Finding God in the Most Unexpected Place of All

Lawrence Althouse, a retired United Methodist pastor, tells a story about when he almost missed an Easter service:

“Many years ago, when I was working in a suburban New York church, I was asked to take part in an Easter sunrise pageant held at the Bronx River Parkway. At 5:15 a.m. I was zipping down the parkway. But within moments, the lights of a police car pulled me over. I was in the costume of an angel – complete with wings and halo. When the officer walked toward me and looked in the window, I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head. He regained his composure and asked, “Do you have any idea how fast you were going?” I told him I didn’t, but I really had to hurry because, ‘I’ve got to get to the resurrection on time.’ The officer stared at me, his face clouded over, and he blurted out: ‘Go! Just go!’ And I did.”

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Easter Sunday – April 5, 2015
Mark 16:1-8, Finding God in the Most Unexpected Place of All
Pastor Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church

During the last month and a half in worship we’ve been talking about Finding God in Unexpected Places, especially in challenging and difficult circumstances when God might feel distant or absent. C.S. Lewis said, “When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place.” That’s what we remember today.

Easter Sunday is about Finding God in the Most Unexpected Place of All which is at a tomb, in a cemetery, in the midst of grief.

Listen to Mark 16:1-8, “When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

As I read these familiar words in the last couple weeks I was struck by the repetition of the phrase, “the tomb.” The women went to the tomb, they’re concerned about moving the stone blocking the entrance to the tomb, they entered the tomb, and they fled from the tomb. Let’s look at these four scenes a little more closely.

The women went to the tomb for the purpose of anointing the body of Jesus. Jesus had been placed in the tomb in kind of a rush job just before the Sabbath began on Friday evening. Jesus’ body lay in the tomb on Saturday as his followers rested on the Sabbath and then early when the sun had risen on Sunday the women went to the tomb. Many of us have done this; we’ve gone back to the cemetery later in the day or a day or so after our loved one’s body or remains were buried. We go back for our own reasons. To make sure everything has been done properly, to make sure the grave looks neat, to leave flowers, to remember, tell stories, say a prayer, and perhaps to shed a few tears. The women going to the tomb that day were surely doing several of those things in addition to bringing spices to anoint Jesus’ body.

The women who come to the tomb in Mark 16 are grieving as some of us are today who have lost a loved one recently. Others of us may be remembering someone who died months or years ago, but we think of them on Easter. The women in the Gospel are in the shock that comes in the first days of grief because a person they love was violently killed. Jesus was a victim of torture and capital punishment at the hands of the government. Today across our nation and around the world – families of children, teenagers, and adults are mourning the loss of loved ones who died violently, including over one hundred Christians at Garissa University in Kenya who were murdered this week by Islamic terrorists. The women that first Easter morning can relate to those who are grieving such losses. They’re not expecting a resurrection –they went to the tomb bringing spices to anoint a dead body.

The second thing we hear about the tomb is “They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” They’re worrying about who will roll away the stone for them because the stone is too large for them to move on their own – they have a problem and they’re going to have to figure out a solution. This coming week, April 10-17, marks the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission which was to have been the third landing on the surface of the moon. As many of you know thanks to the movie Apollo 13, an explosion that happened changed everything and the mission became all about trying to get astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise home alive. There were many “stones that needed to be rolled away” for that to happen. This is a scene about one of them. (Note: We showed the clip about making an air filter from Apollo 13).

The women could’ve used the help of some NASA engineers to move the stone from the tomb, but when they arrive God had already taken care of it. Sometimes like the guys at mission control we have to figure things out for ourselves, but other times in life we spend many wasted hours worrying about things that never take place or that we never have to face because God has gone before us and cleared the path, made a way, or rolled away the stone. This is a lesson of Easter that’s often overlooked, but it’s very important to remember. Rather than worrying about how we will roll away stones that are large, heavy and seemingly immovable and getting all stressed out about it and putting pressure on ourselves to figure it out, we’re invited to learn from the women’s experience to trust God for our future.

The women went to the tomb, they’re concerned about moving the stone blocking the entrance to the tomb, thirdly, they entered the tomb. The women are shocked not only that the stone has been rolled away but also to discover a young man robed in white who tells them not to be alarmed. Yeah, right. How could they not be alarmed? Any of us would have been. I’m sure they were shaking in their sandals. Then the young man shares the amazing news about Jesus of Nazareth, “He has been raised; he is not here.” There’s something about Mark’s resurrection story that distinguishes it from our memories of Easter and from the other gospels. Someone is missing and it isn’t the Easter Bunny, it’s Jesus! In Matthew, Luke, and John, Jesus appears to the women or the other disciples to take away their fear and doubt and to give final instructions. But Mark ends literally almost in mid-sentence and there’s no appearance of the risen Jesus following the report of the young man that Jesus has been raised. (A good study Bible will make plain in its notes that Mark’s gospel ended at verse 8. The verses that come after are a later addition.) The women entered the tomb, but they don’t find Jesus there. The messenger told the women, “go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee, there you will see him, just as he told you.” The message for them and for us is this: Jesus goes before us, just as he told us. Jesus goes ahead and to see him we need to trust his word and keep following him forward in life. We can’t stay where we are and think we’ll remain close to Jesus because he keeps moving. In the command of the messenger lies the promise of forgiveness and hope.

