April 20, 2014
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.
Have you ever wondered just how long will a Twinkie last? Contrary to the myth that they will last forever, a Twinkie has a life expectancy of just 25 days.
Have ever wondered if it’s “duct tape” or “duck tape?” Even though the tape is commonly used on ducts, the original name is “duck tape.” It was developed during World War II for soldiers to use to waterproof their ammo cans. Soldiers called it “duck tape” because it forced moisture to flee “like water off a duck’s back.”
Have you ever wondered why you can only have 3.4 ounces of liquid in your carry-on? Officials have done tests and determined that more than 3.4 ounces of liquid explosives can critically damage a plane. Maybe we should have no liquids at all!
Twinkies, duck tape, and liquid explosives are all big questions! Aren’t you glad you came to church today? If you woke up on Easter morning and said I hope the preacher will help answer some of my most pressing questions today. Well, aren’t you glad you came?
But then, last fall, an even bigger question was raised: Can Google solve the problem of death? Time will tell because the Internet giant is launching a venture to extend the human life span. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. Google is already in the business of making driverless cars and providing Internet access with Google Class. Now they are launching a new company called Calico, which will focus on health and aging. Larry Page, the CEO of Google says, “We should shoot for the things that are really, really important, so 10 or 20 years from now we have those things done.” Google wants to go ahead of all of its competitors.
Things like solving death. So why is Google spending untold amounts on a project that flies in the face of the basic fact of the human condition, the existential certainty of aging and death? The answer: Because no one else is doing it.
No one, that is, except for Jesus. And here’s the answer to the big question that you came to church with: Jesus not only solves the death problem. He solves the life problem too! He conquers death and gives us victory in life.
Resurrection of Jesus
From our text today, Matthew tells us that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary go to see the tomb of Jesus. The Saturday Sabbath day of rest is over, and it is dawn on Sunday morning, the first day of the week. The women had watched Jesus die on the cross, so they expected to see nothing but a tomb containing a corpse.
After all, no one, to their knowledge, had solved death.
But suddenly there’s this huge earthquake. An angel of the Lord descends from heaven, rolls back the stone of the tomb and sits on it. His appearance is like lightning and his clothes white as snow. More surprising than Google Glass computers or driverless cars, this angel is absolutely stunning. In fact, he so shocks the guards at the tomb that they shake and become like dead men.
The angel then anticipates what the women are wondering. He gives them an answer to the biggest question of all time: Where is Jesus?”
Don’t we wonder the very same thing in the days after a loved one has died? Where is my wife after her long and painful bout with cancer? Where is my husband after the shocking heart attack that took his life? Where is my brother who was killed by a drunk driver; my sister who died unexpectedly on the operating table? Where are the teenagers going to visit colleges but died on the highway after a UPS truck hit their bus? Where are the children of Sandy Hook Elementary and the men and women at Ft. Hood? Where are the Korean high school students—are they still in the ferry? Where are those thousands who gave their lives in the wars that we have waged?
“Do not be afraid,” says the angel to the women; “I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised.”
The women wonder: Where is Jesus? The angel answers: He is not here.
And why not? He has been raised.
The angel provides the answer to our biggest question. Following the loss of loved ones, he tells us that they are not trapped in graves; they have been raised. On Easter morning, we discover that the solution to death is not found in a new technology. Instead, it is discovered in an empty tomb.
It is the resurrection solution to our biggest question.
Jesus knew that it was coming, which is why he told his disciples that he would be “mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day…raised” (Mt. 20:19). And then, to demonstrate that the resurrection is not just wishful thinking, the angel invites the women to come and see the place where Jesus lay.
The tomb is empty. He is not here.
Going Ahead
But this is not a complete answer to the question, “Where is Jesus?” After all, we would not be satisfied by simply discovering that a loved one’s body is no longer in his or her grave. As some have said, what if someone stole his body to create this fantastic story of resurrection? Emptiness can only tell us so much.
A much more important question is: “Where is he now?” In other words, Jesus not only answers the death question, but answers the life question as well. And to answer that question, the angel says to the women, “Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’”
Jesus is always going ahead of us, always going forward. The women are tasked with telling the disciples that Jesus is ahead of them. This is the Jesus that is given the title Emmanuel, God with us, at his birth (Mt. 1:23) and this is the Jesus who then promises to be “with you always” to the end of the age (Mt. 28:20). The question of death is resolved and the question of life is engaged: Jesus is God with us in life, death…and life.
The women believe what the angel says, so they leave the tomb quickly with fear and great joy. They run to tell the disciples and suddenly Jesus meets them on the road. Just as the angel predicted, he’s ahead of them…always ahead of them. Jesus greets them, they worship him, and then he says to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Jesus goes ahead and sends them on a mission, into the future that God has in store for them.
