WEBVTT - This file was automatically generated by VIMEO 0 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:05.200 you 1 00:00:09.600 --> 00:00:10.800 The Lord has risen. 2 00:00:11.700 --> 00:00:12.900 He has risen indeed. 3 00:00:14.100 --> 00:00:17.900 Throughout the entire 27 books of the New Testament is 4 00:00:17.900 --> 00:00:21.000 the message the faith affirmation that 5 00:00:20.400 --> 00:00:23.400 Jesus was crucified on what 6 00:00:23.400 --> 00:00:24.800 today we call Good Friday. 7 00:00:25.700 --> 00:00:28.600 Buried in a tomb through Holy Saturday 8 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:31.200 and rose from the dead on what today we 9 00:00:31.200 --> 00:00:32.600 call Easter day. 10 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:36.800 What is remarkable is the consistency of 11 00:00:36.800 --> 00:00:38.700 that message that affirmation of faith. 12 00:00:39.500 --> 00:00:42.400 The centrality of the death and resurrection of Jesus 13 00:00:42.400 --> 00:00:44.700 Christ to the Christian faith. 14 00:00:45.300 --> 00:00:48.800 Undergirds the entirety of the New Covenant even 15 00:00:48.800 --> 00:00:51.600 while aspects of the story differ as 16 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:54.200 each New Testament writer tells the 17 00:00:54.200 --> 00:00:57.300 story to their Community with a particular emphasis. 18 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:01.500 We encounter the different emphases of the writings each 19 00:01:01.500 --> 00:01:01.900 Sunday. 20 00:01:02.700 --> 00:01:04.600 Most particularly at Easter 21 00:01:05.600 --> 00:01:08.400 this year in the set of readings we follow -the 22 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:11.600 lectionary - offers a choice of the sermon of 23 00:01:11.600 --> 00:01:14.200 Peter in Acts who tailors his 24 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:17.600 message to proclaim the good news of Easter to the 25 00:01:17.600 --> 00:01:19.500 household of the Gentile Cornelius. 26 00:01:20.300 --> 00:01:24.000 Easter breaks down racial and cultural barriers and 27 00:01:23.500 --> 00:01:27.000 all are included in the good news. The Lord 28 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:27.800 has risen. 29 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:33.000 We have an excerpt from the letter to the church in colossi in 30 00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:35.800 which Paul sets out and implication for 31 00:01:35.800 --> 00:01:38.400 those who have been united through baptism and 32 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:40.700 faith in the anointed one of God. 33 00:01:41.600 --> 00:01:44.100 The Christ who died and was raised from the 34 00:01:44.100 --> 00:01:47.000 dead that we should set our sights on 35 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:50.400 and seek the things of and live the way in 36 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:52.700 Christ who will come again. 37 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:56.100 We also have a choice of gospels for 38 00:01:56.100 --> 00:01:56.300 today. 39 00:01:57.100 --> 00:02:00.300 The Gospel of John, of Mary Magdalene meeting 40 00:02:00.300 --> 00:02:03.400 Jesus in the garden at first thinking he 41 00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:06.200 was the gardener, but then recognizing the 42 00:02:06.200 --> 00:02:09.200 Christ and going to the others with the message. 43 00:02:09.200 --> 00:02:11.200 I have seen the Lord. 44 00:02:12.500 --> 00:02:15.700 But I want to give attention to Matthew's gospel and 45 00:02:15.700 --> 00:02:18.100 his telling of the Easter story to his 46 00:02:18.100 --> 00:02:18.500 community. 47 00:02:19.700 --> 00:02:23.300 Matthew portrays Mary and Mary Magdalene going 48 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:24.300 to the tomb. 49 00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:27.500 In Matthew the tombstone is 50 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:28.800 not yet been rolled away. 51 00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:32.600 Unlike in Mark's gospel the women 52 00:02:32.600 --> 00:02:35.600 do not bear spices to bury prepare the 53 00:02:35.600 --> 00:02:36.100 burial. 54 00:02:36.600 --> 00:02:39.300 Instead they go to see the last 55 00:02:39.300 --> 00:02:40.800 resting place of Jesus. 56 00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:45.100 The women are met by an end of world 57 00:02:45.100 --> 00:02:45.500 event. 58 00:02:46.200 --> 00:02:49.200 An earthquake and in that Quake an angel from 59 00:02:49.200 --> 00:02:52.900 heaven comes down and rolls away the stone and 60 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:54.500 then sits on the stone. 61 00:02:55.300 --> 00:02:58.500 In Matthew's gospel, there are guards at the tomb 62 00:02:58.500 --> 00:03:02.200 who at the earthquake and appearance of the Angel are 63 00:03:01.200 --> 00:03:03.500 paralysed with fear. 64 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:07.800 By contrast the women are fearful 65 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:10.600 but not paralyzed. They are 66 00:03:10.600 --> 00:03:13.500 given a message and unlike the ending of 67 00:03:13.500 --> 00:03:16.300 Mark's gospel the women go to tell 68 00:03:16.300 --> 00:03:19.100 the others that Jesus has been raised. 