Matthew 28:1-10

It is Easter Sunday, resurrection day. It is Easter Sunday and the Lord has risen. Allelluia. What a joyous day. What a wonderful morning we have been having.
And now we heard again the familiar, wonderful Easter story from the gospel of Matthew. The women go to the tomb early in the morning to bring spices and an angel came to roll away the stone and the guards were afraid. When the women arrived, the angel said, “Have no fear. He is not here; he is risen.” What is on your bulletin cover? (Do not be afraid.)
How many times have we read it, heard it? For many of us, the answer is lots of times. Know what I noticed in this Easter passage that I have never noticed before? That in ten verses fear is mentioned twice and no fear twice. In ten verses four times. The tomb is empty and the guards are afraid. An angel says to all at the empty tomb, “have no fear’; he is risen.” With joy and fear the women run to tell the others. They encounter the Risen Lord, worship him and Jesus hear him say “Have no fear. Go and tell the others.” Find the tomb empty. Fear! The angel says “Have no fear.” They go out with fear and joy. See with their own eyes the risen Lord. Fear! Jesus says “Have no fear.”
So those who had gone to the tomb with the burial spices come back with both fear and joy to tell the others the Resurrection news. “He is risen from the dead.” And just where are the others? The gospel of Matthew doesn’t say. But the gospel of John does. The ones who didn’t rise early to take spices to properly bury their dead rabbi are, at least most of them, back to the Upper Room, where they had had the Last Supper. And they are in that room — locked in fear.
I guess you could understand. Jesus, their Teacher, the one who had taught them of God and of love, had been arrested on trumped up charges and crucified. Not supposed to happen. That could be so very frightening. They feared that they might be next.
Then, the gospel of John tell us, into that Upper Room, Jesus, the Risen Lord comes and says “Peace be to you.” He shows them his hands and side and they know it is the Lord. Alleluia. He is risen. They are exuberant. Ah, now that’s more like it –some Resurrection rejoicing. But a week later, where are they? They are still shut up in that same room, doors are locked- fear. Jesus, their Lord, has been raised from the dead triumphant over evil, violence and death and they know it and still the disciples are locked in - in fear. They don’t sound very much like Resurrection people to me. The very joy of the resurrection news is diminished because they are sequestered– in fear. Fear does diminish us.
All the gospel accounts of the resurrection remind us that fear is the common emotion. Now I can understand fear being the initial response but a risen Lord calls us to something beyond fear. Look what Jesus has conquered for us. With his spirit as our companion, what is to be feared? He calls us to courage, calls us to hope, calls us to joy, calls us to confidence. He calls us to living life fully and freely.
With only one fear. Fear of God. Trembling before God, not because God is an awful tyrant but because God is awefilling. We are to stand in awe and wonder at the power of God revealed in Jesus Christ, kneeling at the mystery made visible in the empty tomb. Sacred fear. The second stanza of that wonderful hymn, Amazing Grace,says it. “’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved.”
But we have reversed everything. Rarely is it God we fear. We fear things with far less eternal power and much less worthy. So we can’t fault the disciples for not acting like resurrection people; we don’t much act like resurrection people sometimes either.
What do we fear? OK, own up to it. Individually we have our own lists. Some say that since September 11 we have been living in a culture of fear. We had enough fears already but now it includes terrorists, extremists, security in airplanes, people who are different, suitcases left unattended, powder in strange places and on and on.
These days we fear for our children, our nations youth. Will they make good or bad decisions in life? Will the kids be safe at school? Will they be protected from guns and drugs and alcohol and bullies and friends who drive recklessly or fellow students who would turn a gun on them?
We fear identity theft and economic downturn. We fear our financial well-being – will there be enough money in the bank to pay our bills; will there be enough money for my retirement; will there be enough money in the bank account to fill my car with gas?
We fear for our health so we read all kinds of health news and the latest reports – coffee is good for you; coffee is bad for you; exercise is essential but don’t overdo it, eat more fish; don’t eat fish – they contain mercury: eat more chocolate, but only a little and only dark and only if it is more than 60% cacao; wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap, no, that’s not good for you. etc.
We fear death and getting older and we can’t stop that so we fear looking older and spend billions on cosmetics, diets, exercise machines, teeth whiteners, plastic surgery, etc. You know.
Some of us fear the big C word. For some the big C means – cancer. Some the C word is crime. For others the big C word is change.
We fear being left out, found out, burned out, worn out, phased out.
The media certainly seems to play on our fears. Industry and advertisers play on our fears. Movies play on our fears. Politicians play on our fears.
Sometimes our fears cause so much apprehension that we, like the disciples, are locked in, confined and simply can’t move. Can’t get loose of it to live life fully and freely. Just like those disciples, we have heard the resurrection story. We know his triumph over all that is frightening. Failures are forgiven, evil is powerless, life has purpose, things we feared big time turned out to be small matters, death is conquered. We ought to be living confidently as Easter people. The story of the resurrection speaks to our private fears.
