Easter Sunday April
5, 2015
Mark 16:1-8 See
and Tell Disciples
Dear
fellow redeemed,
A
good photographer is into both seeing and telling.
Its
what you plan to do when you go
vacationing.
* Lets say you plan a trip to Norway or
Germany or New Zealand.
Your first goal is see what you came to see.
So you scout out the beautiful landscape.
You
then snap away, capturing what will best represent a particular city or
territory.
* Your second goal is to tell others of your trip.
And the best way of doing that is by
assembling a scrap book or photo album.
* It makes for a wonderful trip.
First you see the sights. Then you tell the story.
Well,
the story of Easter is about seeing and telling of something even more beautiful.
* He is risen . . . See the place where they laid him. . . . Go, tell his disciples and Peter
that he is going before you into Galilee.
* Its what Christian disciples do.
We see the evidence of
Christs resurrection.
We observe the particulars; the
stone thats been rolled away from the entrance of the
tomb,
the empty grave, which assures us that Jesus is risen indeed and has secured
our
victory
over death and sin. We capture it in our thoughts and minds until
we receive the
opportunity
to convey what weve seen to others; tell
them the story.
* However, the world consists of three
different kinds of disciples.
Some are not much into telling and some are more into
telling than they are seeing.
* The first kind is what we might call show and tell disciples.
Theyre more into telling, telling
you something about themselves.
* It may remind you of your favorite
pastime in grade school. You loved show and tell,
because
you no longer had to concentrate on the teacher or your homework.
* In fact, this was the one time when you could be the teacher,
demonstrating to your peers
everything
you knew about a particular place or hobby.
* Of course, today youll admit it was never really about others learning, it
was all about
you!
Show
and Tell: for many, this seemed
like a natural activity when Christ first arrived on the scene.
* People saw his miracles.
And immediately saw their
opportunity to show him off to the world.
* In one particular instance, following Christs feeding the five
thousand, people wanted to
force
him to be their king. But Jesus hadnt come to be served, to be a show off, he
came
in
order to
serve and give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
* It explains why on a number of occasions
Jesus impressed on his hearers that no
telling
should
take place at this time. The people should tell no one that he was the Christ, for
their
telling would give a wrong impression of why he had come.
* Remember the man who was deaf and had a speech impediment?
Jesus puts his fingers into his ears, spits, and looks to heaven.
Be
opened he commands. And it
is so.
* But Jesus charges them to tell no one. Of course it didnt work.
The more
he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.
They had a story to tell.
Christ
has never been into show and tell. But
people still want to play the game.
* And so it is in the church today. People have a story to tell, and once again
it hasnt to do
with
Christ and his death and his
resurrection.
1 It
has to do with how I became a
Christian.
2 Or
it has to do with how the Lord is using me at my congregation.
Ive finally been asked serve in a
particular position!
3 Or
God is apparently using me outside of the church, at work or in the community.
Im finally using Gods gifts and
doing what Ive wanted to do all these years!
* We tell our story through volunteer
work, through music, through lifes make overs.
Now,
please dont get me wrong.
* Our work is appreciated and our heart
is in the right place.
We may even be doing what our Lord
desires and what hes called us to do.
* But the storys not about us. Once we believe it is, its not see and tell were engaged
in.
Its show and tell. Were
not telling others about Christ.
Were focusing on ourselves.
* We might learn something from the
apostle Paul.
He could have put himself in the
spotlight on a number of fronts.
* I worked
harder than any of them he
says, though it was not I, but the grace of God
that is with
me.
It was never about him. And it
shouldnt have been.
* For I am
the least of the apostles, he declares,
unworthy to be called an apostle.
Some
disciples are into telling but have the wrong focus in their telling.
Others
are afraid of any kind of
telling. We may call them, your see and flee disciples.
* As we turn to our Gospel reading, were
introduced to those who are given the first
opportunity
to tell the Easter story.
* However the women are overwhelmed by
what they see and hear at the grave-sight.
Christs body is missing and this
angel speaks of him as having risen
. . .
See the place where they laid him.
* They see the empty tomb but they flee, for trembling and astonishment
had seized
them. Theyre
so afraid that they (say) nothing to anyone.
* The Lord had spoken very plainly of
this day, telling his disciples more than once or
twice.
Hed suffer under the religious leaders and hed be killed, but hed rise three days
later.
* And now they hear the message once again, He
is risen; he is not here.
But this greatest opportunity of a
lifetime becomes an occasion not to cheer
but to fear.
And
so it is in the church today.
* People come to the divine service in
order to see Christ.
Unfortunately, once they determine
that Christ does not remain in an empty tomb,
but
wants
us to see him where hes present and lives today, in his Word and Sacraments,
they
flee for weeks or even months.
* One may assume its not because they
have something better to do. Its because theyre
afraid.
Theyre afraid of becoming too
committed. Habits require time and
effort.