So often, when a loved one dies, we focus on the past. We remember the good times, we struggle with our regrets, and wish that we could have handled certain situations differently. But with the resurrection solution, the focus is always forward, always toward everlasting life.
And in a strange sort of way, this is Google’s philosophy as well. The company is always looking forward, trying to make the world not just a little better, but a lot better.
Looking Ahead
The resurrection gives us a better future, both in this life and the next.
First, the resurrection promises us that Jesus will meet us in the mission of the church when we follow his guidance and do his work in the world. Just three chapters earlier in Matthew, Jesus said, “Come…inherit the kingdom prepared for you…for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me” (25:34-36).
When we care for the least of the brothers and sisters of Jesus, we are caring for him. Jesus meets us in this world whenever we follow his guidance and do his work. Our own lives are improved when we look beyond ourselves to the needs of others.
Second, the resurrection also gives us a future in Christ’s heavenly kingdom. When Jesus encounters the women on the road, he demonstrates that life does not end at the tomb, but it continues with joy and clarity and restored relationships. He greets them joyfully, tells them not to be afraid and lets them touch his feet to prove that he is not a ghost. Jesus clarifies their mission with the command to “go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee.” He promises to meet the disciples there, and to restore the relationships that had been broken when “all the disciples deserted and fled” (26:56).
The words of Jesus set the stage of heaven, a place of joy and clarity and restored relationships. In heaven, our tears will be replaced by laughter. Our confusion will be clarified. Our shattered relationships will be healed by forgiveness and reconciliation.
There’s a reason why you are here on Easter Sunday. Perhaps you came searching for answers that you haven’t been able to find elsewhere. Maybe you are trying to answer big questions like “Can Google solve death?”
You may be like the chief priests who were cynical and non-believers going so far as to bribe the guards to tell a lie that someone came in the night and stole Jesus’ body. You remain having doubts.
But let me tell you that the resurrection is unknowable in the way we like to know things. As children of the Enlightenment, we like to know for certain the who-what-when-where-how that comprises truth. But the only way to believe is to “go ahead and look forward” to what may be truth.
Isn’t that the only way life really is? You won’t understand marriage until you have been married for a while—maybe not even then. You are not going to know what it’s like to have a baby until you have one. You don’t really know what a job or a profession is like until you’ve been working in it for a while. You won’t know the loving support of Christian fellowship until you are facing trouble in life. Nothing in life is obvious immediately. It all grows on us.
You won’t know what it’s like to be a follower of Jesus until you begin to “go ahead and look forward” to believe that Jesus is risen. Just as Jesus went ahead to Galilee to meet his brothers, you too need to go ahead and believe with the promise that Jesus will meet you there.
Easter is a day of big questions and even bigger answers. Where is Jesus? Where is he now? What is the future going to look like?
The experiences of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary teach us that the dead will not be trapped in tombs, but instead they will be raised. We now know that Jesus goes ahead of us; that resurrection life answers not only our questions about death, but our questions about life. Through the resurrection of Jesus, we are given the promise of a marvelous future, both in this life and the next.
In the 1970 movie, Little Big Man, the phrase, “This is a good day to die,” is woven into several scenes. In the last scene, an aged and noble chief Old Lodge Skins says, “This is a good day to die.” He goes to the burial grounds, lies down and closes his eyes to exit life with quiet grandeur.
The scene is solemn, quiet, reverent…but then nothing happens. Finally, it begins to rain, and the grandeur of the moment passes. Old Lodge Skins opens his eyes, sighs and says, “Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn’t.” He then goes to eat dinner with his friend Jack.
Every day is a “good day to die” in the Lord because Christ is risen. But every day is also a good day to live! Jesus goes ahead of us—through death and for life. Let us follow him. In fact, he’s gone ahead into the world bringing peace, love, and justice so that we may bring peace, love and justice into the world. He’s gone ahead into the world to feed the hungry, give thirst to the thirsty, give shelter to the homeless, unlock the doors to the prisoners so that we may do the same.
Google may extend the human life span, and advancements in that area would be a tremendous accomplishment. But only Jesus who has gone ahead can solve death and offer abundant—and eternal life to come!
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, we expected death to have the last word. Death seems so powerful, so invincible. Yet you, who so often surprised us with your word and deeds, saved the greatest surprise for last. You succeeded where all of us shall fail; you defeated death, triumphed over sin, and won for us a great victory. You have gone ahead so that we may follow you today and into eternity. Hallelujah! Amen!