May 10, 2026 Challengers to Jesus Matthew 22:15-46

Last Sunday we heard three parables from Jesus that challenged the religious authorities of his day. We remember that Jesus gave them in the temple compound during what we call Holy Week. Not surprisingly, the religious leaders were not happy about it. Today we read responses from several groups posing challenges to Jesus in return.

We’ve looked at these things in the past. There were a number of sects or divisions within Judaism at the time. Prominent among them, and those who appear in our gospel reading today, were:

-The Herodians; those who supported the leadership of the Herod family.

-Also, the Sadducees; who centered Jewish faith on Jerusalem and the temple system. The Sadducees felt that scripture was limited to the Torah, or the books that came from Moses.

-Perhaps in contrast to the Sadducees were the Pharisees. While the Pharisees did accept the centrality of the temple, they were the ones who had synagogues throughout the Roman empire. Teaching was of great importance to them. For them scripture was not just the Torah but the entirety of what call the Old Testament.

-Then in the midst of (and throughout all) of these groups were scribes, lawyers, and other leaders.

Each of these groups sought to undermine Jesus’ authority. They each did so from their own perspective, using their own tactics. Jesus, as we know, mastered them all. We’ve looked at all this in the past when we’ve read these texts. Today, however, I want to take a different approach. Even though these groups and issues are from almost 2000 years ago, we still find that many different groups want to undermine Jesus’ authority or discredit him.

You see, people don’t like Jesus; even today. Oh, most people wouldn’t say that outright. They may say that they like Jesus but they don’t like the religion of Christianity. They say that he was a great spiritual inspirer or maybe a moral teacher, but the religion that grew out of his teachings went wrong. In truth, people who say these things have never really read what Jesus actually taught and what he actually did. Somehow teachings like, “Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” And, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” And also, “Take up your cross and follow me,” all get forgotten.

So lets look at some perspectives today that seek to discredit Jesus. Perhaps the easiest is science, or perhaps I should call it pseudo-science. For true science can neither prove nor disprove God or the reality of Jesus.

For example, people like Carl Sagan, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, and even ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy’ all have popular writings and videos that use science to disprove the existence of God. Their arguments can be very compelling. Books like The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins make it seem like anyone who believes in God is hopelessly deluded and laughably ignorant. Yet what people like Sagan, Dennett, Dawkins do is take select scientific discoveries and connect them in a philosophical way in order to reach the conclusions that suit their agenda. It’s done so seamlessly that you don’t even realize you’ve left science. None of this is new. What they have done is repackaged late nineteenth century scientific atheism. Their thoughts are actually old ideas being retreaded. Nevertheless, chalk them up as people who want to discredit Jesus. The truth is, as I said a few minutes ago, impossible to either prove nor disprove God’s existence through science. Good science recognizes that and many scientists are people of deep faith.

Another group that seeks to discredit Jesus is some branches of psychology. I’ve heard of psychologists who’ve written assessments of Christians calling them delusional for believing there is a Being who created them. Similarly, in the world of psychology it is common to say that faith is a crutch of the emotionally weak. Or that a person’s ideas of God are a projection of their own father onto an imagined super-being. I find myself replying that if there is no God and that it is up to you to find your purpose and meaning, then you’ve made life into a taxing ordeal that will leave you hopeless and dead. But, people don’t want to accept what Jesus actually said.

Then there is a group that likes to say that Jesus simply a great moral teacher. Lessons of justice, kindness, and fairness were all given by Jesus; and he is no more nor no less than any other historical moral teacher. These people also say that you don’t need religion at all to have good morals. This point of view is both right and wrong. Jesus was not a moral teacher; although his teachings have moral implications. Jesus is the Son of God who came to reveal God’s ultimate nature – and the power of ultimate self-sacrificial love. That is not strictly morality, and in fact runs counter to morality.

But what is correct is that you do not need religion or a belief in God to be a moral person. The ideas of “natural law” seem to be present across most of humans and across all cultures throughout history. But Jesus didn’t teach natural law. Morality that is natural law is really strategic self-preservation. It is recognizing that anarchy is bad, but cooperation leads to better outcomes, better security, longer life, and a better chance at procreating. Natural law is just realizing that cooperation rather than extreme individualism gives one benefits.

What do the ancient teachings of our scriptures say about humanity’s ability to be moral? Well, let’s ask this. Are people fundamentally good or fundamentally bad? The moralist will say that with enough education and safety humans will naturally be good. It is fear, greed, and ignorance – all of which can be overcome with healthy social conditioning – that lead to evil and bad conduct. It’s all very tempting to believe. We want to believe that we are good at heart. Our faith teaches otherwise.

In Genesis 3 we learn that Adam and Eve transgress. They decide to take their destiny into their own hands. They will know good and evil themselves. The results were disastrous. In the Bible’s story line people start murdering each other in just the second generation. But the Bible is hardly done. Right after the Noah’s Ark story – we’re still only eight chapters into the Bible – we find, “The imagination of the human heart is evil from youth.” (Genesis 8:21) Even so, God says he will not destroy humans. Three chapters later we find the Tower of Babel story. Humans are again trying to be self-determinative. The result is disaster.

Human made morality leads to endless justification. We find that in Proverbs 21:2. You’ve heard me say this before, the only thing we humans are truly good at is making a mess of things. Human morality does not turn to God. It wants to get rid of God. And human morality never leads to voluntarily being crucified. So, Jesus is rejected because do not want to trust God.

Another group that seeks to discredit Jesus is the “spiritual but not religious” group. This one is immensely popular today. Atheism sounds harsh. People don’t want to outright reject that there is a God. But they also don’t want the disciplines and demands of religion; especially a religion like Christianity which says to take up your cross and follow Jesus. Christian love is based on giving of yourself for the benefit of others. That is the core of the religion. The spiritual but not religious person is really interested in self-determination. They don’t want any religion or group getting in their way. But just like people insisting they can be good and somehow moral without God, so too you will never get to authentic self-determination apart from accepting God as your creator, and also realizing that self-determination actually comes not from freedom but from difficulties and constraints. St. Paul wrote, “suffering produces endurance. And endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us. If you have a life freed from all definitions, limits, boundaries and difficulties you may think you’re living a great and fulfilled life. But it is a life without hope, without accomplishment, and without meaning. It is another ironic truth that discovering yourself always comes from limits, boundaries, and hardships.

