St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church of Watertown

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

Easter Sunday, April 20, 2003 Mark 16:1-8

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that that stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled form the tomb. They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid.

People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

On the edge of Cairo, Egypt there is a place where for a few dollars they will load you onto a camel and give you a wobbly ride up a sandy hillside to the pyramids. Once you get to the pyramids you can actually go inside—if you aren’t bothered by claustrophobia. There are little chicken ladders—broad boards with little strips of wood nailed to them. You climb down down down these old wooden ladders down a narrow shaft of stone—to small creamy stone colored rooms. My brother laid down—his arms folded on his chest—and we took his picture! There can be no doubt—the pyramids are the most expensive tombs ever built. In downtown Cairo you can see what was hidden in the pyramids—the art and artifacts that thieves didn’t break in and steal. There is the sarcophagus of young Pharaoh Tutankamen—covered with gold and glass and precious gems. There are little toys made of solid gold. There are boats for going down a river—food for the Pharaoh and his family and all his slaves. After a while it seems almost gaudy—all this conspicuous consumption. One cannot help but remember when Jesus said, “What is a man profited if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul?” The pyramids are surely the most elaborate tombs—so huge they can actually be seen through the windows of the space shuttle. But they are not the most important tombs by a long shot. The most important tomb was quite small—not far from a stony hill shaped like a skull. That tomb was in a small garden. It was a tomb prepared for a rich man. A tomb only borrowed for the weekend by the Carpenter from Nazareth. Joseph’s tomb was only borrowed—because the Son of Man who died on Friday would be alive on Sunday morning—just as he had promised! This last stop of Jesus’ passion is the most important. Today we stop at

The Empty Tomb: A Place of Life

1. Jesus’ rising from the dead changes everything

2. Jesus’ rising from the dead drives out my fears

After the Sabbath at dawn on the first day of the week… It was early in the morning—the sun barely up—when a hand full of women started out for Jesus’ tomb. I would bet their hair was a mess—their heads ached from worry and lack of sleep—their eyes red—their noses running—their cheeks streaked with tears that kept on coming. Very early on the morning—their first chance to go to Jesus’ tomb—they thought to finish the job of putting spices on the dead body of their Teacher, their Lord, their best friend. They were sad and discouraged—expecting only the worst. Who will roll the stone away? How would they even be able to get into the tomb—what with the huge stone that had sealed it shut? They were discouraged. They were depressed. Do you know how that feels? It feels like you are falling—falling down this deep dark black bottomless pit—deeper and deeper and deeper you go—with no end in sight. With nothing to look forward to except that horrible back breaking pain when you finally hit the bottom! It does no good to say, “Hey! Perk up! Put on a happy face! Cheer up! Everything is coming up roses!” What does help? The powerful Gospel promises of God. What helps is the good news of hope and perseverance all through God’s Word! If the truth be told just about everyone is discouraged or tired or frustrated sometime. People often ask—where should I read in the Bible for encouragement? The answer is—almost anywhere will help. You can read the Psalms. I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD—the Great I AM—the Holy One of Israel—the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep…The LORD will keep you from all harm—the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore!” Psalm 121 In the sermon on the grassy hillside Jesus said—“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7,8 What Jesus asks—Jesus enables. What Jesus tells us to do—Jesus equips us to do! The night he was betrayed Jesus told his disciples “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. I my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” And again Jesus said. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:1-4 and 18

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.” I read in the Watertown Daily Times the other day about a guy named Harlan. Harlan was convicted some 8 years ago—of kidnapping a lady—doing unspeakable things to her—then murdering her. When another lady tried to stop him—Harlan shot her and left her paralyzed for the rest of her life. Harlan was convicted in a court of law and sentenced to death for his horrible crimes. Harlan has not been put to death. In fact 8 years later—Harlan is going back to court—hoping to have his death sentence overturned—because it seems—some of the jurors actually read their Bibles! Now I don’t know. Maybe—just maybe someone in a position of earthly authority might decide Harlan will not be executed for his crimes. But Harlan will die—some day he will die—just like you and I will die—unless Judgment Day comes first. And those who reject God’s Word—and try and use it as an excuse to escape earthly judgment—will face eternal judgment. We don’t need to fear earthly judgment—and we don’t need to fear eternal judgment—because Jesus paid for all our crimes—all our sins—all our mistakes!

