Matthew  28: 1-10, 16-20                                           Easter Sunday

  C & E.  Christmas and Easter. The two big days for Christians. The beginning of life and the beginning of life again. Over 2 billion people in the world, about 1/3 of the population of the world, call themselves Christian. For 75% of the people in the US, this is a big day or it should be, if we’re doing our job of making disciples. Hard to believe that this day of resurrection, celebrated by 2 billion people around the world, began with a couple of women going to the tomb to embalm a dead body with spices. A dead body, they thought.

 Seems like death is all around us. Richard how many funerals have you conducting in Venice in March?    8 in three weeks!  Hospice work. People without pastors. Death expected.  Chaplains needed.

 But sometimes death is not expected. On Thursday, my first cousin Jay died. 56 years old, Jay had just proposed to a high school sweetheart, having re-connected with her, after many years and a couple of failed marriages. Sad day.

 Same day, my next-door neighbor’s mother committed suicide. Had attempted it two weeks ago. Came out of the hospital, seemed okay, but they found her in her car, rosary in one hand, recent gift from her 6 year old granddaughter in the other. Long-term bipolar depression. Very sad day for her family. Sad for her that life became too painful to endure.

 Do you know how many people die in a minute around the world? More than 100 every minute. About 155,000 every day. Google world clock and watch the numbers of births and deaths and other figures tick away. It is sobering. Death is all around us, but death is not the final word. Life is. Hear now the story of life. Watch for the three-fold pattern in this story of fear or doubt, instruction to go tell others and reassurance of presence – don’t be afraid.
 

 ^NRS Matthew 28:1 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.  ² And 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.  ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.  ⁴ For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men.
 ⁵ But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.  ⁶ He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.  ⁷ Then 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."  ⁸ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.  ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."  ¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
 

 Let’s talk about that pattern of fear and doubt, the challenge to go tell others, and the reassurance of Christ’s presence.

 Let’s think about fear and doubt. Fear of failure, fear of being alone, fear of people knowing our secrets, fear of forgetting something important, fear of losing loved ones, fear of long-term illness, fear of living too long or dying prematurely, fear of alienating those we love, fear of being misunderstood or rejected, fear of financial ruin, fear of changes in the world, fear of losing control, fear of not being able to take care of yourself, fear for your children’s or parents’ well-being, fear of your own instability, and fear of dying. Why do people find it hard to walk through nursing homes? Fear. Why do people find it hard to give more generously? Fear. Why are people cautious about deepening friendships? Fear.

 Fear and doubt. There are times when I doubt, when I say to myself, “What if all my work is in vain? What if this Gospel isn’t true and I will have spent my life telling people it is true?” But I have to keep going and telling, keep preaching, even when I doubt. And I am reassured by the way this Gospel changes lives, gives hope, brings peace where there is no peace. I am reassured by the faith of others, by being in worship and experiencing the hope and joy of living faith when we are together. I am reassured by the love that we Christians share, a love deeper and richer than other loves. I am reassured by the compelling Word of God and by the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit when we share this meal together. Worship keep us believing. And believing is better than not believing. Of that I am sure.

 “Faith makes you live longer.” That’s what sixteen year-old Catherine learned in psychology class the other day. I researched online to confirm, those of us with active faith (i.e. regular weekly attendance in worship) do live longer, according to studies conducted by skeptics. And interestingly enough of our 135 medical schools in the USA, over 100 of them now offer courses in spirituality and health. Fifteen years ago, only 5 of them offer that kind of course. Faith matters, but we still have our doubts. Even with our doubts, we are to go tell others that Christ is risen, that we are forgiven.

 But I am glad that this passage says they worshiped the risen Lord, “and some doubted.” But it doesn’t say then that Jesus sent the doubters home, and said to the real believers, “Okay, for the true believers, here are your instructions.” No Jesus told all of them, even the doubters to go make disciples of all nations. And so, I say to all of us, who doubt from time to time, keep sharing good news. Jesus doesn’t expect you to have it all worked out perfectly. The disciples saw him in person resurrected and still doubted. All the puzzle pieces don’t have to match up perfectly. Keep living and sharing the faith, despite your doubt. In fact, you might be able to comfort others with your doubt. Maybe they have doubts too.