While I could make a long list of those who oppose Jesus today, I’ll list just one more. This is the go-with-the-flow group. These are people who follow society with very few questions. They want acceptance and approval from others, and so they just do whatever gets that. Even if it is illogical or unsustainable, or hurts their own core values, they do it. Kids sports is always an easy example of this. Why does everyone do it? Because everyone does it. And the more demanding and irrational is the commitment the more people love it. I’ve cited to several of you that the Webster 2nd grade flag football travel team did well last fall. They were invited to a flag football tournament in Florida in February. And indeed, parents took their 2nd graders out of school for a week and traveled to Florida for a flag football tournament. Talk about messed up priorities! But it is even more local. Mother’s Day weekend is not about celebrating mothers around here. Mother’s Day weekend is the Irondequoit Soccer tournament. Many families around here never ever celebrate Mother’s Day. Instead they prioritize the tournament. …core, fundamental family relationships, or kids’ soccer. Apparently soccer is perpetually more important. Go with the flow. When Jesus is in vogue, follow Jesus. When he isn’t, then do whatever is.

Nothing has changed. We don’t have Herodians, Sadducees, Pharisees, and other ancient Jewish sects challenging Jesus. But we just have different names for the same dynamics.

Following Jesus is hard. It’s going to cost you. Most don’t want to pay the price. But those who do find themselves on the path to true life. How all those who prioritize things above Jesus will fair when God judges, is not our concern. But it is our commission to spread the gospel which says that truth, wholeness, love, and life are found in the often difficult way of Jesus. And it is definitely worth it.

May 3, 2026 Leadership, Humility, and Belonging Matthew 21:28-22:14

 I had to be at Atonement, Brighton on this Sunday and created this hymn sing in place of the sermon.

 

D: Hymn Sing Introduction

What makes a true leader?  What is at the heart of our faith?  What does it mean to belong in God’s family?  These are questions that find answers in the three parables from Jesus that we will read.  But before we turn to them, we will read a vision from the prophet Zechariah.  It was written in October or November of 520 BC.  Several decades earlier, the Babylonians had conquered the Jews and destroyed Jerusalem.  By the time of Zechariah the Persians had conquered the Babylonians.   The Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild.  Central to the rebuilding efforts was the rebuilding the temple.  But that work stalled often.  The people needed to be reminded of the promises of God and the purpose of the temple.

 

E: First Reading Zechariah 8:18-23

The word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: 19Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be seasons of joy and gladness, and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah: therefore love truth and peace.

Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, the inhabitants of many cities; 21the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Come, let us go to entreat the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ 22Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of the Lord. 23Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’

 

D: Reflections on the Reading

At the time Zechariah was writing the Israelites needed a boost of hope and an infusion of promise.  They needed to be reminded that God has chosen them, and that God was working through them on behalf of the whole world.  Zechariah’s prophesy worked.  Within four years the temple had been rebuilt.  It returned to being the center of Jewish religious life.

But what happens if those words are taken out of context?  What if Zechariah’s prophesy is taken to mean that the Jews, as God’s chosen people, are somehow inherently superior to all other people?  What if the Jews become smug?  What if they start to look down on other nations?

Christians can fall victim to the same problems.  When Christians start to think that their faith, or their relationship with God, or their morality is somehow superior to others then the entire point of faith in Christ is undermined.  Inasmuch as God works through us to bring about his kingdom, we do so with humility, knowing it is by God’s grace that God created us and honors us with his work.

O Christ the Same was composed by Timothy Dudley-Smith for the 1972 dedication of a new building of a mission.  It based on the text of Hebrews 13:8; reminding us of our constant need for Christ.  The words are set to the Irish tune Londonderry Air, better known for the song O Danny Boy.

 

Sing: O Christ the Same

 

 

B: Introduction to Matthew 21:28-32

We are wrong to think that all of the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day were united against him.  They were not.  Even though enough called for his execution that they carried the day, many were not in favor of it.  Most notable among them were Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.

Keep that in mind as we read the next three parables.  All three of them are directed at the Jewish religious leaders.  Jesus speaks them on Monday of Holy Week.  Jesus’ criticism of them is not universal.  But he is saying that for many, the arrogance that can come from misapplying prophesies like Zechariah’s is driving their faith.

 

D: Second Reading Matthew 21:28-32)

[Jesus said to the religious leaders] ‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” 29He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. 30The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

B: Reflections on the Reading

John the Baptist had a message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  Those who realized their sins accepted what John had to say.  Those who felt their religiosity gave them superior morality were offended by John.  Many of the religious leaders had built their lives on having superior morality.  That made them both wrong, and it made them blind to what God was doing.

In the parable there are two sons.  The first son disobeys his father’s command to work in the vineyard.  This son represents the “sinners” of Jesus’ day.  When they encountered the promise of forgiveness they return to God and do his work.  The second son says he will do his father’s will, but then does not.  This son represents the religious leaders.  They give lip service to their faith, but because they think they are superior, they lack the humility to take up the real work of faith.

Will You Let Me Be Your Servant was written by Richard Gillard and first published in 1989.  It is a Mennonite hymn that points out the true humility that undergirds authentic faith.  Gillard is not a musician by trade.  In fact, he has no musical training whatsoever.  He is a computer programmer who taught himself guitar.  He says that the idea of the hymn percolated for nearly a year before it took shape.  The third verse, about holding a Christ-light, “lived on a scrap of paper in the bottom of my guitar case in my brother-in-law’s home during a 1976 tour of England, Scotland, Europe, and Isreal.”

 

Sing Will You Let Me Be Your Servant

 

E: Introduction to Matthew 21:33-46

 Jesus followed the parable of the two sons with another more vivid one.  Here the vineyard is Israel and the tenants are the religious leaders.  The son of the landowner is Jesus.

