Resurrection Sunday
April 4, 2010
Behold the Hidden Glory of the Cross!
It Is Hidden Even in the Savior's Triumph
He's risen! He's risen indeed! Listen to the report of the resurrection and let your heart be filled with undiluted joy and unmixed gladness:
Luke 24:1-12
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " Then they remembered his words.
When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.
But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
All throughout Lent we have been looking for the hidden glory of the cross. Today that glory reaches it climax. But, as we noticed throughout Lent, the glory is hidden. It is hidden even now.
Do we see Jesus shining in glory at the tomb? No. It's two of His angels. Jesus' glorious moment of resurrection is hidden from sight. No one sees it. Even when Jesus does appear to His followers He graciously doesn't appear in His glory. The reason is why is Jesus' love for His friends.
See how the women reacted to the angels at the tomb. Remember how the Peter, James, and John were scared out of their wits on Transfiguration Mountain. If Jesus had appeared to them in His glory, they would have died of fright. So again Jesus displays His love by hiding His glory.
And see how Jesus sums up the joy of Easter with a few simple words: “Don't be afraid.” Because Jesus paid for our sin on Friday and the Father acknowledges that payment today, we never have to be afraid again.
See how gentle Jesus is with us. Instead of blasting into the disciples' hide out without warning, He has the women report what they saw and heard at the garden tomb. He has the two men who were on their way to Emmaus return to Jerusalem after He speaks with them on the road.
Jesus wants all His followers to depend on His Word. That is where you uncover the glory of Easter. You find it in the Word. You find it in the Sacraments. Jesus' Words tell us that He forgives us and Jesus' and Sacraments forgive us.
So don't be afraid, dear brothers and sisters of Jesus, for HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! ALLELUIA! AMEN!
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