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The Sunday Of The Resurrection: Easter Day
Almighty God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by thy life-giving Spirit; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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The Sunday Of The Resurrection: Easter Day
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Scripture citation(s): Luke 24:13-35
A Sermon by
Fr. Austin
on
Luke 24:13-35
✛
The Resurrected Body: A Joyous Mystery
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Alleluia. Christ is risen.
The resurrection is a joyous mystery, and we need to hang on to both of those words. The joy is what hits us first. The priest who brought me into the Episcopal Church, Father Don Campbell of the Church of the Holy Faith in Santa Fe, put it vividly. The foundation of Christian faith, he said, is that Jesus Christ was “dead as a doornail on Friday and alive on Sunday!”
This joy is dramatically conveyed in Luke chapter 24. Two disciples on the road to Emmaus speak of all these things which had happened. They had taken Jesus to be a prophet mighty in deed and word, who was delivered by the authorities to be condemned to death, who was crucified, and as a result their hopes have been dashed; they had trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel; and although there have been reports of seeing him, they have not been able to verify them; the only verified thing is that the sepulchre was empty.
The two disciples speak these words in the presence of Jesus, a fellow-walker who has drawn up beside them. The drama is precisely in the point that they do not recognize Jesus. He instructs them how to interpret the Old Testament prophesies properly: that the Messiah had to suffer and die. And then a bit more drama: still not recognizing him, they draw nigh to their home, and Jesus makes as if he would go further, but they entreat him to stay. He turns into their home, and they have supper. Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. At that moment they recognize him. And even though at that same moment Jesus disappears from their sight, joy pours over them. He in whom they had placed all their hopes was indeed alive, was indeed able to walk with them, to teach them still, and to break bread with them. Joy, I say, floods their being, and they who earlier walked so slowly and sadly from Jerusalem, now retrace their steps with speed and lightness. They race back to the city to share their news: and there they are greeted with other news that the Lord is risen indeed.
Joy: the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the occasion for joy throughout the universe, joy for every man, woman, and child who has ever existed and who ever will exist. Joy: that Jesus has been raised from the dead changes everything. But what does it mean?
The mystery: Resurrection is not coming through a near-death experience. It is not even coming back to life following death. Lots of people have near-death experiences; they do not have a resurrection. And in miracles, a dead person can be brought back to life, as we are told happened with Lazarus. But all these people died again: Jesus, raised from the dead, will never die again; as Saint Paul puts it, death hath no more dominion over him.
So far, in the entire history of the cosmos, there has been only one case. Resurrection never happened before Jesus, and it hasn’t happened again since. And things which happen only once cannot be understood. For we lack any point of comparison, and it is impossible for there to be a control group for a resurrection experiment.
We can say this much, however. The resurrection body of Jesus is in some sense the same body that he had, while at the same time being dramatically transformed. Death hath no more dominion over him. That it was the same body is suggested by the empty tomb, and the glorious scars, and his ability to, as we say, take nourishment. On the other hand, he was not immediately recognized, and he seemed able to appear in a room without going through the door, and to move through distances in very short time.
We need to remember that the resurrection of Jesus is a joyful mystery lest we tame the resurrection and make it something less than what it is. And when we appreciate the mystery of it, we are brought to a mystery about ourselves. For it may well be that this joy, this mystery, is, please God, in our future. Someday, long after you have died, your body may be given back to you by God, and if that happens, it will be at once both the body you used to have and also splendidly transformed. If that comes to be, you will be radiant. We may not quite be able to tell at first that it is you. But it will be you, and it will be more wonderful and more joyous than anything you have ever imagined. The resurrection is mystery and joy, filling the earth and the heavens, ringing out from beyond the stars.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.