 

B: Third Reading Matthew 21:33-46 ‘

Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 34When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. 35But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. 37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” 39So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ 41They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’
Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes”?
43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. 44The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

E: Reflections on the Reading

Most people consider themselves to be highly moral.  It seems to be a part of the human mind that whenever we want to do something we invent a morality to justify it.  That way we never feel bad, or at the very least we always feel justified.  Taken to the extreme we find things like Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s book, Crime and Punishment.  While the main character is wracked with guilt after murdering someone, before he commits the horrific crime we get to see his mind work to justify it.  He tells himself that if he kills an unscrupulous pawnbroker he will then be enabled to perform great deeds.  He tells himself that certain crimes are justifiable if done by “extraordinary” men who will then use the evil for good.

This, of course, is complete nonsense.  Even though he gets away with the murder itself, he suffers intense inner turmoil through the rest of the book.

It is unlikely that we will let our morality so slide as to become murderers.  However, we still have the tendency to invent a morality to justify every action in our lives.

Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart is a hymn that does not allow such moral justification to occur.  It was written by George Croly and first published in 1867.  The hymn’s words are inspired by Galatians 5:25, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.”

 

Sing Spirit of God, Descend upon My Heart

 

D: Introduction to Matthew 22:1-10

We will look at the next parable, the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, in two parts.  This parable is an allegory.  The king represents God.  The invited guests are the Israelites.  The slaves sent to invite people represent the prophets God sent to his people.  When the invited guests refuse to come, the king appears to go into a tirade.  He orders that they be killed and their dwellings destroyed.  This may seem extreme, but in light of the destruction of Jersualem by the Romans in the year 70, we realize this parable carried prophetic truth.

 

E: Fourth Reading Matthew 22:1-10 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: 2‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 4Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” 5But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 6while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. 7The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” 10Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

 

D: Reflections on the Reading

As Christians, we need to remember that we are those invited after the original guests refused to come.  It appears that Christians have had a tendency to gloat over this even from the earliest days.  In Romans chapter eleven, St. Paul reminds the Christians that there is no room for this.  He says, “So I ask, have [the Jews] stumbled so as to fall?  By no means!  But through their stumbling salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous…  But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches… You will say, ‘Branches were broken off so that I may be grafted in.’ That is true.  They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand only through faith.  So do not become proud, but stand in awe.  For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you.  Note then the kindness and the severity of God.”

In Christ There Is No East or West was written by William Arthur Dunkerley in 1908.  He was a popular writer of the time who used the pseudonym, John Oxenham.  In total he published 44 novels, 10 books of poetry, and several religious books.  Of this hymn he says that he, like other writers, had “stray lines” come to him, he knew not “how or whence.”  He had to get them out.

 

Sing In Christ There Is No East or West

 

B: Introduction to Matthew 22:11-14

The second part of the Parable of the Wedding Banquet takes a startling turn.  One of the guests, invited at the last moment, is thrown out for not having the proper attire.  How can someone be expected to have proper attire if they’ve been invited to something at the last minute?

 

E: Fifth Reading Matthew 22:11-14

‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, 12and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. 13Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 14For many are called, but few are chosen.’

 

B: Reflections on the Reading

The final words of this parable serve as a warning against self-righteous arrogance among God’s new people.  This man represents Christians who think that following Christ is easy, and that God’s grace can be exploited.  Not so.  The wedding garment represents the new righteousness expected of those who follow Jesus.  This is not a righteousness that leads to superiority or arrogance.  But it is a righteousness that respects God’s ultimate power as Creator and Judge of all.

Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus reminds us of the cost Jesus paid for our salvation.  Our sinful selves hurt other people and God’s good creation.  While we can never be perfect, we strive to live in a way that honors what Jesus did for us.  Even that does not earn us salvation from God.  Yet we know that doing anything less than our best for God at all times makes a mockery of our Lord’s love for us.

This is a Lenten hymn written by Sigismund von Birken.  It is based on Luke 18, where Jesus sets his face to Jerusalem.  The hymn asks us to journey with Jesus and take on the pains of what lies ahead, and then to also hope in the promises of God.

 

Sing Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus

April 26, 2026 True Fruitfulness Matthew 21:18-27

The gospel reading started off with Jesus “cursing” a fig tree because he was hungry and it did not have any figs on it.  This is a puzzling and troublesome story.  Why should Jesus take out his frustration at being hungry on a fig tree that had no figs?!?   And how is the owner of the tree going to feel when he sees that his tree is dead?  If his insurance policy doesn’t cover “acts of God” he’s out of luck!

We have to remember the context of this story.  And for me, I also have to remember that Jesus didn’t actually curse the tree.  Biblical scholars point out that Jesus just said, “May no fruit ever come from you again!”  That not technically a curse, although it doesn’t bode well for the tree no matter what you call it!

When we remember the context of this scene we remember that Jesus is in Jerusalem and it is Monday of Holy Week.  Palm Sunday, the day before, Jesus had entered Jerusalem while being greeted by the crowds.  He rode in on a donkey as a prophetic act fulfilling what was predicted in Zechariah 9:9.  There the king comes riding into Jerusalem humbly after God has won battles against the nation’s enemies.

Then Jesus entered the temple complex.  He drove out those who were selling and buying in the outer courtyards of the temple.  He then cited the prophet Jeremiah when he said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.”  In the same way we are technically wrong to say that Jesus cursed the fig tree, so we are also technically wrong to think that Jesus is upset by corruption or by buying and selling in God’s house.  This is another prophetic act.  It brings to life what Jeremiah criticized.  Jeremiah’s criticism as was that the people in political and religious power at the time misunderstood the intention of the temple.  They were exploiting it.

So, keep in mind the king riding humbly in on a donkey.  Add to it the rejection of the authorities in the temple.  Then take the next step of the fig tree being fruitless.  No the stage is set for another prophetic action.

The prophets often used objects in their teachings and sometimes performed strange acts.  For example, Jeremiah wore and ox yoke to make a point.  At another Jeremiah used rotten underwear as an example.  The fig tree is full of leaves.  It looks lush and healthy.  All would say it is doing great.  But Jesus uses it to represent the religious authorities and the temple system.  It may look impressive, but it is fruitless.  And since it is fruitless it has no real value.  So the tree becomes a prophetic example.  When Jesus says, “May no fruit ever come from you again,” he is really saying: may no fruit ever come from the temple again.  It’s time is finished.  It will forever be fruitless.

