Readings
for Easter Day Year A:
Matthew 28:1-10
March 27, 2005
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
The angel said: "Do not be afraid…He has been raised…Go and tell…" [Mt. 28]
In 1858, the administration of the country of India was officially transferred to the British Crown. Out of a thirst for greed and power, the human rights of the people of India were violated and any movement toward national independence was suppressed. Out of this darkness, a light began to shine. Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu lawyer, almost single-handedly freed India without raising an army, without firing a gun, without taking a hostage, without ever holding political office. In striving for independence, Gandhi never lost sight of a higher goal for himself and his people: The quest for divine truth and justice, for human dignity and integrity, for the true knowledge of God.
Gandhi said: "We must be the change we wish to see." "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." "Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of humankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man." One year after India received its independence from Britain, Gandhi was killed by an assassin as he walked through a crowded garden in New Delhi to take evening prayers. But his light continues to shine in the hearts of the people of India. "Do not be afraid…He has been raised…Go and tell…"
During the decades of the 1950's and 1960's, Americans of African descent began to rise up in protest against their status as second class human beings. Out of this darkness, a light began to shine. Within a span of 13 years, a solitary man, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., did something that changed the way America viewed and treated its black citizens. Under a posture of nonviolent protest, King worked tirelessly for desegregation, voter registration, and the battle against poverty. He said: "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom." "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend." In 1964, the United States Congress finally passed a far-reaching civil rights bill. Four years later, as King offered his support to the underpaid sanitation workers in Memphis TN, he was shot in the neck by a rifle bullet. But his light continues to shine in the hearts of those who struggle for civil rights. "Do not be afraid…He has been raised…Go and tell…"
During the 20th century, El Salvador was ruled by a series of military dictatorships. Discontented with inequality, a poor economy, and repressive measures, the peasants of El Salvador finally raised their voices. This led to a civil war and the death of thousands and thousands of innocent people. Out of this darkness, a light began to shine. In 1977, Archbishop Romero's voice began to ring out over El Salvador for three years. He cried out against murder, torture, and exhorted his people to seek peace and forgiveness and to build a more just society. Romero said: "There is one rule by which to judge if God is near us or is far away…everyone concerned for the hungry, the naked, the poor, for those who have vanished in police custody, for the tortured, for prisoners, for all flesh that suffer, has God at hand."
In 1980, in the midst of a genocidal war, Archbishop Romero promised history that life, not death, would have the last word. He said: "I do not believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me, I will be resurrected in the Salvadoran people." Soon after this statement of faith, Romero was killed by a political sharpshooter as he was preparing to say mass. Twelve years later, the government of El Salvador signed a peace treaty ending a war that had claimed the lives of over 75,000 people. Romero's spirit of courage and hope lives on in the hearts of the Salvadoran people. "Do not be afraid…He has been raised…Go and tell…"
Human power is usually destructive- the sword, the bomb, the cross, the sophisticated missile. But God's might is the unstoppable power of Life. God's might is the power of resurrection. 2000 years ago, in a country occupied by Rome, a light began to shine in the darkness. Jesus of Nazareth emerged as a voice of hope, as the voice of God. He preached compassion for the poor, healing for the suffering, and inclusivity for the outcast. He envisioned a new-world order which he called the kingdom of God. In this new-world order, people would resist the destructive power of greed, self-centeredness, injustice, aggression, and fear. They would open themselves up to the transformative power of God's Spirit and experience a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. "Behold, I am making all things new." [Rev. 21]
But the world could not tolerate his life-giving words and actions. Evil could not tolerate the good; greed could not tolerate generosity; hatred could not tolerate compassion; the powerful could not tolerate equality; and the darkness could not tolerate the light. In a matter of hours, Jesus' life was snuffed out on a cross by the political machinery of his day. Before he died he said: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life." "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." "Do not be afraid…He has been raised…Go and tell…"
After his death on the cross, Jesus' closest disciples continued to experience his presence in a profound and powerful way. We call this experience, resurrection. This abiding presence drew his disciples closer together in a new community of solidarity. We called this new community, this new nucleus, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the body of Christ.
You are the body of Christ. You are the ones who are called to continue in the ongoing witness of truth, justice, peace, and compassion. You are the ones who must become God's microphone. You are the ones that must speak to power with courage. You are the ones who are called to spread the good news in Christ, by striving for peace and justice and the dignity of every human being.
The Spirit of Christ continues to live on in those who commit themselves to follow in his footsteps. So, "Do not be afraid…He has been raised…Go and tell…" Alleluia, Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed, alleluia!
| Updated 3/25/05 |
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