EASTER SUNRISE MEDITATION
Rev. Karen Pidcock-Lester
First Presbyterian Church, Pottstown, Pa.
Easter 2009
John 19: 38-42
John 20:1-18
Well, after it was all finished,
after Jesus had spoken his final words and breathed his last and given up his spirit,
Joseph of Arimathea removed Jesus’ body from the cross.
One can only imagine what that was like, prying out the nails, lowering the dead weight of Jesus’ body to the ground. Joseph had help, we are told. Nicodemus was there at the end.
Nicodemus brought the spices – a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds – enough spices to bury a king. John tells us the two men wrapped the body in linen, and in between the folds, they scattered liberally the regal fragrances… then these pallbearers carried Jesus’ body to the tomb, and laid it on a burial shelf. They tucked Jesus’ body away and sealed up the cave with a stone.
Just as someone would have to gather up Jesus’ personal effects from the authorities– his sandals, a walking stick, perhaps… prayer tassels…whatever was in his pockets, or his bag-- the odd shell collected along the shores of Galilee, the shiny pebble that caught his eye on the dusty roads of Palestine…perhaps there was a note from a friend—someone would have to gather up his things and tuck them away.
Most likely it was Mary, or Mary Magdalene, who tucked away the remnants of the years. And all his loved ones would preserve the memories of the days they had with him – the afternoons on the hillside, the nights around the fire, the journeys, the adventures, the meals, the miracles…
It was all in the past, now, what they had shared with him. And so they wrapped up and tucked away their love, as they wrapped up and tucked away his body …sealingit away in memory, where no one could disturb it now.
The poet writes,
He’s gone,” says Joseph and, with Pilate’s leave
Eases the nails and lowers him from the Tree,
Wraps him in reverent and tender thoughts
And lays him in the cave called memory.
(W.H. Vanstone, “Joseph of Arimathea’s Easter” from Fare-well in Christ)
This is the way it is when we lose a loved one, is it not? We bury their body, and we gather up their things – clean out the closet, clear off the dresser, wrap up the odd treasure, the curious coin, the pressed flower, the greeting card, the fishing rod,
the worn Bible…we gather up their things along with our memories…
And we tuck them away. We seal the past inthe cave called memory where it is safe, and where we’ll have it forever.
But…
The seal has been broken!
Early on the first day of the week…
The tomb is empty! And Christ is risen!
The love they laid to rest had burst out from the grave!
God did not want Jesus to be only a memory –
God wanted Jesus to be Master, and friend, forever.
God did not want Jesus to be tucked away and sealed up in the past,
God wanted Jesus to be fully alive and with us, without end!
God wanted to destroy the boundary between heaven and earth,
God wanted to tear down the wall between mortal life and God’s eternal life – and so He did!
Death has been swallowed up in victory!
Christ is risen!
“He cannot rest content to be your past ,”
the poet continues,
“So he has risen to be your future too!”
Now, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus,
Mary and Mary Magdalene and all Jesus’ dear ones
could look not only backwards to what they had known with Jesus –
they could also look forward to what would be with him. Jesus’ loved ones could go on experiencing the joys of deepening friendship with him…
Now, since God has raised Jesus from the dead, there would be no end to this fellowship between Christand his disciples.
Then, or now.
God was not content for Jesus to be our past, so God raised Jesus to be our future too.
There is no end to our fellowship and friendship with Christ. It can go on and on, forever. We can look forward to future meetings and adventures with him, to future consolations and conversations, to more insight and further understanding as we keep company with him…He will live forever…and since he has removed the boundary between mortal life and God’s life, we can live with him forever too.
Listen! I tell you a mystery! …We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…says Paul…
And here’s the rest of the good news: Christ has given us a future not only with him, but also with all those whom we have loved, and lost, who have died in Christ…
All those whom we have tucked away in the cave called memory, sealed up in the past.
Think of someone you have loved who has died in Christ, someone whom you have wrapped up and tucked away, and sealed in a cave of memory…
Because Christ is risen, you have a future with Christ, and with all who live in him – Dave, you have a future with your dad…Molly and Elizabeth, you have a future with granddad… Dick, you have a future with Joan… Doreen, you have a future with your mom…
We don’t have to look only backwards; we can also look forward to future fellowship with past loves.
Christ was not content to be our past,
so he has risen to give us a future too!
Love has not been wrapped up and sealed away:
Love has burst the walls of the tomb!
And so we Christians can stand in a burial garden and sing: “O death, where is thy victory?
Where, o death, is thy sting?”
Those who live in the Lord never say goodbye for the last time.
Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!