To reinforce the point, remember the setting.  He is on his way to Jerusalem from the village of Bethany.  That’s about two miles away across the Mount of Olives.  So, as our scene today happened, Jesus is likely on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Temple Mount.  I picture Jesus and his disciples walking along a road.  Their descending from the Mount of Olives and the Temple Mount is across the narrow valley ahead of them.  A fig tree is growing along the side of the road.  It withers at Jesus command.  As the disciples remark about this, Jesus says, with the Temple Mount right in front of them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain,” [and pointing at the temple mount]  “‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done.  Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.”

If you say to the fruitless Temple Mount ‘be lifted up and thrown into the sea’ he does not mean it to literally fly up into the air and land in the nearest body of water.  It’s an illustration.  From a faith perspective the temple is finished.  It is done.  Its time is over.

The operation of the temple was based on blood sacrifice from animals as the key to a right relationship with God.  But Jesus is bringing about something different.  Now the center of right relationship would be faith.  But of course all the actions were not yet fulfilled.  For Jesus to really replace the temple we must see the rest of Holy Week play out.  That, of course, ends with Jesus being crucified.

We’ll come back to faith and fruitfulness in a moment, but first we need to look at the rest of the gospel reading.

Jesus enters the temple and begins teaching.  Remember, it is the Passover holiday and there are likely large crowds around.  Certainly not everyone there was listening to Jesus.  But enough were that it came to the notice of the religious leaders.  They confront him as to why he has taken it upon himself to set up in the temple and teach.  What are his credentials?  Who does he think he is to give himself such authority?

We may think Jesus’ response about the baptismal ministry of John the Baptist is uncooperative and a bit gruff.  Just like making the fig tree wither was a bit gruff.  But keep in mind the fruitlessness of the temple that Jesus has just rejected.  Are the fruitless religious leaders really in a position to respond to what Jesus has to say?  No.  They’re more worried about the appearances of green leafiness than they are about the actual fruits of the religion.

Next week we read the next scene in Matthew’s gospel.  There Jesus gives four parables that illustrate the rejection of the religious leaders, and give warning against self-righteous arrogance.  From the trajectory that we see there we know what to ask of ourselves as we consider the fig tree.

            We live in a time when all sorts of things people took for granted are falling apart.  Politics is perhaps the easiest example.  The priorities, civility, and critical thinking that existed for decades are gone.  Civic pride, community organizations (churches included), and family priorities are all collapsing.  Youth sports seem to rule our culture.  They dictate family’s schedules – all the way from school to church to work to family vacations and everything else.

Financial realities are little better.  Not too long ago one income could buy a house and support a family.  Now many young adults cannot afford a household even with two incomes.

Manufacturing jobs are nearly gone.  Family farms are effectively extinct.  Many people have college educations but no real job prospects for those educations.  And artificial intelligence poses all sorts of threats.

In these times it is very easy to be like a fig tree: full of leaves but bearing no fruit.  Life becomes about appearances but has no substance. 

Older people condemn younger people for having wrong priorities.  Young people condemn older people for not understanding and for consuming too many resources.  Republicans build their ivory towers and condemn Democrats.  Democrats build their ivory towers and condemn Republicans.  People with college educations consider those who don’t to be ignorant simpletons who have nothing of value to contribute.  Those laborers who don’t have college degrees call those who do elitist snobs who don’t actually know reality.

But where is the fruit in all of this?  Is not every position looking at their own lush greenness of their position and thinking, “Look how good I am!”?

Faith in Jesus Christ produces fruit.  It is not interested in putting forth all sorts of pretty green leaves to be admired.  Jesus said that whatever you ask for in prayer with faith you will receive.  That’s not to be understood with greed.  For a greed-based prayer is not a prayer of faith.

Authentic prayer done in faith goes a long way to seeing through the fruitless lies many people live by.  I do not mean that in a condemning way; for prayer does not condemn.  A faith-based prayer is based on the crucifixion.  That is a set of priorities wholly different from the priorities of society.  It isn’t easy, but it does weed through all the false promises of lushness.  It puts relationship with God first and foremost.  It asks, “Since I am a child of God, how do I respond constructively?  Where do I need to work more?  Where do I need to forgive?  Where do I need to be forgiven?”

I promise you the answers will not be easy, comfortable, and convenient to live out.  Ease, comfort, and convenience are all the stuff of lush green leaves.  Bearing fruit takes work.  It often hurts.  It’s seldom easy. 

Look at the apple trees on the church property.  If they are not pruned annually they grow many lush green leaves.  But the apples are few and puny.  The trees do not like being pruned.  Many of their finest stems that would create leaves have to go.  But with pruning comes apples.  Live to be fruitful.  Do not live for appearances, for appearances are fleeting.  The fruit of faith is enduring.

Let me conclude with these words from C.S. Lewis which, I think help us to understand this better.  He writes, “There are no ordinary people.  You have never met a mere mortal.  Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat.  But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”  (The Weight of Glory (1942) para 15, pp 18-19)

April 19, 2026 Faith and Teaching Matthew 28:16-20

             “See one, do one, teach one,” is an old adage that has been passed down through generations of medical professionals.  I believe it originally referred to surgery, but it applies to manufacturing, construction, machining and all sorts of physical tasks.  You watch someone do it, perhaps for a while.  Then you try it on your own, and hopefully become proficient.  Eventually you teach others, and the pattern repeats. 

            It is always fascinating to me that the best way to truly know something is to have to teach it.  There’s something about planning what you are going to present, and thinking through what you are teaching as you are doing it, that instills things deeply in our brains.  There have been many things I thought I knew, but found that I really didn’t know until I had to teach it.  Only then did real mastery of a task or subject start to happen.

We hope that those who are teachers do truly have mastery of what they are doing.  They should be proficient at their field before they try to teach others.  Sadly, there is another old adage, “Those who can’t, teach.”  I don’t like that one at all.  And yet, when I consider the various teachers I have in schooling throughout life, it’s been a mix.  It is incredible to be taught by someone who is a master of the craft and leader in the field!  You can also tell when a person has become a teacher because they’ve failed at something in the real world, and only because they can’t do anything else, do they teach.  They’re usually terrible teachers.