“Don’t be alarmed…you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.” Easter is a matter of life and death—eternal life and eternal death. I am always surprised—if you watch the news or read the papers—all the different ways that people die. There was a little toddler—a little person whose life was still measured on months. This little person was on their grandmother’s lap—having a snack of crackers and soda. The grandma had some salted in the shell peanuts, too. Well—she was trying to make sure this little person didn’t spill her soda—when the little guy popped a salted in the shell peanut in his mouth and it got stuck in his airway! The grandma called 911 and the paramedics were there in 3 minutes! How fast is that! In 3 minutes the best earthly help possible was right there. But it wasn’t enough! Oh, they say there is danger—from peanuts, from hotdogs, from carrots—from little pieces of apples. There is danger from carpet tacks—from the corners of furniture when you are just learning how to walk. When I was little I fell down hard cement steps into the basement. I fell down a forever flight of steps at my grandma’s—running down them too fast—so fast—my feet couldn’t keep up! How we die doesn’t really matter! A father and child were swept away by a flash flood on vacation in Hawaii! How we die doesn’t matter. The way Jesus died does. Jesus died lifted up on a tree. Jesus was pierced—but not one of his bones were broken. Jesus died the way His Father had planned—so that he might be alive again on Easter morning. And because Jesus lived and died and lives—we too will live—forever safe in Heaven!

Don’t be alarmed…He has risen! Jesus has risen from the dead. That changes everything! A couple of days ago—when we had one of those flash snow storms—when you woke up and there was about 3 inches of snow and sleet and ice—real cold and sort of fastened to the road and parking lots I went to a nursing home. People did kind of poor jobs parking—cause you couldn’t really see where the lines were—but one person did a really poor job. Oh, they were between the lines on the sides—they just pulled in so far—you couldn’t park behind them and you couldn’t park ahead of them. They had effectively used two parking spaces. Somebody really bothered by that got out a scrap of paper and wrote them a note—and put it under their wiper. It said, “Shame on you for parking so poorly!” Shame on you! My mom used to say that to me when I was little and would do sins. Shame on you! When I would know better and do something bad anyway! Shame on me. Do we understand and appreciate that? Shame on me—guilt and blame—embarrassment and painful responsibility on me! Oh, it is tempting to want to be the traffic police—as one comedian once suggested—we all be armed with little suction cup guns—so that whenever we see a bad driver we just shoot a suction cup on their fender. And all the police have to do—is write tickets for anyone with three or more darts on their fenders! When what I need to remember is shame on me! Shame on me for my sins and my mistakes—what I—with my voice that carries—said and what I should have said and didn’t. Shame on me for the thoughts that flash through my mind—like the little ribbons of news at the bottom of the CNN screen. Shame on me for my sins—but don’t be alarmed. Those sins are forgiven—the oldest sins and the newest sins are all forgiven—mine and yours!

Don’t be alarmed…He has risen! Nancy and I went out for supper last Sunday night. The restaurant was pretty crowded—right next to us—a young man and his girlfriend. She asked him something about going to church that morning and he said he didn’t go to church much. Oh, once in a while he went—because it made his grandma happy! Well, there is nothing wrong with pleasing your grandma. There is nothing wrong with tradition. There is nothing wrong with a warm and wonderful feeling you get in Church on Christmas and Easter. But the fact is—we need God’s Word all the time—in this world of sin. Sin is behind wars and the possibility of more wars! Sin is behind yet another deadly disease that is like a plague. Sin is behind the violence of movies and video games. Sin is behind our divorces and unhappy marriages. Sin is behind all the death destruction. We all need to come to God’s House—again and again and again—next week and the week after that—to grow in our faith!

Don’t be alarmed…He has risen! There is a company called the Whitelight Casket Company in Dallas, TX. They offer an alternative to caskets you usually see—caskets made of oak or walnut or maple or pine—or caskets made of shiny metal painted rich brown or bronze or light blue. The Whitelight Casket Company makes caskets that more reflect a person’s life. For people who like golf they have the “Fairway to Heaven”—which is a painting that reminds you of that sweet moment when you sink a long putt. That might be ok. But wouldn’t it be more fun to make the casket look like a giant golf bag? They have a Nascar casket for people who like auto racing—complete with a checkered flag. They even have one that looks like a parcel for the UPS guy—for express deliver to Heaven! There are caskets that proclaim the different diseases we are fighting or the sports teams we like. There is even an Irish casket—with an Irish flag and lots of shamrocks and the words—may you be in Heaven two hours before the devil knows you are dead. What the devil knows and makes him tremble—is the fact that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. Jesus died for my sins and yours. He washed them all away. And so what happens to our earthly remains doesn’t really matter. All that really matters—all that really count—is Jesus’ grave is empty—and one day ours will be too. Amen!