Expectation - Living by the Word - Matthew 28: 1-10

Christian Century, March 24, 1993 by Frederick J. Streets

EACH OF THE Gospel accounts of the resurrection describes the women coming to the tomb of Jesus for a purpose. Matthew states that they came to "see the sepulchre." Mark, Luke and John indicate that the women intended also to express love, respect and grief and to anoint Jesus' body with ointment. It is clear from each of these accounts that the women expected to find Jesus' dead body. They presumed, like most of us, that once a person dies he or she remains dead.

Jesus' resurrection addresses us with two of life's great questions: the meaning of our existence and the meaning of death. Faith in Jesus Christ as risen Lord redefines the meaning of our life and death. Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection demonstrates what God has brought to us--life. Jesus' death underscores the facts of sin and evil in our world and our hearts. But his resurrection can cause us to breathe with a new sense of life.

What gives us life seems at first to take our breath away. The women and those who were standing guard over the tomb reacted with fear, trembling and paralysis to the news that Jesus was alive. We would probably react in a similar way. God's presence and gift of life can be experienced in silence, as a "still small voice" or as an "earthquake." Whatever the circumstance and nature of our own theophany, we need God's help to discern God's will and voice. The angel explained to the women the meaning of what they were experiencing: "He is risen as he said . . . go . . . tell his disciples."

The meaning of the resurrection story can break into our lives in so many unexpected ways. We can expect by faith that its truth can shake our foundation and change our perception of life. It tells us that we are meant to live our lives as a people seized by a hope that is in Christ. I wish I could say that this hope means that we will not suffer the death of other people or experience our own death. Those who believe in Christ crucified and resurrected, live, die and live again with God all for the same reason--they are a part of God's plan and mysterious ways. This may not sound like hope to some people. However, it is not only a statement of belief and hope for eternal life, but a way of expressing trust in God. Many people hold on to things that do not give them life. Life is found where God's hope and love are manifested. God is where life is more abundant.

The resurrection story is not only about hope. It is a testament to the presence of God among us. It is good to know that God will not separate God's love from us. We may distance ourselves from God, but God is as close to us as a prayer in our hearts.

Our hope in an experience of God's love is the source of our strength. It enables us to live faithful lives. The power of God demonstrated by Jesus' resurrection is the core of our identity as a people of faith. We celebrate the story's message of God's power over evil and our capacity to confront evil in ourselves and our world through daily acts of private and public piety and service to the common good. We sustain our faith through our relationship with other people and as members of the body of Christ--the church.

The resurrection story encourages us to change our expectations and assumptions about life. Life can be lived with joy. Matthew tells us that the women left the tomb "with fear and great joy." The mood of the text implies that their joy was greater than their fear. When life is found where we had expected only death, we feel great joy. We also gain a deeper respect for life as a gift of God.

The resurrection story speaks to the fragmented nature of our lives. It gives us hope when we face the broken and unreconciled pieces of our lives or even death itself. It also challenges our penchant for wanting to live a narrow life and think in a reductionistic way. It invites us to believe and be open to the undetermined ways God will reveal Godself and God's power.

Jesus' resurrection means nothing to some people. There are those for whom this story is of interest, but not a part of their own faith claim or journey. Nevertheless, it is a story that continues to be told by those who have had their expectations and lives changed by believing in Christ's resurrection. The core of who the women were and what they believed was changed by their experience on what became the first Christian Sunday morning.

The promise of the resurrection is found in the last four words of verse 10: "they will see me." We seek to see the resurrected Lord in our daily lives and through our experiences. There is joy in believing what the resurrection promises--to one day see God and God only. We live in the meantime, expecting to see God's glory revealed in life and in the lives of people who place their trust in God, who was revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The women did not expect anything out of the ordinary to happen once they reached Jesus' tomb. But their faithfulness to the task of honoring their dead placed them at the center of a life-changing event. It is wonderful that God sometimes meets us in our faithfulness. Sin prevents or limits our ability to consider what God has made possible for us to experience--the power to live with hope in God through Jesus Christ in the face of sin and death. We are empowered by the resurrection to have our lives shaped by this hope. It becomes increasingly real for us the more we cultivate for ourselves God's spirit in Jesus Christ. Jesus' resurrection is the story of how we can come to life in Christ.