Last Sunday I brought up an interesting thing in Matthew’s gospel about teaching.  I mentioned that Jesus had sent his disciples on missionary journeys and equipped them to do many things.  They were sent out to proclaim that the Kingdom of God had come near; and they could cure the sick, raise the dead, and cleanse leprosy.  It is an astonishing list of things to do.  Whether the disciple were actually capable of all that isn’t known.  It seems historically doubtful to me.  Regardless, what is not on that list is teaching.  Jesus does not commission his disciples to go out and teach at that point.  Proclaiming that the Kingdom of God has come near is not the same as teaching.

Then today, we read in the very last two verses of Matthew’s gospel that Jesus sends them out to all nations to baptize and, “teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”

It seems that only after they have seen Jesus’ ministry, and his death, and his resurrected body are they now equipped enough to be given the role of teaching.

It is not an accidental irony that last week Matthew’s gospel told us that the guards who were assigned to Jesus’ tomb, when they saw what happened, went to the religious leaders and reported it.  The religious leaders conspire, pay off the guards, and send them out to teach lies.  So ultimately we have the religious leaders scheming to teach lies and Jesus’ disciples commissioned to go out and teach the truth.

We’ll turn to what the disciples are supposed to teach in just a moment.  But before that, we need to recognize something about the competence of these disciples to teach.  Was it the competence of, “See one, do one, teach one”?  Or was it more along the lines of, “Those who can’t, teach”?  You see, there’s a little detail that I skipped over.  Our English translators add one small word when they translated from Greek to English.  We read, “When [the disciples] saw [Jesus] they worshipped him; but some doubted.”  The added word is “some”.  A stricter translation would be, “When they saw him they worshipped him; but doubted.”  In other words, it wasn’t that some of them doubted.  They all had some measure of doubt.

How could these disciples have the resurrected Jesus standing right in front of them but still have doubts?!?  What level of proof for the resurrection could they possibly want?  If I’m using old quotes I want to bring up, “Seeing is believing.”

There’s something else going on here.  If I’m honest, no one knows exactly what Matthew means by this as he tells us.  But it is suggested, and it seems to me to be a good suggestion, is for Matthew, doubt and worship can work together.  For Matthew faith and doubt are not opposites.  They often get mixed together.  For Matthew, the opposite of faith is not doubt.  It is fear.

Remember, what happened to the guards at the tomb when the angel descended?  …these guards who are later paid off to go and teach lies about Jesus?  They have no faith in Jesus.  Mattew told us, “For fear of [the angel] the guards shook and became like dead men.

Doubt is not the opposite of faith.  Again, true faith and true worship often incorporate doubts.  But fear is the opposite of faith.  The angel said to the women, who were people of faith, “Do not be afraid.”

So let’s put teaching, faith, and doubts all together as we consider this commission from Jesus to go out into all nations to baptize, and to teach everything that he has commanded.

How are we to teach if we have doubts about what we are teaching?  Shouldn’t we know the stories of Jesus down cold and be absolutely certain of the truth of our faith before we go out and teach?

It would certainly be nice!  But consider this, the situation of the disciples of Jesus that day was no different than our own.  They had their doubts.  They were imperfect; in fact they had just recently all just abandoned Jesus and fled! 

Here’s something interesting.  Matthew tells us that the disciples all deserted Jesus and fled when he was arrested.  Peter denies Jesus three times and then goes out and weeps bitterly.  But Matthew never tells us they were afraid.  Surely they were!  But only the guards are actually described by Matthew as being paralyzed by fear.

We may feel woefully unequipped to spread the gospel.  We may have our questions and our doubts.  But that doesn’t seem to matter to God.  Perhaps we are all the more effective in our evangelism because of our questions and doubts.  That’s counter-intuitive, but I think it is correct.  If God wanted the disciples to be perfect in their faith, and if God wanted us to be perfect in our faith before we go out and teach, God would have made us so.  But God has not.  We have from God what God wants us to have.  The thing we should not be is afraid.  It is fear, not doubt, that paralyzes faith.

We do not live in a land that legally punishes us for being Christians or for proclaiming the faith.  But we are apt to be afraid.  We fear that others will think us to be nut cases, or that we are religious fanatics.  We do not want to annoy people the way door-to-door evangelists do.  We have convinced ourselves that faith is a private thing and that we are being respectful by not sharing it.  But is that not actually a position that is being driven by fear?

Okay, we need to be honest with ourselves.  Maybe we are so much afraid that we should question the depth of our faith.  Do we really believe that God is salvation for the world?  If yes, then why are we afraid of it?

Perhaps as Matthew’s gospel ends it even meets us in the fears that we wish we didn’t have – fears, mixed with doubts, mixed with limitations, mixed with tiredness, mixed with failures, mixed with a whole host of conditions that come from our human brokenness.

Jesus gives his disciples a profound task:  Make disciples.  Baptize them under the name and the authority of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We should get a sense of grandeur here.  We should realize the enormity of the honor Jesus has bestowed upon us.  The disciples, and us too, are to be the vehicles for the salvation of the world.

No honor is greater than God telling you, “I choose you to bear my name to the world.” 

And finally, when our fears do threaten to get the best of us, we remember Jesus very final words in Matthew’s gospel, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  The resurrected Jesus, who proved to be more powerful than death, is with us as we go about teaching and making disciples, and taking on the honor of bearing God’s name.

April 12, 2026 Truth Stranger than Lies Matthew 28:11-15

Before we turn to the few verses in our gospel reading about the guards going to the chief priests and becoming part of a conspiracy to cover up the truth, I think we should look at the disciples at the Last Supper. That scene gives us a good backdrop to understand the contrast that is happening.

You know the stories of the Last Supper well. Jesus meets with his twelve disciples to celebrate the Passover holiday. They share a bread and wine meal which becomes the root of holy communion. Among the things Jesus says is that the disciples will all become scandalized by what will happen to him. Peter says, “Though all become scandalized by because of you, I will never be scandalized by you.” To which Jesus replies, “Truly I tell you, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter then replies, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And so say the other disciples.

I don’t know what was going on in Peter’s head at that moment, but I think he was imagining some great and valiant scene where he lays down his life for Jesus. Perhaps he pictures a pitched battle where he is standing beside Jesus, both of them with swords and shields fighting their enemies. And then, Peter notices that someone has thrown a spear that will certainly penetrate Jesus’ body and kill him. But Peter throws himself in the path of the spear and takes it instead. In his dying moments he locks eyes with Jesus. Jesus sees Peter’s love and commitment as he falls to his death. Peter’s death in this way would be a mark of devotion, integrity, and valor.

