Do Not Be Afraid! By Rev. Sharon MacArthur For Berkeley Chinese Community Church April 16, 2017 Easter Sunday (for All Church Biilingual Worship: translation by Ms. Vivian Yee) Matthew 28:1-10 28 1After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2And 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. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he* lay. 7Then 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. 8So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them and said, Greetings! And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me. **************************** Don t you just love the Easter Story?!?! A wonderful, surprising miracle! We need something like this after a tough week! Some of us were right here at our Good Friday candlelight service. We heard the story of the last days and moments of Jesus life. - We were with Jesus praying in the garden; - we were with Jesus when the angry crowd yelled Crucify Him! - we were with him hanging on the cross that he carried through Jerusalem; - we were with him when the soldier offered the sour wine as he was close to death. - We experienced it all - and then we to hear that Jesus lives again! How is that possible? Maybe that s why this amazing, miraculous Easter story is THE story loved by so many! There are more people in the pews on Easter Sunday than any other Sunday that s true for churches everywhere! We come to hear this story every year Do Not Be Afraid for BCCC by Rev. Sharon MacArthur 041617 Page 1
Last year we explored the message in the naming the women in the Easter Story. We remembered that it was a patriarchal society no wonder the women are nameless! - the Samaritan woman at the well who Jesus asked for a drink of water - the Canaanite woman who said even dogs eat crumbs from the master s table - the alleged prostitute that Jesus defends from being stoned to death - more women unnamed! Unrecognized! unappreciated! But the Easter story names the woman!!! No matter what version of the first Easter morning we read, the women are named! - Mark names three women: Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Salome. - Luke names Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James; - John names Mary Magdalene; - And today, Matthew names Mary Magdalene and the other Mary; The Easter story places in the starring roles people who usually go unnamed, unrecognized and unappreciated in the Bible. What is that about? You know, the Bible is full of stories with messages about doing justice and loving mercy and walking humbly with God, We have lots of stories about loving God totally and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves! BUT this story the Easter story this is the story where we get to see who those messages are emphasizing - the marginalized those at the fringes of society. And back then the marginalized were the women. So, It s a great thing that the marginalized are recognized, right? We should rejoice, right? BUT! (There is always a BUT ) Did you hear these words? Do Not be afraid! I had always thought that the women were trembling and really scared I had always thought that s why the Angel said to them, Do Not Be Afraid! I d always thought that the Angel was trying to calm the scared women. This year I thought about Jesus and how he came into the world to turn it upside down. All of a sudden I thought, Upside down! Reverse psychology! And I was reminded of my kids my own and the ones I ve been blessed to teach I remembered what happens when we tell a child Don t do something! Do Not Be Afraid for BCCC by Rev. Sharon MacArthur 041617 Page 2
They are tempted to do it, right?! This year I wondered, What if the Mary and the other Mary were not really afraid and the Angel s words Do not be afraid gave them the idea of being afraid? So I re-read Matthew s verses. - No where does this passage say specifically that the WOMEN were afraid! No where! - Matthew says Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb and There was an earthquake! - An angel came down from Heaven & rolled back the stone - He frightened the GUARDS - THEY were the ones who were shaking the Guards! - Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were not described as fearful or shaking! - AND yet they were the ones the Angel told, Do Not Be Afraid! - What if the Angel was really telling them - in a reverse psychology kind of way: Listen - you should be afraid the world is about to change into something you are not going to recognize fasten your safety belt! THEN the women left the tomb. NOW we are told they left with FEAR and joy! Why fear? - Maybe because they knew the Jesus who rose from the grave was the one who healed people - Maybe they knew that Jesus was the one who taught the people a new vision - a new vision of God A God who demanded justice for the poor - who demanded war no more. - who got himself executed as a threat to the Roman Empire - with his vision of an alternative kingdom of compassion, justice, and peace. The women were afraid because they suddenly realized what Jesus resurrection meant. It meant Jesus really was the one - Jesus was really the one to show God in a way that would change everything that would demand nothing less than transformation of their lives and of their world That means they couldn t go on living as before. Do Not Be Afraid for BCCC by Rev. Sharon MacArthur 041617 Page 3
They were getting used to living in the Roman kingdom - they had developed coping mechanisms! BUT NOW they had to live their lives as if they were in the Kingdom of God. It was a life that denies the claims of the world and its kingdoms. It was a life that demands showing life the way God intends it to be and not the way it is. THAT is scary! This was Resurrection not just of Jesus but for the women too a new life! Robin Meyers book, The Underground Church suggests that we should not be saying Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Instead we should be saying Oh No! He s Back! So maybe Mary Magdalene and the other Mary knew this they ran from that tomb with joy yes! but also with fear! They knew that there is more to Christ s resurrection than meets the eye! And That s why they were afraid. They knew that Christ s resurrection meant everything was upside down now. - Death had become life. - Death had lost its sting, and now they had no more excuses. - Now all the reasons they could give for not following Jesus into the transformed life of the Kingdom of God seemed inadequate. - Now they knew what they had to do. - They had to live a different life. - They had to care for the poor. - They had to feed the hungry - They had to refuse to worship the Roman Emperor. - Their men had to refuse to serve in the Roman army, or in any army. - They had to proclaim Jesus Christ is Lord! - and when they did that, they were also proclaiming And Caesar isn t the Lord! - they knew Caesar wasn t going to like that, - they knew Caesar killed people he didn t like. - You better believe that there was plenty of reason for the women to be afraid. But the power of the story doesn t end there the power continues because the story is not finished: - There are still Caesars in the world; - There are still the poor to care for; - there are still the hungry to feed. Do Not Be Afraid for BCCC by Rev. Sharon MacArthur 041617 Page 4
So, Easter people, you know what we are called to do, right? WE are called to continue the greatest story ever told every day. - No matter how hopeless things might seem - no matter how cruel people might seem - no matter how many times you ve seen the greater good compromised - no matter what we & our families or the world around us are going through you me we all of us are the hands and the feet of the resurrected Christ in this world and we have a story to continue to tell and to live Otherwise the story just sits in a tomb. The world has a story of war and violence, a story of greed and competition, a story of grudges and resentments but we ve got this story the Easter Story a story of new life and hope! The world tells a story of people who withhold justice, kindness, generosity and fairness from those who differ from them because of their religion or skin color or nationality or political views or who they love but we ve got this story the Easter Story! We need to make it known! The world seems to only know stories that end with death but we ve got this story the Easter Story. Come, let share this story let us live this story so that God s beloved community is ever closer! Fasten your safety belts - Do not be afraid! Amen! Do Not Be Afraid for BCCC by Rev. Sharon MacArthur 041617 Page 5