Sermon for Easter Day - Luke 24:1-12

It seems to me that we have forgotten a few things over the last two years. For example, we’re a little rusty when it comes to making small talk in the grocery store. When someone you haven’t seen in a long time asks you how things have been, there are two options: you could either give a dissertation length answer, or you could just say fine. We’ve also forgotten how to do social gatherings. What used to come naturally takes more effort these days, and it’s all a bit awkward. All the extroverts I know have embraced their inner introvert. Scheduling time with friends and neighbors on the calendar can feel a little intrusive, even though we’ve missed them. It’s clear that the people who have fared the best in the pandemic are the gamers, headphones in place, happily chatting with each other over Discord from the comfort of their own rooms. It has been harder for the rest of us to stay connected. I was at a party recently, the first in a long time with a room full of people. Masks and social distancing were optional, and there was a lot to negotiate - am I standing too close for this person’s comfort level? Will that close talker notice if I keep backing away? You know how it is. It was wonderful to be together, but the whole thing felt about as natural and comfortable as a middle school dance. I’m confident that we’ll remember how to be social again, but we are definitely in an awkward phase. 

I suspect that there are other things that we’ve forgotten how to do, too. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but I’ve kind of forgotten how to do some stuff at church, like choreography. For the life of me, I can’t remember which side of the altar I’m supposed to go to after making the announcements, so I do it differently every week. That must be super fun for the other priests. Also, after a long hiatus, we’re trying to remember how to serve communion wine and do receptions again. This year, the staff had to dig pretty deep to remember how to do Holy Week and Easter services, since the last “normal” round was back in 2019. I will say, that after an online only Easter and then one with reservations and limited capacity, it sure is wonderful to see all of you here today and to connect online with those at home. We might not remember how to do everything exactly, but Easter joy is in the air. 

Maybe you’re trying to remember some things in your life these days, too, especially as we pick things back up. You might even be trying to remember some things about church, like what worshiping with other people feels like, or how to get back into the habit of going. No judgment, we’re all figuring this stuff out. And there’s a good chance that after so much disruption in the world and in our own routines, many of us are trying to remember what church means to us, and what place it will have in our lives going forward. 

After so much disruption, we are in good good company with the women at the tomb in Luke’s gospel. As soon as the Sabbath is over, they arrive with spices in hand to tend to the body of Jesus, and immediately they see that something isn’t right. The stone to the tomb’s entrance has been moved, and the body is gone. The women are not yet thinking resurrection, only that the body of their Lord is not there. Has it been stolen? Are they at the wrong tomb? As the Easter story begins to unfold, disruption on top of trauma and death are clouding the women’s sight. After the last two tumultuous years, I think we can understand their confusion, fatigue, and grief.

Luke tells us that two angels in dazzling clothes appear to talk to the women. It is always helpful when heavenly messengers arrive to explain what’s going on. ”Why do you look for the living among the dead?” they ask. “He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” It’s good to pause here and note that the risen Jesus has not yet appeared, as he does in other gospels. Nor do the angels tell the women what’s going to happen next, as they do elsewhere. Instead, the angels tell the women to look to the past to understand what’s happened, to remember what Jesus had told them. In Luke’s gospel, they will understand resurrection by looking back, by remembering (Bibleworm, 2021). 

Remember what he told you - that he would be crucified and rise from the dead - the heart of our Christian faith. But there is more for us to remember today, too, especially with all that we’ve forgotten lately. Remember what he told you. That our sins are forgiven. That we need to love one another as God loves us. That we ought to love our enemies, too. That we don’t need to worry about our lives. That swords should be beaten into plowshares. That we must always care for those in need. That God will seek out the lost, and love them. In fact, God especially loves a lost sheep. That it is God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom. That God loves this world and the people in it, including us. And that, in order to get the message through our hard heads, God revealed that love through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We have a big story to remember today.

The angels tell the women to remember all of this on Easter morning. Like the sunlight dawning at the empty tomb, the light of resurrection is dawning, too. As they remember Jesus’ words, they begin to understand. As they do, the women themselves are re-membered, put back together, their shattered hearts healed by God’s much bigger story. On this Easter Day, we too are re-membered to that story, re-connected to the good news of our salvation.

Easter connects us to God’s grand story, breathtaking in grace and cosmic in scope. But it’s also personal. There is another call to remember in Luke’s gospel, a few verses earlier. There was a criminal being crucified next to Jesus, on a cross for the wrongs he had done. He could see that Jesus next to him was innocent, that he was the savior. He said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Jesus re-membered him. In all of our weaknesses, in all the ways we fall short or go astray, in all of our forgetfulness, Jesus re-members us, too. Jesus puts us back together. None of us is outside the bounds of the re-membering work of Christ. 

So if you happen to be feeling disconnected these days, or a little awkward in community or like you can’t quite remember some important things, you’ve come to the right place. There are a couple of angels in dazzling clothes with a message for you. Remember what Jesus told you - that he would be crucified and on the third day rise again. Remember what else he told you. That no matter how much you have forgotten, or how much you’ve lost or how far you’ve wandered, God is re-membering you, piecing you back together and re-connecting us all to God’s much bigger story. And if we happen to forget some of that from time to time, not to worry. I trust that the angels will appear again to help us remember. Happy Easter.