This is likely along the lines of what all the disciples are picturing as they too promise they will stay faithful to Jesus to the end, no matter what horrors lie ahead.

Of course none of them were ready for what actually happened. After the meal Jesus would go out to Gethsemane; a location somewhere on the Mount of Olives, which overlooks Jerusalem. It is dark. Jesus is troubled and prays. Then Judas, one of their very own, arrives with a crowd carrying swords and clubs. One of the disciples draws his sword and makes a sloppy attack. He cuts off the ear of the high priest’s slave. Jesus rebukes the attack and all defensive maneuvers He allows himself to be led away without resistance.

All too quickly Jesus is put on trial, he is found guilty, and he is sentenced to be immediately executed by crucifixion. All through it Jesus offers no defense. It is as if he accepts guilt without question.

We have to remember that crucifixion was more than just a horrifically painful way to die. It was shameful to be tortured, and then have your body hung up for public display as you die. It was also considered by Jews to be a cursed way to die. To be crucified meant that not only did God reject you, but it was a sign that you had been cursed by God.

So, even though Peter and the disciples had promised they would stick by Jesus no matter what; even to death, they were not prepared to lay down their lives for someone cursed by God and dying in shame. Where’s the valor in that? Where’s the glory, the dignity, the honor? There is none.

Before we turn to the soldiers who guarded Jesus’ tomb, let’s remind ourselves of a great irony in our faith. Though many religions are portrayed as ultimately being about kindness and charity to the least in society, Christianity is different at its core. No other religion or belief system has at its core the shame and rejection that Christianity does. I believe that Christianity is the best religion in the world. I believe it is the only religion that is actually true and the only one that gives this world even a faint glimmer of hope. But there is no room in Christianity to boast of that. Even as authentic Christianity can make such claims, it must always do so with absolute humility. We can’t say that Jesus died for us without also accepting that Jesus’ shameful crucifixion is the price of our own sins. (We recognize that perhaps we would be willing to die with valor. But we would not dare to die for Jesus, the condemned and rejected criminal.) To be an authentic Christian one must accept that one is so fundamentally failed and needy that you need to turn to God begging for a love you can never deserve.

When those guards took their posts at Jesus tomb they knew full well that nothing would happen. The whole idea was absurd. Jesus’ followers were not going to suddenly become courageous and come and steal the body; and then cook up some story about Jesus being raised from the dead by God. Do you realize how absurd that idea is? If a crucified man is cursed by God then why would God resurrect such a person? And if Jesus’ followers fled without a fight when he was captured, they certainly aren’t going to show their sniveling cowardly faces at this point.

Last week at the sunrise service I joked about how the guards must have felt about this assignment. Perhaps they thought it was a cake job. Nothing could possibly happen and they’d enjoy one of their easiest assignments ever. Or perhaps it was an insult to be given a task of no importance that required no skill. Oh, but how wrong they were!

It turns out that Jesus’ obedience to the will of God - all the way to innocently being arrested, beaten, and shamefully executed – meant that death could not hold him; at least not for long. A power greater than death had been unleashed. No tomb or stone or guard was going to be able to stop it.

The guards failed miserably. You may remember from last week that there was an earthquake and an angel descended. Matthew says that for fear of the angel the guards shook and became like dead men. Isn’t it forever funny that the executed guy in the tomb isn’t there anymore because he’d been resurrected, while the very much alive guards outside the tomb have become like dead men?

Last week we read that the women followed the instructions of the angel. They went and told the disciples that Jesus had been raised and they would see him in Galilee. Then this week we started off with, “While [the women] were going, some of the guard went into the city…” So the women are going one way bearing an unbelievable truth. The guards are going another way to create plausible lie to everything that happened.

Here we see the way evil is undaunted by its failure with Jesus. The guards head off to conspire to spread lies. They are paid well for it too. Remember that Judas was paid to betray Jesus? Such is the way of the world. If you don’t have the actual truth on your side then use money to buy the truth that you want to have. That’s still the way of the world today.

There’s one more thing that we’ll see developed in next week’s gospel reading. Next week we’ll read the Great Commission where Jesus sends his disciples into the whole world to make disciples. Jesus tells them they should “teach everything I have commanded you.”

That word “teach” is important. Earlier in Matthew’s gospel when Jesus sent his disciples out on missionary trips he told them to: proclaim the good news, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. And though they were told to proclaim the good news, they were not empowered to teach. That may seem like a trivial thing, but it is not. Only with their knowledge of the truth of the crucifixion and the resurrection are the disciples now equipped enough to actually teach the truth.

That word teach also shows up in our gospel reading for today, but it gets mistranslated. The final verse would be better translated, “So [the guards] too the money and did as they were taught.”

Ultimately then, Jesus disciples, who failed him when they saw the shame and curse that was coming onto Jesus, are now equipped to go into the world to teach the truth. Meanwhile the religious leaders, who kept their positions of honor and integrity, are now sending out their own people to teach lies.

What a twisted world we live in! I would always encourage honor, integrity, and even valor. Yet do not confuse them with the truth. And tangled shame-filled failure may well convey truth so profound that death cannot keep it down. Therefore, through all things we live in awe of God’s love. We recognize our need for it, and all others need for it as well. Let me end with this quote by C.S. Lewis in his children’s book, Prince Caspian, “You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve. And that is both honor enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content.”

April 5, 2026 Easter 10:30 Worship Matthew 28:1-10

At the beginning of the service I asked the question, “People of God, why are you here?” And you responded, “We have come to give thanks to God. We do not go to church. We are the church.” I picked that up from the Master of Sacred Theology thesis by my colleague, the Rev. Johanna Rehbaum. She, in turn, got it from someone else. It may seem like a cute little question, but it gets at a deeper point. Why are you here? There are probably as many answers as there are people here. But it is worth asking.

It has become a common belief in our culture that all religions are just different branches of the same tree. Additionally, it is a common belief that you can be a moral person without Christianity; in fact, without any religion at all. Atheists can quite easily be highly moral people.