People might even wonder about them
if they go to church too much.
* Speaking of church habits, you might be
one who insists, I havent gone anywhere.
In fact youll see me here on the Lords day more
often than you wont see me
here.
* But youll admit it, wont you? Youd much rather see than tell. Youre thinking, I
wouldnt
know the first think about relating the Gospel to a certain acquaintance!
See the place where they laid him.
* Whether youre here to see every
Sunday, or a few times a year, you may be told the
same
thing. If youre afraid to see and then tell, its going to be
for one of two reasons.
* Either you see yourself as more worthy
of being here than certain other
people and you
dont
want to admit it, or certain
other people perceive that you
see yourself as more
worthy
of being here, and you dont want to prove them wrong.
* Now, obviously in some cases you cant
help it if someone draws a certain conclusion,
because
theyre afraid of
seeing. Theyre afraid that regardless
of what you think, theyre
indeed
not worthy of seeing Christ and receiving his forgiveness.
In
other cases, however, and perhaps in most
cases, this person will welcome what were telling them.
You
just have to figure out how to bring them into the story.
* Christians sometimes have the idea that
telling the story, confessing our faith, means
springing out of nowhere that this person, like you, is a sinner and they need Christ.
* But participating in telling can be so
much easier than that.
Let them begin the conversation.
Let them talk about their sin first.
* What Im suggesting is listen to them when they tell you how
theyre hurting.
1 Maybe
theyve ruined things with a given loved one.
They cant seem to keep their mouth
shut.
2 Or
maybe your friend has been fired from work.
Negotiations are out of the question
and he cant afford to retire yet.
3 Or
maybe her husband has received bad news from his doctor.
Hes not going to beat his cancer.
* This certain person already knows about
the shame and wages of sin.
However, you can tell him or her how thankful you are
that our blunders and misfortunes
dont have the last word in our lives.
Christ and his resurrection do.
* He will
swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all
faces.
Thats
basically what it means to be a See
and Tell Disciple.
* Youre not more worthy of seeing
Christ. And this certain person in your
life isnt any
less worthy. Youre both sinners who fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Thats
why what we see today is relevant
to all.
* But am I not at a disadvantage compared
to those women at the tomb?
They were eye witnesses of Christs
resurrection.
Once they overcame their initial fears they had a miracle they could
tell others first hand.
* But thats not really accurate. Unlike those who witnessed Christ heal the
deaf and mute,
or
the blind and lame, these women
did not actually witness the resurrection.
They merely saw the effects of the
miracle.
* Remember the words of the angel?
You seek Jesus of
Nazareth, who was crucified. He has
risen: he is not here.
* There was no miracle to show or to be seen. There was simply a message to be told.
But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before
you to Galilee.
There you will see
him, just as he told you.
* Notice, the women are not told to drag
the disciples back to the grave
to see some
miracle.
They are simply to believe the word which Jesus had spoken first.
And
thats also our great privilege today as See and Tell Disciples.
* Our calling is not to offer physical
proof of the resurrected Christ.
Its to relate good news of where he may be found.
We ask that hurting or shamed
acquaintance, are you feeling defeated because of whats
happened
at work, or with a certain
relationship, or with the health of your loved one?
* Do not be
alarmed. You seek Jesus . . . who was
crucified.
He has risen: he is
not here. Rather, hes
over here in the message of our
risen Christ.
1
Hes here in the
Gospel; in the message of his atoning blood which has erased the sins of
the
entire world from Gods sight.
2
Hes here in Holy
Communion where he gives you with his body and blood forgiveness
and
everlasting life.
3 Hes
here in his todays message
where he tells you that hes taken upon himself all of
your
sins, and blunders, and afflictions, and anxieties in order to defeat them on
the cross.
4 Hes
here in the Easter story which is just as valid as ever as it was written just
for you!
If
youre feeling like youre more into seeing than telling, it might be because youre missing how
the
two are connected.
* I might explain by talking about my
current glasses and the frustration Ive had recently
in
the chapel with seeing my sermon. With one pair of glasses I could see my
manuscript
without
any trouble, but I couldnt see you
unless I removed my glasses.
With the other pair I could see you fine
but not my manuscript.
* Guess which pair I chose?
Thats
right. Its more important that I see my message
than that I see you.
* And the same is true of any confessing Christian.
For sure, you want to see those to whom youre doing your
telling.
You want to see the expression on
their face, when you havent quite connected.
They have a question and you need to
do some more explaining.
* But dont be afraid of what you cant see, because God hasnt revealed
to you what kind
of
effect your words will have.
* What is of first importance is that you can relate what you see before your
this day, the
everlasting
beauty of the resurrection message, that Christ died for our sins . . . , that he
was buried, that he was raised on the third day in
accordance with the Scriptures.
* Yes.
Jesus Christ died, he was raised, and you may stop being afraid. Amen.
May the peace of God which
passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
