Will Our Dry Bones Come Alive This Easter?
Good Morning Friends,
A few churches teach that Easter is a pagan holiday. It, like Christmas falls in close proximity to a key point in the solar year. Christmas is honored as that time when Jesus the Light of the World came to the world. It approximates the time of the winter solstice and Easter typically falls close to the vernal equinox…springtime…a time of rebirth. At one point they were times of rowdy parties. So, it is understandable that some might frown on the idea of celebrating the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday morning. And this is especially so if you thought you were not celebrating Jesus, but unwittingly worshipping an ancient pagan deity. The issue is the word “Easter.” It is claimed to be derived from the name of a Germanic goddess of spring, Eastre. We have all sorts of words such as the days of the week and months that are based on ancient mythological and pagan gods. So that may well be true. There is a cultural subversion of our Biblical faith. However another explanation is that Easter derives from an Old German root, ostern, for dawn or east, which is the time and place of the rising sun. This is an equally good reason why a day commemorating Jesus’ resurrection would have begun to be called “Easter.” You see, Jesus is thought to have risen around dawn or sunrise on resurrection Sunday. So, it seems plausible to refer to the Dawn of the Rising Son…Sun as Jesus. Regardless, of what we individually think, the reality is that today families of Christians celebrate in private prayer and in online communities in commemoration of Jesus’ resurrection. In addition, we still have the familiar sights of the Easter bunny and Easter eggs serving as a reminder of the holiday’s very ancient origins outside of the Christian tradition. To the eyes of many, Christians believe in fairytales, but we know better. So, this day we step into the valley and call out to dry bones to come alive… for people to be saved. We pray people breathe the breath of God as the breath of God is breathed into them for the healing of the nations. Friends, many of us have the advantage where it is normal to believe in the Resurrection. We grew up and our parents believed it, we have no compelling reason to change even if our senses tell us that when people die, they stay dead. But we still believe for it is unimaginable for us to believe otherwise. And so, we pray for others in need of revival this day, hoping and asking God, Will Our Dry Bones Come Alive This Easter?
Scripture: Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”
Matthew 27:50-54 (NRSV)
The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NRSV)
While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 24:36-49 (NRSV)
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Matthew 28:1-10 (NRSV)
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
1 Corinthians 15:17 (NRSV)
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-4 (NRSV)
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
John 20:1-9 (NRSV)
Message: Over the last couple of weeks I have been binge watching superhero movies on Netflix and yes some of them have Easter eggs hidden for us to find. And it struck me that many of these films make liberal use of the Christian themes, of death and resurrection. These themes recur, but they also use themes from Greek and Roman mythology, Nordic mythology, as if they have equal cultural value. Some of them even include the concept of sacrifice so others might live. It is not surprising that a lot of people treat the story of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ as just one more myth. The real difference about Jesus and superheroes is that the resurrection of Christ is not something that happened in a fantasy story but an event in time, that broke into time and changed it. Action movies can take that theme too, but the power of the Spirit is missing. You see, when we Christians talk about the Resurrection, we are not just claiming Jesus’ soul went to heaven. Or that Jesus lives on in our heart. We are talking about a physical restoration that changes the physical world and the rules by which it is governed. Between John (most likely the other disciple), Peter, and Mary Magdalene— all of whom were at the empty tomb on that first Easter morning— only John seems to have had faith in the Physical Resurrection of Jesus. Everything Jesus had taught John about his death and resurrection seems to have come together in a flash of insight. And I think it is helpful for John that he was at the crucifixion. For we are to see the resurrection through the lens of cross. And if you are an intuitive thinker like John, you might understand how all this is connected. But I wonder if he had as much impact as Peter and Mary Magdalene. Yes, John seems to have had faith in the physical resurrection of Jesus but the impact on others came from those who had yet to grasp the meaning of the moment. John sees and believes even though he does not fully understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead. The others were slower to grasp what was going on in the spiritual battle for belief. So, it sounds a bit trite to say you cannot have Easter Sunday without Good Friday, even though it is true as far as it goes, and it would be just as valid to wear a little gold empty tomb around one’s neck, as a cross or a crucifix even though Jesus did not stay on the cross. Making perfect theological sense of this is not so simple. Yes, the empty tomb is a necessary condition for the Resurrection, but it is not sufficient. The other element is Jesus’ appearances to the Apostles. They needed to see in the flesh that he was alive again in his body, but in a transformed and glorified state. Even though the Apostles—even doubting Thomas—came to believe, it was not easy to convince others. And that may be why we have such a unique telling of the crucifixion narrative in Matthew. It seems out of the ordinary to have dead saints being raised to walk the streets of Jerusalem. That a power was released to tear the curtain of the Holy of Holies at Jesus’ death, and stop the sun from shining on a day it is astronomically impossible for an eclipse to occur should give us a clue. That a centurion overseeing Jesus’ crucifixion would call Jesus a hero is another clue to the power of that event on all of history.
And So, today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord…the things we see with reason and the things we see with faith. And the event in its retelling and experiencing is filled with meaning. The women are the first to the tomb. And this is important for we see them in the process of unpacking what they have experienced. And they are confused not because they are women but because they are experiencing something that they did not expect. Rather shockingly, the tomb is empty, an earthquake had rolled the gravestone away. So, they go and tell Peter and John what they have concluded has happened. Peter and John rush to see for themselves. But regardless of what they could believe at that moment, there is a deeper question about vision and faith we are to ponder today prompted by the events they confronted and the battle for our belief. For the final battle for our belief is being fought even now and Jesus the conquering hero is leading the angel armies in the charge. Friends, we usually think of the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday and not the death of Christ as the hope we have for our own resurrection. And for sure if Christ had not been raised, we would have no hope of being raised. But Matthew surprisingly puts the emphasis on the death of Jesus as opening the tombs and giving life to our mortal bodies. Now I have thought of our resurrection as a future event and one great harvest, but we have a foretaste of this in a way that is different but not contradictory. He says that when Jesus died, and before the resurrection of Jesus, tombs were opened, and bodies of saints were raised. Even though it sounds very strange, Matthew locates the raising of the bodies of the saints at the death of Jesus, and their coming out of the tombs and entering Jerusalem after the resurrection. It seems to me that Matthew is showing us the foundational and essential power of the death of Jesus as the cause of resurrection life in natural bodies. For sure the resurrection of Jesus is also necessary but as we contemplate what is to come, it may be wise on this Easter to appreciate the power of Christ’s death.
Pray we come alive in Christ. Pray we have eyes to see Jesus in those we consider the least of these. Pray our self-centeredness is crucified with Christ. Pray we believe in the transcendence of the resurrection. Pray we believe that Christ is alive right now. Pray we share what we believe in a way to make the greatest impact. Pray we remember Jesus. Pray Jesus remembers us. Pray we remember that we have been blessed despite our failings, for Christ has risen in us. Pray we experience the resurrection by facing the reality of death. Pray we serve a risen Savior. Pray we fight the good fight and keep the faith. Pray we are prepared for our own death. Pray not lift up false hope but lift up the power of the glorified Christ. Pray the stone rolls away from our eyes. Pray we believe in the resurrection of Jesus as part of the final resurrection of all his people.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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