Tedd Pullano
Matthew 28:1-10

New Rule Easter Sunday

I can't help but wonder what they were doing and thinking. Were they scared? Were they angry, were they absolutely desolate? As they sat in the Upper Room, or where ever they were, were they mourning? Were they beating their breasts and wailing out, like my grandmother when her 20 year old son died in a car accident? Were they absolutely out of their minds with fear? Were they really angry? Did they want to go to Mary's house and yell at her -- how could you let him do this to us? Were they completely lost? I wonder what they were feeling. I mean think about it. They had left everything behind for him. "Come, follow me", he had said. And they did. They left their fathers, their families, their homes, everything to follow him. They trusted him. They followed him around the countryside, watched him heal, teach and preach. They believed him. They believed in him. And they bought into it -- the whole "new kingdom", peace, wholeness thing. They trusted him and believed him. And then he was dead. End of story. End of kingdom. End of hope.

But he promised! They had believed him when he talked about this new kingdom. When he preached peace and love and clothing the naked and feeding the poor and setting the prisoners free, they got all excited. He said it would happen. When he taught them to pray "Thy Kingdom Come", they said yes Lord, let's do it. As he talked about this new way of living, a way of peace with one's brothers and sisters, a way of being in harmony with God, a way of restored relationships, reconciliation, healing of mind, soul, spirit and body -- they believed him and trusted him. When he told them everyone would have enough in this new kingdom, they wanted to be a part of it. When he promised them the ability to overcome the demons in their lives and to live free and full -- to live joyfully -- to live without the fear of sin and death ruling their behavior, they applauded and continued to follow him. When they were told their emptiness would be filled, they said, Cool, let's do it.

But, as they were on the verge of something spectacular, bam! Just like that they must have seen it all fade from their eyes. I wonder if they thought, isn't that just like a man? Make all these crazy promises, have this great vision about the way things could be, about how they could be different -- about starting a revolution to make the world a better place for everyone and then just leave. Bail out when things get tough. I mean, "he died, so he lied" must have been the operative phrase of the day. It is tough to change the world from the cross. It is impossible to bring peace and love and healing to the world from the inside of a tomb sealed with a huge rock.

Thanks for nothing. All their hopes were gone. All their dreams of "thy Kingdom coming" were sealed up in that stupid tomb. Rome had won. Death had the final word. No kingdom would come. Sorry lame and blind. Sorry poor and hungry. Sorry broken and hurting. Maybe some other day. No wonder they were hiding in the Upper Room. No wonder the two Marys walked to the tomb sadly as they went to mourn the loss of their leader and their hopes. It was all a pack of lies. They must have been wondering: "what do we do now?"

(Enter girls with news that Jesus' body is gone and that an angel had told them that Jesus had been raised from the dead and to go ahead and meet him in Galilee).

Raised from the dead? Raised from the dead? They must have thought: that can't be true. I mean, that is not how the world works. He has been raised? They knew better than that. After all, they were there to mourn him. He has been raised? How could that happen? (Pause) Then it would have hit them: Wait, wait just a minute. You know what, he mentioned this before, but that just sounded crazy. He actually said it several times -- like after the time on the mountain where he started to glow and stuff. And then he said it just a week ago, right before coming here to Jerusalem. So he was right. He knew. He knew this would happen. He knew he would be raised. But wait, how? How could it happen? Who would raise him from the dead? Who could raise him? Who has that kind of power and authority? Surely no one here could do that. (Pause) Really only God Almighty could have done that. And he must have. Remember that day in the Jordan, when Johnny baptized him and the voice rang out? "This is my son the beloved, in whom I am well pleased." Holy ... it all makes more sense now.

Wait, wait, so what does this mean, then? What could it mean that Jesus has been raised from the dead by the living God? Okay, let's think a minute, we can figure this out. Let's look at a couple of facts -- Jesus was going around proclaiming this new kingdom, one where peace and love would reign and all people share in all things and there is no slavery but freedom for all -- a kingdom not about power and selfishness, but about love - and the Romans did not like that, but they could not get him to stop. So, they did what they had to do -- they killed him. And boy was it brutal. But that was how they stopped all revolutions. If you want to stop someone from doing something, putting them to death is certainly a good way to do it. After all, once you are dead, you can't create a revolution, right? Death is the final word, the final answer -- there is nothing else to say after death takes its turn. Or so everyone thought.

But with the resurrection that has changed. Jesus, through God, through this resurrection, has overcome death. It did not stop him. So, then, it no longer has the final say. God does. Jesus lives, and so does his dream, so does his kingdom, so does his vision of full and abundant life. So the kingdom is going to be a reality. We don't have to be stuck in our sin. We can overcome our demons. The revolution will continue; it will be victorious. But, it'll need some help, probably. Maybe that is why he wanted them, why he wants us to meet him in Galilee. Interesting, isn't it -- Galilee is where he started his ministry, and now he continues it anew from there. He must have wanted to meet with the disciples to tell them what was next. That must have been pretty exciting. At that point, to suddenly think that there is a next step and they were invited to be a part of it. Because you know what happens when they go to Galilee to meet him. He is going to tell them to go out and spread the good news that he lives, that death does not have the final say anymore, that all the rules are changed now. There are New Rules now. Rules without any boundaries. Since he overcame death, there are now no limitations. Anything can be overcome. Anything can happen if you know him and spend time with him and trust him. He can give us strength to overcome those things that keep us from being whole. He wanted them to go tell everyone this; to help them understand and realize how important this is to know and understand. He wanted them to help in bearing witness to what has happened and to what can happen; he needed their help in creating this new kingdom. And today he needs our help.

You know, I recently heard Rob Bell talking about the creation story from Genesis, and how God did all this creating, but then gave his creation the ability to create also -- like trees creating new trees, animals creating new animals, plants creating new plants, etc. Then God created humans and gave them the ability to create as well. So in a sense, God left the world unfinished and invites us to participate in the building of creation -- and that includes the building of this new kingdom of peace and loving our neighbors. We are invited and empowered to bring order to chaos, just like God did in the beginning. That is so cool -- to think that we have been invited to work with God in creating this world in a revolutionary way. It does not have to be the way it has always been. It can be better. We have been invited to pick up where the resurrection left off; and through the power given to us through the resurrection, to break down barriers -- to proclaim release to the captives, to help the poor not just to have food for a day but to help them learn how to provide for themselves. We have been given power through the resurrection to create a world where people can love each other and still have enough.

(Pause) The resurrection then opens up so many doors -- so many opportunities to create, to learn, to love, to improve. There is a real power in the resurrection that each of us can get a hold of -- that each of us is invited to participate in and live out of. The resurrection is a revolution. It is a revolution for us personally and for the world. We need that resurrection revolution in our own lives to overcome sin and not fear death. We need that resurrection revolution in our lives to be whole and free of those things that keep us bound up. This world needs that revolution, too. The world need the resurrection revolution to bring about peace where there is war, to bring food to where there is hunger, to bring love to every corner of the globe. That is the meaning of "thy kingdom come". "Thy kingdom come" really is the order of the day, and it is made possible because of the resurrection. I never really understood what that meant until recently; until I have felt the resurrection and the power of the resurrection at work in my life and now in this world. Thy kingdom come -- and we are invited to participate in the creation of it. All because he was raised from the dead. All because he loves us. Hallelujah!