Words from Pastor's Desk
Rev. Mike Cole
Easter Day
March 30, 1997
Mark 16:1-8
"The Difference Easter Makes"
Once upon a time a man owned a tiny store on the growing edge of a large city. At first he had it made. But then the inevitable happened. An enormous supermarket was built on his right side, covering half a block. Then a gigantic discount store was built on his left side. Between the 2 stores, a person could buy just about anything they needed, so his business dropped off until he had an idea that saved his business. He took most of his savings, went to the finest sign company in town and had them make a magnificent, multi-colored, neon-lighted sign that was erected right over his little store. That simple sign brought in so many customers that his store could hardly contain them. What did the sign say? It read: "MAIN ENTRANCE HERE" The man turned apparent defeat into victory. That's what Easter is all about - God turned the apparent defeat of Good Friday into the victory of Easter. No adversary or adversity is too great if Christ is risen. A deathly pall must have hung over the disciples that first Easter morning. Mark tells us that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb before dawn to anoint the body - to bring back honor to Jesus' name, following his hurried burial on Friday. Apparently they couldn't sleep, and who could blame them. They (and not the male disciples) had seen their Lord crucified on Friday. Along with him, their hopes and dreams had been crucified. They were dead and buried. Sunday was an awful day - it was one of those days when nothing went right. We have all known those kinds of days when glasses of milk seem to topple over on their own, toast gets burned, cups leap from our hands and shatter on the floor, and normally placid parents become irascible. John Bridges had one of those days which the Associated Press reported some fifteen years ago in a reprint of his request for sick leave. "When I arrived at the bldg to fix it, I found that the rains had dislodged a large # of tiles from the roof. So I rigged up a bean with a pulley at the top of the bldg and hoisted up a couple barrels full of tile. When I finished fixing the roof, there were a lot of tiles left over. I hoisted the barrel back up again and secured the line at the bottom & then went up and filled the barrel with the extra tiles. Then I went back down to the bottom of the bldg and cast off the line. Unfortunately, the barrel of tiles was heavier than I was, and before I knew what was happening, the barrel started down, jerking me off the ground. I decided to hang on and halfway up I met the barrel coming down and received a severe blow on the shoulder. I then continued to the top banging my head against the beam and getting my fingers jammed in the pulley. When the barrel hit the ground, it burst its bottom, allowing all the tiles to spill out. I was now heavier than the barrel and I started down again at a high rate of speed. Halfway down I met the barrel coming up and received severe injuries to my shin. When I hit the ground I landed on the tile, getting several painful cuts from the sharp edges. At this point I must have lost my presence of mind because I let go the line. The barrel came down giving me another heavy blow on the head and putting me in the hospital. I respectfully request sick leave." Those women on their way to the tomb were under the impression that it was going to be one of "those" days. But nothing was as they had expected. They had worried about going to Jerusalem (a hostile environment), but Jesus pushed ahead. They had worried about keeping the Passover Seder Feast, but Jesus went ahead with the arrangements and gave us the Lord's Supper. They worried about getting out of Jerusalem alive, but Jesus was willing to die so that they could. They worried about how to roll away the stone. But God was there first. As Fred Beck said, "The stone at the tomb was a pebble to the Rock of Ages inside." When we were kids we learned pretty early on to say, "Me first" in order to get the best seat, biggest piece, or most colorful selection. We also learn pretty early on that there are some situation in which you don't want to go first. "You go ahead," was the favored line to avoid the last helping of brussels sprouts, to test the temperature of the lake water, or let your lab partner make the first incision on the frog. We said, "You go ahead," because we didn't want to look foolish, take a risk, suffer pain, show our fear, or experience the unknown. When someone goes ahead of us, we feel safer. On Easter, part of the joy, wonder and exultation we feel comes from knowing that Jesus has gone ahead of us. When we take an honest look at our shortcomings and look ahead to the finality of death and judgment, we are really glad to sidle up to Jesus and say, "You go ahead." The amazing thing is that he did, in a "Me first" sort of way, practically pushing himself to the head of the line, through the Jerusalem gates, into the fracas at the temple, and onto the cross at Calvary. Jesus willingly went ahead of us to experience the suffering and death that are supposed to be a part of our turn. Today we exalt in watching Jesus "go ahead" of us as God snatches victory from defeat. And the "going ahead" didn't stop there. The angelic messenger from God tells the women: "Go tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee;" Even after the resurrection, Jesus "goes ahead" of the disciples and us. This is the difference Easter makes - it reveals a God who goes ahead of us every day of our lives. God has always been a "go ahead God." On Easter we celebrate the greatest "go ahead" move God ever made on our behalf. If God goes ahead of us into pain, suffering and death, then how can we doubt that God will be there ahead of us wherever life may take us? That's the difference Easter makes. He will go ahead of us into a new school or a new career. He will go ahead of us into a new relationship or the ending of one. He will go ahead of us into disease and death. He will go ahead of us into whatever circumstances we face that are frightening and risky. That's the difference Easter makes. This is not just another pleasant Spring day. This is not just a special day to get dressed in our Easter finery. This is the day to rejoice in the opportunities we are given because our God goes ahead of us. This is THE DAY to do something different with our lives and make a difference in the world. That's the difference Easter makes! In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The Charge: Let us go out into the world rejoicing in the difference Easter makes.
