After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 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. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
One year on an April Fools Day in Swift Current Saskatchewan, we found out Judy, our receptionist, had won $5000 from Tim Horton’s Roll up the Rim contest. On the morning of April Fools Day, Judy told us she had won $5000. At our staff meeting on April’s Fools Day, Judy told everyone that she won $5000. We were so happy for Judy, who is so honest and who is so trustworthy, that she won $5000 on April Fools Day that we were all simply stunned an hour later when she concluded our staff meeting with the words, ‘April Fools!’
Even though we were all aware that it was April Fools Day, even though we all joked about it being April Fools Day, even though we all had openly spoken about April Fools Day, we were all completely shocked when dear, honest, trustworthy Judy ended our staff meeting with the words ‘April Fools!’
It must have been the same for the disciples with Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection: even though they knew about resurrection, even though they all had discussions about the resurrection, even though Jesus repeatedly told them about His resurrection, they were all completely shocked when the angel met them with the words ‘He is risen’, the ladies (and later the other disciples) were so surprised. It would be the same effect as us hearing ‘April Fools!’ The ladies had gone to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ corpse as part of a burial ceremony. Even though Jesus’ followers should have known He would rise from the grave, they believed he was dead; just like we believed Judy had won $5000. April Fools! You thought He was dead but He has risen!
This is what is going on with the ladies in the text today and later with the other disciples still continuing in disbelief. In one account even after the others have realized that Jesus has actually risen from the dead just like He said He would, the disciple Thomas is so convinced that Jesus is dead that he only believes the truth when he sees and touches Jesus himself.
Now here we are today, two millennia later, in the conflicting moments of April Fools and Easter we have that very same decision to make and it is just important now as it ever was. Our very life depends upon it. Who is Jesus? What do we believe? Do we believe that Jesus is God’s own Son and that He rose from the grave? And if so what are we going to do about it?
---
[1]Based on the sermon by Captain Michael Ramsay, Matthew 27:11-54: April Fools!, Presented to the Swift Current Community at the Ecumenical Lenten Lunch, 10 April 2014, at Christ the Redeemer Roman Catholic Parish. On-line: 
Comments
Post a Comment