There’s also a widespread belief that when you die you pretty much automatically go to heaven. The qualifications for going to heaven are that you were a good person and lived a good life.

So, if all of those things are effectively true, then we need truly ask ourselves, why are we here? What’s the point of it all? Indeed, the majority of people in this nation today will not think one thought about the resurrection of Jesus or Christianity at all. It’s just a secular holiday of baskets filled with candy, egg hunts, and a brunch with your family.

It is not my place to judge who goes to heaven or how you get there. That is God’s work and God’s business. I won’t pretend to know. But what I do know is that our society’s understanding of all of these things are simply wrong.

Why are you here? Because you know that there is much more going on than morality or every good person being rewarded for their good behavior by God and given eternal life.

It is Easter Sunday. We are celebrating the resurrection. You can’t get to the resurrection of Jesus without him first dying. If you can simply be a moral person on your own, and if good morality gets you to heaven, then what was the whole point of the crucifixion? I’ve never actually seen it, but I understand that in the 1960s a newspaper comic was created depicting Jesus on the cross. The caption read, “If I’m okay and you’re okay then what am I doing hanging up here?”

That’s an important realization. It also gets at why you are here today.

There is something much deeper than morality at work here. For indeed, an atheist can easily be a highly moral person. The deeper thing is the nature of evil.

Evil is not something that polite people talk about. The idea of evil is not a socially acceptable one. That is one of evil’s greatest tricks – to convince people that it doesn’t even exist. We prefer saying things like someone is acting out of ignorance, or someone is being motivated by fear. We would not call it evil. Or we define evil as some deeply and profoundly insanely immoral act. But all of this is wrong.

Evil has no problem with morality. In fact, evil loves highly moral people. Evil also loves people who are good. They fall into evil’s hands very easily. Evil loves it when people think, “I can be good and moral without Christianity, and without any religion at all.” Evil says, “Why waste your time going to worship on Easter? Wouldn’t it be time better spent relaxing, or doing something entertaining, or spending the whole day with your family. Or even better yet, why not spend Easter doing a community service project? That would be truly good indeed!”

Yes, evil loves good morals. Evil easily convinces people that morals are an end unto themselves. Evil easily convinces people that goodness is an end unto itself, and that it is the fundamental quality God is looking for in humanity.

You see, evil’s real intention is to convince you that you can live a good, virtuous, perfectly fulfilled life all on your own. That was the basic trick that we find in the Garden of Eden stories when the serpent says, “God knows that when you eat of the [forbidden fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

It is a very clever promise of fulfillment.

The truth is that we are not okay. The truth is that we all fall into evil’s traps. We are quite ready to believe that we can be our own selves apart from God. We let possessions, and earthly security, and social status become the places where we turn for fulfillment. Ironically, as we think we are free to do to as we choose and be our own selves (as long as that self doesn’t appear to hurt anybody) we actually become slaves to evil. That slavery might take the form of greed and destruction and death. There evil is obvious. Evil doesn’t care about that. But what is far more often, and what evil really likes, is a life of good morals; but brokenness from God the creator. I am certain that far more death, hurting, and destruction happens in this world in the name of good morals than by overt evil.

Easter is a grand holiday celebrating Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. But you cannot get to Easter without going through Good Friday. Evil leads to death. On Good Friday God conquers the power of evil by innocently accepting a horrific death. In so doing, God breaks evil’s grip. Evil is caught a bind of its own creating. And only God can do it. For we are too sinful, too apt to turn somewhere other than God for trust.

Today we read the Easter scene from Matthew’s gospel. It is almost comic in several regards. How strange is it to have soldiers guarding the tomb of a dead man so that the dead man’s followers, all of whom fled at his arrest, do not somehow find courage and come back and steal the corpse? And how strange is it that when the angel descends these guards – fully alive – Matthew tells us they are so afraid they become like dead men. Isn’t it funny that the men outside are dead and the man inside is not dead? Meanwhile the two women who have come to the tomb to mourn are indeed afraid, but not that afraid.

But the women are also in for a surprise. Isn’t it surprising that Matthew depicts the angel rolling back the stone and the women see that that tomb is empty? Is Jesus a ghost? But then where is the body?

The women follow the angel’s instructions and they go and tell the disciples that Jesus will meet them in Galilee. Along the way they encounter the resurrected Jesus. His first word to them is “Greetings!” It’s not a grand pronouncement or profound. It’s like a playful “Good morning!”

But then there’s Galilee itself? Why would Jesus meet the disciples in Galilee? Well, that’s where Jesus’ ministry began, so it makes sense to wrap things up there. But why would God choose to work in an uneducated, unimportant, unsophisticated place like Galilee in the first place?

These are all fun twists and turns. But in the midst of them there is a subtle thing. Unfortunately, it usually gets lost in translation. The angel’s words to the women are, “I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for he was raised.” Do you note the subtle difference? In Greek the crucifixion is in the perfect tense. The resurrection is the simple past tense. What that means is that while the resurrection is an event in the past, the ongoing reality, even on Easter, is that Jesus is the crucified one.

Why are you here? Because, whether you’re conscious of it or not, you know that you are a sinner. You know the power and subtlety of evil, which tells you that you can be a good and moral person without faith; and that all good people go to heaven.

It is our recognition of the power of evil that we see defeated by God in the crucifixion that then draws us authentically to God. We desire God’s love. We want God’s acceptance. We want the wholeness of being that only comes from God. We know that everything else is a lie.

Then resurrection becomes a miracle. Only when we recognize that God made us whole right from the beginning, and that God always holds us securely in that wholeness even when we wander off or fail, that we can truly love God.

Could eternal life really be all that good if you’ve spent your whole earthly life trying to discover yourself apart from God? Could eternal life really be any good at all if it is just perpetual self-determination? Can you really enjoy a resurrected life and not crave being loved by the one who created you in the first place? For if you exist and are not loved securely and absolutely then it sounds more like hell than heaven.

People of God, why are you here? Because we are sinners who easily fall into evil’s traps. But we know that our all-powerful and all-loving God has suffered death so as to defeat evil at its own game. And in so doing show us love. It is anticipation of that eternal love that we can truly rejoice and live in freedom.

