Marcus begins by explaining that he is annually invited to preach at Calvary Episcopal Church during lent but would like to talk this year about Easter which happens after Lent. His Easter speech will continue a previous theme of memories, conversion and convictions.
Memories
Marcus recalls Easter being a big holiday, not as big as Christmas but still big with baskets, eggs and festivities. Easter was not as exciting as the 4th of July with it’s parade, carnival and firecrackers. Easter was a holiday because “Jesus was raised from the dead” and Marcus remembers taking this quite literally during his early childhood state, what he calls pre-critical naivete. The adults said it was true so it must have been true.
Convictions
Marcus explains “It no longer matters to me whether or not the tomb was really empty or whether or not something extraordinary happened to the corpse of Jesus.” He clarifies that he’s not making the argument that nothing happened just that it doesn’t effect the meanings of Easter. Easter meant two things to the followers of Jesus.
Jesus Lives and Continues to Be Known
One was that Jesus is a figure of the present not just the past, he continues to come to his disciples in visions. His followers continued to feel the same presence they had experienced around Jesus in the community.
Jesus is Lord
The second meaning, has to do with how important and how common it is for people to See him. Marcus compares Jesus sightings and sightings of Elvis in Memphis. This is more important than whether or not the tomb of Jesus was empty.
The Emmaus Road Easter Story
On the day we know as Easter Sunday, two of Jesus’s followers are walking from Jerusalem toward the village of Emmaus. They are joined by a figure they don’t recognize during their two hour walk, the stranger asks what they are talking about and they respond you must be the only one who hasn’t heard what is going on in Jerusalem. They tell him about Jesus, meanwhile, the figure they don’t recognize is Jesus risen all along. As they reach Emmaus and Jesus prepares to leave them, the disciples ask Jesus to stay with them the day was pleasant and night is coming. The stranger (Jesus) agrees, at the tavern he blesses some bread, breaks it and with the breaking of the bread the disciples eyes were opened and they recognized him. Then Jesus vanished from their sight.
Marcus believes this story to be a parable of Jesus’s resurrection. Parables by definition are not factual reports the story of the Good Sumatran was not a mugging that Jesus had witnessed the day before. The purpose of the story is about meaning not factual events. The meaning of the Emmaus road story is that Jesus Christ journeys with us whether we know, realize or perceive it or not, and sometimes there are moment’s of recognition.
The Empty Tomb Easter Story
Three women go to the tomb on what we know as Easter Sunday morning expecting to find the body of Jesus there in order to anoint him. Upon their arrival they find that the large stone sealing the tomb has moved and a young man dressed in white walks out and says, you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, why do you seek the living amongst the dead? He is not here, he is risen.
The meanings of this story are more important than whether or not the actual events really happened. First, you are not going to find Jesus when you are dead, the tomb couldn’t hold him. He was crucified by the political powers of the time but death couldn’t hold him, he is still out there recruiting for the Kingdom of God. On Good Friday the powers said no to Jesus on Easter, God said yes to Jesus and his teachings.
Marcus closes with a pair of ideas “Believing in Easter” vs. “Participating in Easter.” Believing might mean believing that God did this utterly spectacular thing for Jesus a long time ago. You can believe that without being transformed, you can still be mean. To participate means to let go of an old way of being and to transform into a new way of being, one can participate in the passion that animated Jesus’s life.