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Easter Day, Year A, 2005
March 27, 2005
Christ Church, Covington
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary
Magdalene came to the tomb” (Jo. 20:1).
Michael Collins was one of the crew members on the Gemini 10, a space
craft that orbited the earth in 1966. On that mission, Collins took one of
the early space walks, and eventually orbited the earth’s moon on another
voyage, as a part of Apollo 11. Here’s Collins writing about his Gemini
mission:
In orbit, traveling three hundred miles a minute, dawn and dusk come with
a startling rapidity that compresses all the old familiar color changes
into a very dynamic minute or two. Sunrise is the more dramatic of the
two, as the eye which has become accustomed to darkness is forced into
blinking attention by the sudden stabbing light in the east: first golden,
the fiery orange, then incandescent white (Carrying the Fire, 1974, p.
205).
Of course, Collins was not the first person to observe this phenomenon,
but he was one of the first to write about it with some flare. Orbiting
475 miles above the surface of the earth, traveling at a great speed,
gives you quite a view and a unique perspective. Collins goes on to write
convincingly about how his experiences have changed the way he looks at
the earth and at human life itself.
Easter is a bit like this, centering around its own fantastic and unique
set of circumstances. If Collins’ perspective is unique, then so is the
Church’s perspective. What were the words Collins used to describe that
sunrise from orbit? “Startling”, “dynamic”, “sudden”, “dramatic”: all
might well apply here. There is a certain concentrated intensity in the
resurrection, a bright flash of light that dazzles and blinds. The
darkness is suddenly overtaken by a rapid explosion of color, and it is
impossible to see the world in the same way ever again.
So it is that Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb to complete Jesus’ burial.
She’s expecting death, not life. She’s there to place the period at the
end of Jesus’ story. What she does not know is that there are chapters yet
to be written, in Jesus’ life and in hers. What she discovers is
“startling”, “dynamic”, “sudden”, and “dramatic”. The stone is rolled
away. The tomb is empty. Jesus is alive, not dead. When he appears to her
in the garden, she cannot recognize him at first, because she is blinded
by the intensity and rapidity of events. But in the end, she can see the
dawn: the dawn of a new life and a new hope. Jesus is alive, not dead.
So what does that mean for us? Perhaps, like Mary Magdalene, we find
ourselves a bit disoriented. But perhaps, like Mary (and like Michael
Collins in his story of exploration and re-orientation), we ought to find
our perspective changed. We ought to find ourselves looking at the world
and our life from a new angle. What do we see before us? That power and
violence does not have the final word; that death is not the end; that
there is no situation in which there is no possibility of redemption and
new life. This is brilliant news, surprising and stunning and hard to
believe; hard to believe without seeing the dawn of the resurrection day.
So what does the dawning of this day uncover? Where does it find us? This
Easter Day reveals us, a group of folk as much in need of new life as any
people ever were. We’re in need of the Gospel message, the good news that
Jesus is risen from the dead. If you are stuck in the mud, unable to get
out or even sinking deeper, know there is a new day coming. If you’re not
sure about the way forward, know that God will make a way. If you’re
damaged by what you’ve suffered, look closely at the marks on Christ’s
body, and know that God can make you and yours whole and complete. If
there’s need for forgiveness, look at the One who heals all relationships.
This is the day that God has given you for all those things. You may not
believe they are possible, but they are. The resurrection of Jesus Christ
is like the unexpected sunrise that comes after the deep darkness. It is
“startling”, “dynamic”, “sudden”, and “dramatic”. It changes our
perspective. It changes us. It lifts us up and takes us to places we could
not have imagined before.
The Rev’d John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington.
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