 Many people are uncomfortable with Christians who have no questions and no doubts. Everything’s tied up perfectly, but people see right through that sham. Triumphalistic Christianity has done a lot of damage to the church and the world. “And some doubted.” They worshiped and some doubted. It’s a great line. Life’s is not perfect when you’re a Christian. Bad stuff still happens. There are not easy answers to life’s difficult questions, but your faith helps you through it, not over it or around it, but right through it. Faith brings meaning to it.

 To all of us, even with our fears and doubts, Jesus says, “Go, tell somebody. Make disciples.” We Presbyterians have some learning to do there. Make disciples? How am I supposed to do that? I can invite my friends to church, but I don’t know how to make disciples. Well, how did Jesus make disciples? He said to those around him, “Come with me.” And that’s what we need to learn to do. Come with me to church. Come with me to Habitat. Come with me to the park. Come with me to dinner. Come with me to the movies or to a prayer group. Build relationships and through relationships make disciples. Jesus made disciples of those with whom he spent a considerable amount of time. Live a Christian life worth emulating. Follow Christ’s example of loving service such that when others are with you, doing things with you, they are blessed by your love and your faith. And pray for them. Jesus concentrated on a few, not the multitudes. He called twelve. He took two or three off with him when he needed to pray. You can make a difference in the lives of a few. And then they can make a difference in the lives of the few, and then eventually, two billion people believe.

 Jesus says, “Go, make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Trinity — the rite of welcome. This is more radical than we imagine. You see, to welcome people from all nations was an anathema to 1st century people. The people of other nations are not like us, the Jews would have said. It is hard not to write people off as strange or unsuitable, but the radical reach of the resurrection is that God’s love is for all people. No one is written off, not even the ones you or I find repulsive. That’s what makes
God’s love so beautiful is that there is no one deserving it. It is poured out for all people, like the rain that waters the earth.

 Go make disciples, baptize and teach them to live like Jesus, to obey his commands. That’s how we make disciples, through sacramental welcome into the family and through teaching the faith. Our first responsibility in disciple-making is to those we have here – our own, especially our young. Are we all committed to disciple-making right here? The young and the young in faith are watching you. Will we make disciples of our own and are we willing to reach out beyond our own, as Jesus did? He welcomed all and chose disciples and friends, from among those who were unacceptable.

 The third message in this Resurrection story is presence. “Don’t be afraid. I am with you always.” Richard and I have had the blessing of watching our four children grow out of the “I’m scared. Please stay here. Don’t leave me.” mode of childhood. When I read these words, “Don’t be afraid. I am with you always.” that’s what comes to mind. As a parents, you cannot say, “I am with you always,” even though you want to reassure them. You cannot promise never to leave. You can promise always to love them, but you have to leave them. You have to leave them in their beds at night. You have to leave them at school. You have to prepare them to leave you and ultimately to be left by you when you die.

 But you can tell them that there is one who will never leave. That one is the Spirit of the Risen Christ, who is always with you, wherever you go. The Spirit of the Living Christ is with you when you’re afraid or lonely, with you when you die, with you when depression keeps you from living, with you when others abandon you. Christ is with you when you turn your back on him, with you when you ignore his commandment, with you when you deny his existence, and with you when you betray him and when you fall asleep on him. The Spirit of the Risen Christ is with you in sorrow and in joy, in success and in failure, in poverty and in riches. The Spirit of the Risen Christ is with you, whether you ask for him to be or not, whether you see him or not, whether you love him or not.

 The radical reach of the resurrection is that Christ has walked with you from the beginning and will walk with you in the end, Christ has trampled down death, so that it does not get the last word. That good news is worth sharing with all the world. So reach out with resurrection love to those near and far. Do not be afraid.
Share the good news.