April 5, 2026 Easter 6:00 Worship Matthew 28:1-10

It is early in the morning and we are probably still more asleep than awake. For the 10:30 service I have created, what I hope, is a deeply profound and inspiring sermon. But even if it does turn out to be that, at this point in the morning we are not ready for deeply profound. Let’s have a bit of fun instead. The resurrection story that Matthew tells us in his gospel is both deeply profound and also light hearted, if not even a bit silly.

Imagine yourself in the role of one of the soldiers tasked with guarding Jesus’ tomb. Would you consider it to be a cake job? After all, what could possibly happen? This man Jesus came from Galilee (of all places), along with a rag tag bunch of uncultured uneducated hicks, in order to celebrate the Passover holiday. Apparently Jesus got a bit miffed when he arrived and caused a stir in the temple. He continued to stir the pot until the authorities felt that he had to go in order to keep the peace. But Jesus kept slipping out of their hands. That is, he kept slipping out of their hands until one of his closest disciples decided to sell him out. From there Jesus was arrested, and could have been left go. However, Jesus stuck to some delusions about being the Son of God and so he was put on trial and executed. When his closest and most devoted followers saw that they all fled. This idea that they might somehow suddenly find some courage and come back and steal the body is silly.

But maybe you would have been offended to be asked to guard the tomb of Jesus. If I were a ranking soldier in charge of security assignments you can bet I wouldn’t put my best men in charge of Jesus’ tomb. What could possibly happen? As I just described, the threat is insignificant. I’d put my lowest and least soldiers on the job. So perhaps the guards felt insulted by the assignment.

So you guard the tomb knowing full well nothing would happen. Then just as the day is dawning two women who were followers of Jesus came to mourn at the tomb. Of course who cares about these women? They are no threat. They cannot overpower an armed guard! They only dare to be there because they know there is no threat to them for doing so. Whereas a man might be called a co-criminal and also arrested, women were of such low status that they didn’t matter. The two women come and you scoff at them for their sentimentality and mistaken devotion.

Then things take an unexpected turn. There is an earthquake as an bright shining angel descends from the sky and rolls back the stone. You’ve probably heard me say many times that it is not accurate to depict angels as sweet little cherubs with wings and harps. As the Bible describes them angels are fearsome warriors. They cause absolute terror in all who encounter them.

You’re so scared by the presence of the angel that you start shaking uncontrollably. Our gospel reading makes the funny observation, “for fear of [the angel] the guards shook and became like dead men.” Ha, so much for your bravery!

How conscious the guards are isn’t clear, but the story takes a bizarre twist. The angel rolls the stone back and the tomb is empty. How could that be? One dead corpse was placed in the tomb. The tomb was sealed with a massive stone. Now, the stone is rolled back and there is no body! Where did it go? What happened to it?

You as a guard are probably more afraid than ever. It was common in those days for jailers to be held so responsible for keeping their prisoners contained that if a prisoner escaped the jailor would be executed. It was a sure way to prevent corruption in prison guards.

Now what about this case? What is going to happen to you when you let the prisoner escape on your watch? Or even more embarrassing, you were charged with guarding a dead guy… and despite being dead he managed to escape! What’s your commanding officer going to think?

Even if somehow you are not punished for your failure, how are you ever going to live it down that you were so inept at guard duty that you couldn’t keep a dead guy from getting out of his tomb?

Next week in worship we’re going to learn what happens to those guards so we’ll leave them in that predicament for the moment. We’ll turn to the other playful twists in the story.

These simply lowly women followers of Jesus are certainly terrified by the angel but they don’t shake uncontrollably. Let’s be clear, this is not about women being braver than men. It’s subtle, but Matthew’s Greek text makes it clear that it is God who caused the uncontrollable fear in the guards. Meanwhile God does not cause such fear in the women. They will be the witnesses of the empty tomb who will carry the message of the resurrection to the disciples.

There is an odd thing in the angel’s instructions. He tells the women to tell the disciples that Jesus has left and that they will meet him in Galilee. Why Galilee of all places? The obvious answer is that Galilee is where Jesus began his public ministry and where they all came from. But why would God choose to do any work in Galilee at all? Galilee was no place. Nothing significant ever happened there. No one important came from there. Perhaps we could say that the Town of Victor is an important place. Oh, to be sure it does not play a major role in national history and it isn’t on the news, but it does have a high end shopping mall, a great school district, nice neighborhoods, many fine homes, some excellent golf courses, and many things to offer. Whether Victor gets national attention or not, it is still a place of significance. How about the Town of Galen, New York? Is that anywhere? Do you even know where Galen is? The heart of Galen is the Village of Clyde. But who cares about it? So what? There’s no shopping, no culture. The schools are probably adequate but nothing special. If the Town of Victor is ‘somewhere’ then the Town of Galen is ‘nowhere.’ It would be as if Jesus decided to begin his ministry in Galen. And now after the resurrection he’s going to meet his disciples there again.

God works in mysterious and unpredictable ways. Burly soldiers outside a tomb are scared to the point of being like dead men. A stone is rolled back and instead of a corpse we find the tomb empty. Women are tasked with heading to the middle of nowhere to begin the world-changing ministry of Christianity.

And with one more playful twist, the women meet the resurrected Jesus on their way to meet the disciples. They are able to touch him. They take hold of his feet. He is no ghost. Exactly how he, a solid body, got out of that stone-sealed tomb is a mystery.

Even Jesus greeting to these women is playful. He does not start off with some grand theological proclamation. He simply says, “Greetings!” Or it could be translated as, “Hi!” Or, “Good morning!” It’s playful. It’s familiar. It’s the way friends would causally greet each other. Jesus repeats to the women what the angel said – tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee.

The resurrection of Jesus turns many things on its head. It’s playful, warm, and perhaps even a little silly. I imagine Matthew smiling as he wrote it.

We too are reminded that the task of following the resurrected Jesus will involve playfulness, warmth, and even some silliness. Oh sure, there are plenty of hardships. Many things will not go well. Many things will have to be endured. But it is not all serious somber work. It is God’s delight to invite us to be his messengers. Though we may not be told to travel to Galilee to meet the resurrected Jesus, we are sent out to let others know of God’s resurrection triumph. Death is defeated. It is not the end. So the true celebration can now begin.