Easter A + 4.12.2020

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Melissa Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
(John 20:1-18; Genesis 1:1-2; 26-2:4a; Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21)
Today we are with Mary at the tomb. It is very early. Sandaled feet walking over stony ground. So cold out, wrapping the cloak closer. But we have a duty to care for him, and more than that a love that bids us serve. We approach the tomb; it is empty. We feel shock, maybe a bit disturbed. Where have they taken him? Then later Jesus comes and… joy!
Now we are with Peter and another disciple, hurrying to the tomb. Could this be true? It is still dark. The times are still dark. The tomb is empty. What could this mean? Does it mean he has risen?! The disciples hurry back, scared and amazed and full of inklings of joy.
On this Easter morning, we awake to find a world that is still dark as the tomb. And yet Christ’s Easter light has broken through before, and we trust that it is doing so again. Soon we will see resurrection. Soon we will see new life.
On Easter day in 251 Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria said that despite being in the middle of an epidemic, that “far from being a time of distress, it [was] a time of unimaginable joy!” [1] But how? How can a time of disease and death be a time of joy? I think some of the reason is that as Christians we know that though we fear death and separation, we know it is not the end of the story. These roots go all the way back to that first Easter morning.
The disciples would have gathered that Easter morning to tell stories of the risen Lord. And they would have necessarily gone back to the scriptures that they knew, some of which appear in our Easter Vigil service. These are the stories of our salvation history, and they empower us to serve others in need and to remember that death is not the end of the story. So let us turn to two of them and let us begin to tell the stories of where we are beginning to see Christ risen again this year even as we hope for more resurrection signs in coming months:
Read from Genesis 1:1-2; 1:26-2:4a (account of creation).
And reflect: Where have you seen God’s creation and creative power in the past weeks? (time for journaling or discussion)
(some examples: the many mask makers working diligently from home, creative worship and entertainment/communication mediums and getting to see “live music” from musicians’ homes)
(as people share, invite the response: Alleluia! Christ is Risen)
Read from Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 (account of deliverance of Israelites from Egypt)
And reflect: When has God brought you through something that seemed impossible? (time for journaling or discussion)
(examples:… For another: the COVID-19 patient with lupus who pulled through and credits her faith (VC Star 4/11/20; Much smaller obstacle but I first struggled with driving due to anxiety with the test but after lots of practice God helped me pass the test – others?)
(as people share, invite the response: Alleluia! Christ is Risen)
To close, let me quote our Bishop John Harvey Taylor’s Triduum address, reflecting on all that churches have given up to shelter in place and on the hopeful news of lives saved due to all the shelter in place actions and the sacrifices entailed – both the big sacrifices of medical, grocery and agricultural workers and the smaller but still real sacrifices of those sheltering at home:
“My siblings in Christ, this might not be the year to overdo the teaching not to rush too quickly to Easter. Because by giving it all up, my siblings in Christ, you have already emptied tombs. You have helped save your neighbor’s lives.”[2]
And so it is. The tombs are emptied. Christ has broken every chain! We are raised again with Christ.
We mourn with those who mourn, but we proclaim today our Easter joy: Christ is Risen! Alleluia! We will get through this and have new and renewed life, very soon.

[1]Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity (Princeton: Princeton UP, 1996), 81-82.

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