Why do you look for the living among the dead?

Sermon for Easter Vigil 2016

Preached at St. Paul’s

Luke 24:1-12

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”  That is the phrase that leapt of the page when I tonight’s gospel.  Why do you look for the living among the dead?  Tonight we remembered through our readings of the Hebrew Scripture God’s promise throughout the ages that God is not dead – no matter what anyone may tell you!  God’s pursuit for goodness, redemption and love for God’s creation is relentless.  The unfortunate part is that we don’t always see it. 

With all of the violence and hatred loose in our world it is easy to miss God.  It is easy to miss the beauty and love of creation and only see the destruction and cruelty of man.  It is easy in our world of instant news updates to focus on the terror of bombings by radical extremists throughout the world.  When the latest attacks in Brussels saturated our news it was easy to be led into the darkness.  To only see the death – and not the amazing things that happen to bring life to the world.  To only see the dead and not the living.

This past week we walked with Jesus towards death – just as the disciples in our Gospel reading walked with Jesus to Crucifixion.  We remembered on Thursday the commandment that to follow the Christ means to be servants and not masters.  We washed feet in remembrance of Jesus washing the Disciples feet and we heard the great commandment to Love one another as Christ Loves Us… and yet the very next moment in our liturgical drama of Holy week is death – or so it seems.  Man hung the Love that came to walk among us on a cross.

And this morning this church was empty.  The black draped cross was still at the foot of the bare altar.  All of the sacrament had been consumed.  There was an emptiness.  Yet in that empty space we remembered that Christ was busy during the three days that his earthly body lay in the tomb.  We remembered his decent to the dead.  The Harrowing of hell where Christ offered life to those who said no to life – and as tradition has it pulled up the first people – Adam and Eve – and raised them to new life.

And tonight we look at a church resplendent in her Easter finery – and she does “clean up” rather nicely.  We lit the new fire and heard proclaimed the Light of Christ.  But sometimes we don’t see that light.  We only see the tomb.  We peek into the party and wonder what they did with the body.  We still see, taste and feel death.  We can’t imagine anything else. 

(pause)

In January I had the great privilege and gift to join others on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  A place filled with conflicting messages. A place filled with ancient holy sites and also with mankind walling of other men for what they call safety - but is really more punitive.  A place where Bethlehem is in occupied territory and where our bus had to go through armed checkpoints to get to our hotel.  In the place where Jesus was born there is occupation while a stone throws away is the City of Jerusalem on the hill.  A city of holy sites for Christians, Jews and Muslims.  On one side of the wall electricity and water could cease at any moment while on the other side of the wall there is no fear of the sudden loss of power and water for no apparent reason. 

It is in this place I walked the stations of the cross and stood in the place where traditions says we Crucified Christ.  Where we hung Love on the cross.  And there too in the church of the Holy Sepulcher is the site of the empty tomb.  After walking the Stations of the Cross – starting at the archeological site of gabatha – the pavement and ending at Calgary I too could only bring myself to tentatively look into the empty tomb.  I could not shake off the sites and sounds of the Via Delarosa – the way of the cross.

Early the next morning – like the disciples in our story I went back to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and there when the Organ sprang to life for a service at the empty tomb I could hear the angel say “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”  I stayed and explored the church and the old city of Jerusalem in a new light.  Christ was not on the Cross.  Christ was not in the Tomb.  Christ was in the people I saw on the streets.  Christ was in the children of the Crèche Project in Bethlehem where the Christian church provides shelter to rape victims so that they can safely have their child.  A place where people literally dig abandoned newborns out of dumpsters and provide a space of love and safety.  

I see the living Christ here at St. Paul’s when we make and give out sack lunches to the hungry.  I see the living Christ when we invite people into the church who are afraid of the church – afraid that they might not be pure enough or clean enough, or who have been injured by the church – when we invite them into the love of Christ I see that indeed the tomb is empty.  When I see people listening to those who have no one to listen to them I see that indeed the tomb is empty because Christ is alive. 

I experienced the living Christ and the empty tomb last Thursday at St. Matthew’s.  The church is hosting winter sanctuary this month and 80 to 100 homeless people are sleeping in the sanctuary every night– including tonight.  On Thursday we offered our guests an opportunity to have their feet washed – get a fresh pair of Sock (Thank you all who provided socks) and to attend an Agape Meal that included a Eucharist. While I was doing the last minute things before the dinner – being the good acolyte and lighting the candles - I ran across a young gentleman just standing in the back of the church.  When I stopped to talk to him he said to me “You know. For some reason that I cannot explain I cried the first time I came into this space.”  I mentioned that I found various places to be thin places – where the earth we inhabit and the place of God are close together. And for me that often happens in churches where prayer has soaked into the walls for many years.   He nodded and with tear-filled eyes continued there in prayer until he joined us in our agape meal.

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”  The living Christ was standing before me.  A homeless man who needs to find shelter.  A homeless man sleeping in a sanctuary.  There stood the Christ.  Crying for the dream that Love will break out in our world where hatred, sexism and xenophobia and all the other “isms” seem to be in charge.  That is why we are here this night.  To remember the empty tomb.  To remember that God will continue to pursue us in his dream of love all the way to death and beyond. 

Tonight we are reminded that in the places where we see death that God sees life.  Our God loves his creation so much that again and again God comes to us.  God offers us ways to repent form death and turn to life and Love.  There is nothing that can stop the pursuit of the Love of God.  Not even hanging that Love on the cross.  The tomb cannot contain that Love.  The dream of God is that one day we too will see that love.  That all of mankind will come to see that no matter how many times we try to kill love and lock it away in the tomb it will not stay in the tomb.  Love will continue over and over and over  again to get up out of the tomb and walk in the garden.

Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here.  He is risen.”

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!