69 00:03:20.100 --> 00:03:23.400 The women become what one person described as 70 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:26.100 the "apostles to the apostles". 71 00:03:26.900 --> 00:03:28.800 They are sent to tell others. 72 00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:33.300 The women are reassured by the angel, given 73 00:03:32.300 --> 00:03:35.600 a message and commissioned to 74 00:03:35.600 --> 00:03:36.400 go and tell. 75 00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:40.500 On the way something startling happens 76 00:03:40.500 --> 00:03:43.200 the risen Jesus appears to 77 00:03:43.200 --> 00:03:43.500 them 78 00:03:44.100 --> 00:03:47.400 and reassures them and he reiterates the 79 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:50.600 message of the angels to go and tell 80 00:03:50.600 --> 00:03:51.200 the others. 81 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:55.200 Matthew is saying something about the inclusion of 82 00:03:55.200 --> 00:03:58.300 women and something about the sending of all 83 00:03:58.300 --> 00:04:01.500 people who have been given the gospel message to 84 00:04:01.500 --> 00:04:04.300 go and tell, and perhaps something 85 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:07.100 about on the way, even when we 86 00:04:07.100 --> 00:04:10.800 are fearful the risen Jesus would in some 87 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:13.500 way encounter our fears, give 88 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:16.100 us reassurance and reaffirm the 89 00:04:16.100 --> 00:04:16.600 sending 90 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:21.300 I want to go back to the earthquake. Actually the 91 00:04:20.300 --> 00:04:23.300 two earthquakes and some other 92 00:04:23.300 --> 00:04:24.100 details. 93 00:04:24.700 --> 00:04:27.700 I often wonder why it is that some 94 00:04:27.700 --> 00:04:30.900 Christians often make a choice between attending 95 00:04:30.900 --> 00:04:34.200 church on Good Friday or Easter 96 00:04:33.200 --> 00:04:34.500 day. 97 00:04:35.200 --> 00:04:38.400 I also wonder why there are often more people in 98 00:04:38.400 --> 00:04:41.300 church on Good Friday then Easter day. 99 00:04:42.200 --> 00:04:45.500 I wonder if Matthew also wondered about this 100 00:04:45.500 --> 00:04:48.500 The way Matthew tells the story, 101 00:04:48.500 --> 00:04:52.000 Good Friday and Easter Day are 102 00:04:51.200 --> 00:04:52.700 joined as one. 103 00:04:54.100 --> 00:04:57.800 Brendan Byrne in his book "Lifting the Burden" says 104 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:00.300 this: " the Easter story 105 00:05:00.300 --> 00:05:04.500 in Matthew, the passion of his death, aftermath in 106 00:05:04.500 --> 00:05:07.300 the tomb empty tomb and risen Lord 107 00:05:07.300 --> 00:05:09.900 is one continuous story. 108 00:05:10.900 --> 00:05:13.200 Matthew portrays this overlap 109 00:05:13.700 --> 00:05:16.700 the women disciples are witnesses at 110 00:05:16.700 --> 00:05:17.700 Jesus' death. 111 00:05:18.400 --> 00:05:21.300 To his burial and sealing of the Tomb of 112 00:05:21.300 --> 00:05:25.000 the large stone, to the earthquake, the angelic 113 00:05:24.600 --> 00:05:27.100 appearance and the emptiness of the 114 00:05:27.100 --> 00:05:27.800 grave. 115 00:05:28.400 --> 00:05:31.100 finally to the appearance of the risen Lord 116 00:05:31.100 --> 00:05:31.700 himself 117 00:05:33.500 --> 00:05:36.500 Byrne continues: " likewise the counter 118 00:05:36.500 --> 00:05:39.900 story - the guard the tomb the 119 00:05:39.900 --> 00:05:42.300 experience of the guards,their bribing 120 00:05:42.300 --> 00:05:45.300 spans the passion and Resurrection. 121 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:49.900 What I have noticed is that Matthew includes 122 00:05:49.900 --> 00:05:52.700 two strategic earthquakes 123 00:05:52.700 --> 00:05:55.500 in his passion narrative that are absent 124 00:05:55.500 --> 00:05:58.400 from the other gospels ,an earthquake at 125 00:05:58.400 --> 00:06:01.700 the death of Jesus and another earthquake at 126 00:06:01.700 --> 00:06:02.400 the Resurrection. 127 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:06.400 The earthquakes are why a 128 00:06:06.400 --> 00:06:09.800 way of saying here is an otherworldly event 129 00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:13.000 and end of world event. Everything is 130 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:13.700 changed. 131 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:17.400 This one story of the death and 132 00:06:17.400 --> 00:06:20.200 resurrection of Jesus marks the end of 133 00:06:20.200 --> 00:06:23.700 the old and indicates the coming of 134 00:06:23.700 --> 00:06:26.300 the Kingdom of Heaven or reign of 135 00:06:26.300 --> 00:06:29.200 heaven or Kingdom or reign of God 136 00:06:29.200 --> 00:06:29.900 on Earth. 137 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:32.600 God is indeed with us. 138 00:06:33.500 --> 00:06:37.400 Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter 139 00:06:36.400 --> 00:06:38.700 day is one story. 140 00:06:39.700 --> 00:06:42.100 Here is not only the founding of the 141 00:06:42.100 --> 00:06:45.800 Christian story, it is the birthing of Christian 142 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:46.300 Hope 143 00:06:47.200 --> 00:06:50.700 the Lord has risen.He has risen indeed.