March 23, 2008
Easter Day (Year A)
Children's sermon – 9:00 AM
Psalm 118:1-2.14-24; Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28:1-10
What is the favorite present you ever received?
One of my favorites is this bracelet, given to me by a friend at Christmas. It has all sorts of meaning for me that I won’t go into, but I really like it. So I wear it with these other bracelets, one a gift I bought for myself when I was really sad and lonely and the other a very special gift from my parents. Presents are like that, aren’t they? They have meaning, not so much for what they cost, but for how they answer a specific need at a specific time, or have special meaning attached to them, or because the person that gives you the gift means so much to you.
So this gift that we are going to open together, well, I don’t know who gave it to me, and I can’t imagine what is inside, can you? What do you think would be wonderful to have inside the box? What would be the perfect Easter present?
Well, let’s open it, shall we?
It’s empty. Oh, dear! Who would give me an empty present?
Imagine if you had gotten up this morning and your Easter basket looked like this one – empty! What’s wrong here?
What should be in here?
You know I have always wondered why we give eggs and candy out for Easter when the truth of the Easter story is about an empty tomb. Did you hear the story Maggie just read?
In it there are two women, both named Mary, both were very close friends of Jesus – they had supported his ministry, not only by providing meals for him and his friends, but also by supplying money so that Jesus could travel and teach and preach and heal, and didn’t have to work as a carpenter as his father had done and as it is reported, he also knew how to do. These two women loved Jesus; they loved spending time with him. They loved hanging out with him and his friends. They loved serving him and providing for him. Jesus had given them a whole new understanding of themselves and their value to God, to each other and to the wider community around them.
So when he was put to death by the Roman soldiers, they had been really, really sad.
There were certain rules about burying people in those days, and because Jesus had died on a Friday and it was Passover, a very important religious holiday to the Hebrew people, they had to wait until Sunday to really bury him. They had only had time to do the first part of the burial process on Friday before they had to go home and get ready for Passover, and they had to wait until Sunday to finish. So they got up bright and early, and they went very sadly to the tomb. And when they got to the place where they had left Jesus, the stone was rolled away and the little cave, or tomb, was empty.
Now just like us when we open an empty present, they wondered how can this be good?
They worried that someone had stolen the body. They didn’t think he could be alive because they knew – and I would guess you know – dead people don’t get up, unless they are on a soap opera, a movie or a cartoon.
But they had never seen a movie or a cartoon or a soap opera so they couldn’t even imagine how this could be. Can you?
Well, the tomb was empty. And for them it was a good thing. They just didn’t know it yet.
Can you imagine an empty present being good for you, like this one I have here! Well, the truth is, this one came to me several years ago, from someone – and I still can’t remember whom – with a note inside that said: “this box is not really empty. It is filled with hope.” In the same way the empty tomb was a promise from Jesus to all of us that God would always be with us and we would always be with God.
That is what Easter is all about, knowing that God will never leave us, not ever. And that we will always be with God. I think that is a pretty wonderful gift from God, don’t you?
And I also think it’s really nice when sometimes boxes aren’t empty, when they do have ____ or ____ or even diamonds, or other gems! And I also think its really wonderful that on Easter we celebrate the rich abundance of God’s gifts to us by finding eggs and having Easter Baskets that overflow with good things, don’t you?
So there is a basket hidden behind the altar for you this morning, one basket for all to share, full of candy. Can someone go and get it?
So let’s share the candy remembering that sometimes EMPTY is better! But right now it’s great to have the candy and the hope of Easter!
Amen.
The Rev. Dr. Gale Davis Morris
Church of the Good Shepherd