowers blooming at her house, and that means there are others on the way. 

     As sure as there is winter there will also be spring.  As sure as there are times of death there will also be times of new life.  Good Friday reminded us that Jesus died on the cross, but Easter reminds us of new life because this is the day we remember that Jesus rose from the dead.

     Imagine that!…Jesus was dead, but now he is alive forever!  We don’t quite know how to explain this except that God wanted to show us that death isn’t the end.

     Do you think Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were surprised when they went to anoint the dead body of Jesus but found an empty grave instead?  You bet they were!  They went expecting cold, bare, death, but instead found life!  Jesus had risen from the dead!  They met an angel and then they met Jesus.  They fell down and worshipped him.

     Do you remember what Jesus said to them?  He said, “Greetings!” and then he told them not to be afraid and to go to the disciples and tell them to go to Galilee where he would meet them. 

     Considering the strange and wonderful things that were happening it’s no wonder the women were afraid.  There are times when we are afraid, too, unsure of what is going on or what we should do.  But Jesus told them not to be afraid because after all, he was there with them.  He had just conquered death.  Nothing could stand in the way of life and he shared this victory with them.  When we are afraid it’s good to remember this, it’s good to remember that when Jesus later met his disciples in Galilee, he promised them and all his followers that he would be with them always, to the end of time.  He is with us now.

     When a baby chick pecks its way into a new life, the shell cracks and the bird is set free, free to breathe and grow and stretch its wings and fly.  Easter cracks our shells so we can step into a new life, too.  Easter is freedom.  Easter is liberation.  We are promised that our sins are forgiven.  We are promised that since death couldn’t hold back Jesus, it won’t hold back those who believe in him, either.  This is new birth, new life, breaking free - liberation.  We don’t have to be afraid.

     Loretta Short is very near death right now (perhaps since I’ve typed this she has already passed away).  Just this past week, she discovered she is dying of cancer.  On Thursday, we had a long chat.  She is well aware of what is happening and she spoke to me with total confidence in her voice, unafraid.  She told me she was ready and that she was going to a better place, to be with the Lord.  When I visited her yesterday she could hardly speak, but I prayed with her and wished her well on her journey into life.  Loretta believes in the liberation that will come through death.  She trusts in the Good Shepherd who walks with her through the dark valley and will bring her to the victory banquet.  You can see Easter in her eyes.

     From something as simple as a child’s Easter egg to something as profound as the look of peace on a dying person’s face, the story of liberation is told anew.  We are all breaking free, you and I, in this life and into the next.  Breathe the new air. Spread your wings.  Christ has risen!