The promise of forgiveness is that Jesus doesn’t give up on us when we fail. That’s why Peter is specifically mentioned. He was the leader among the disciples and the one who denied Jesus three times. Yet Jesus is looking forward to seeing him in Galilee as well. Peter will be forgiven. Forgiveness gives people second chances. Even when we have failed Jesus, he still goes on before us telling us what to do next on our journey of life and faith, if we’re ready to resume following him with all our heart. Part of the hope of Easter is a fresh start and renewed purpose for disciples who have denied and betrayed Jesus. We can betray our friend Jesus in many ways: when we give in to the pressures of temptations and trials, when we have spoken words or made decisions that contradict who God calls us to be; when we have forsaken our commitments, neglected the poor, ignored the lost, or failed to devote our time and resources to matters of eternal consequence.

Jesus knows how his disciples fail him then and now, yet he still goes before us, inviting us to meet him and to resume the journey together. The messenger knows who the women are looking for – they are looking for Jesus. Who are you looking for today? Where are you looking for answers to life’s most important questions? Many of us have questions about the meaning and purpose of life. We need to hear the Easter message that God can bring new life out of death, hope out of despair, joy out of sorrow, purpose out of a lack of direction.

Finally, the women fled the tomb. Verse 8 records their response to their experience, “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” God can use anybody – frightened women fleeing an empty tomb or even you and me. We can overcome our fear (as the women obviously did because we have their story) and act with compassion, faith, and courage. Courage is doing the right thing in spite of our fear.

We are blessed to know how the story ends for Jesus. He was raised from the dead. With Apollo 13 everyone at mission control did all they could to bring the astronauts home alive, but there was an excruciating time of waiting to see if the heat shield would protect them as they came back to earth. Would there only be silence? Would the command module be their tomb? (Note: we watched a second clip from Apollo 13)

Even though most of us know how the story ends in Apollo 13 we can feel the fear during the waiting and share in the joy when Jim Lovell speaks. The skill and dedication of hundreds of members of the “manned space flight team” enabled the astronauts to emerge alive from the command module. Most of us also know how the story ends on Easter, but there’s still joy in knowing Jesus is not dead, but alive and that eventually his disciples hear his voice and see him again. The Gospel of Mark ends like an interactive, unfinished story and we’re invited to write the next chapter. The story that is not yet written is, “How will it end for us and for others God wants us to tell the good news?”

A Sunday School teacher was testing the children in her class to see if they understood the concept of getting to heaven. She asked them, “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven?” “No!” the children answered. “If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?” Again, the answer was, “No!” Now she was smiling. Hey, they’re getting it, she thought! “Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my husband, would that get me into Heaven?” she asked. Again, they all answered, “No!” She was bursting with pride for them. “Well,” she continued, “how can I get into Heaven?” A five-year-old boy shouted out, “You gotta be dead.”

Believing in God and putting our faith and trust in Jesus, not in ourselves, is the path to heaven, but being a Christian is not just about getting into heaven when we’re dead. It’s about living Jesus’ way here and now. Once we begin following Jesus, we become like the members of mission control – our task is to help others find their way home to life and a future and we’ve got to come through and do our part so there can be more celebrations in heaven like there was at mission control when astronaut Jim Lovell said, “It’s good to see you.”

Prayer: Mighty God, we thank you that the resurrection of Jesus gives us new life & renewed hope. Help us to live as new people in pursuit of the way of Christ. Grant us wisdom to know what we must do, the will to want to do it, the courage to undertake it, the perseverance to continue to do it, & the strength to complete it as long as we live.

Blessing: Risen Christ, help us to meet you as we go forward from this time of worship.

Revive our silent hope. Stir our dormant dreams. Raise up our neglected gratitude.

Entice our tired enthusiasm. Give life to our faltering relationships.

Roll back the stone of our indifference. Unwrap the deadness in our spiritual lives.

Risen Jesus, Send us onward as disciples of your unwavering love, messengers of your unlimited joy, and tellers of your story of amazing grace. Amen

 

Questions for Discussion or Reflection

Have you ever had the experience of being surprised that God seemed present when you least expected it? What happened?

 

What is the most unexpected place, circumstance or time in which you’ve encountered God in your life? What was taking place?

 

Notice the repetition of the phrase, “the tomb” in Mark 16:1-8. In what ways is the seeming finality of death a challenge to faith, believing, and hope?

 

The women fled the tomb in terror and amazement, but something happened after that so that they shared their experience with others. Why is it important for us to share our faith experience with other people? What is lost if we don’t? What would have been lost if the women hadn’t told their story?

 

How does Jesus’ resurrection help us to overcome our fear even of death?

 

What difference does Easter make in your life?