But it speaks as well to fears in the community of believers. We are to go and tell but we look more like those disciples locked in, bound by fear, unable to share the bold Good News. It was not until those followers of Jesus let go of fear, fear that saps energy, fear that makes you shrink, fear that clouds vision, fear that immobilizes, fear that keeps you from doing the right thing, fear that keeps you from standing against the wrong - it was not until they let go of that fear and took hold of the Holy Spirit that they left the four safe walls of Upper Room and acted like resurrection people. It was not until then that they really proclaimed the word that Jesus had risen, really announced the good news. When they let go of their fear, that’s when the resurrection power of Jesus began to take hold, because they were willing to live fearlessly in the Spirit.
I’m not naive. I’m not saying that there is nothing to fear. I’m not suggesting there are no bad things in the world, that evil doesn’t threaten us. After all, look what happened to Jesus.
What I’m saying is that we can face them squarely. I’m saying that the Easter message is in God, good ultimately and always triumphs. After all, look what happened to Jesus.
Rick Lowry, a professor of Old Testament now at
Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis told this story to some of us over lunch one day. He declares it to be true.
He says a number of years ago when he was teaching at Phillips, he was campaigning for political office in Oklahoma. We know the scene very well in this pre-election year. You need to go out and meet the people, shake hands, kiss babies, knock on doors. On one occasion while waiting for someone to come open a door, he was watching a mouse try to get into that person’s garage. The mouse tried several different ways to get into that garage, but to no avail. Rick was standing there amused when a neighbor arrived. Rick took the opportunity to do a little more campaigning. Just for conversation he commented on this silly mouse. The neighbor, a big guy, kinda tough, allowed as how he’d just go get his gun and shoot that darn thing. Not wanting to offend the gun-toting, voting population, Rick put up no resistance.
In a minute or so the neighbor was back, shotgun in hand. He took aim and the mouse turned around and saw it. Instead of freezing in fear, like you’d expect, that mouse began to run toward the gun. He ran zig zag across the yard, but always toward the gun. The guy didn’t pull the trigger, just watched. Waiting for the little guy to be in his sites. At last the mouse reached the nuzzle of the gun pointed down at him and - now Rick says this is the truth, and he’s a preacher which might or might not make him more believable – but he says the mouse stood up on its haunches, put its paws around the gun barrel, facing his fears squarely, looked into the long barrel of the gun. And the big tough gun-toting guy didn’t have the heart to shoot. And the mouse scampered off – scott free.
What a lesson for us. No Fear. Face up to it. With the Risen Lord at our side we can look right straight at it and watch it go away.
We are called to live in hope and in promise and in no fear.
No Fear. There’s a company that makes T-shirts that say “No Fear.” I have to admit that when those No Fear T-shirts first came out, I had to ask what that was all about. I didn’t understand a whole rack of T-shirts that said “No Fear” by the door at J. C. Penney’s. I might have expected them in church conference or something, but in the commercial world, on young people who may not even claim Jesus. You see we let them steal our line. That’s our line. No Fear. That’s the church’s resurrection message.
“There is NO FEAR in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” (I John 4:18) The perfect love of God in Jesus Christ casts out fear. That’s the gospel. No Fear. There are many places in the scripture that say that. Oh, sometimes they don’t use the “in phrase” No Fear. Sometimes they say something like, “Fear not” or “be not afraid.” Angels, messengers of God, often say, “Fear not.” They learn it in, I think, the second session of angel orientation school. Have no fear.
Today I want us to use the contemporary phrase in those places in the scripture that reminds us not to fear. Now, help me out here! And every time I hold my hands like that fearless little mouse did ( ) as it looked up the gun barrel, I want you to call out with me “No Fear.”
From the prophet Isaiah: ( ) No Fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name. You are mine.
From a favorite psalm: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will have ( ) No fear of evil, for you are with me. Your rod and staff they comfort me.
From our favorite story: Have ( ) No Fear, for behold I bring you good news of great joy which shall be to all people. For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior. (Luke 2)
From the Sermon on the Mount: Even the hairs on your head are counted. ( )No Fear, you are more valued than many sparrows. (Luke 12:7)
When someone came to the leader’s house and said to that man, “Your daughter is dead,” Jesus said to him, “( ) No Fear, Only believe and she will be saved.” (Mt.)
From the account of Jesus walking on the troubled water coming to the troubled disciples: ( )No fear. It is I.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday, he lived out the prophecy ( ) No Fear, daughter of Zion, your king is coming. (John 12:15)
And from our scripture texts for today:
To the women at the tomb who saw no body there: Have ( ) No Fear, you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is not here; he has been raised from the dead. (Mk 28:6)
And Jesus, himself said to them and to us: have () no fear. (Mt 28:10)
( ) No fear. ( ) No fear. ( ) No fear.
Let us live as resurrection people. Let us live fully as ( )No Fear people. Alleluia, Lord, Amen

Sermon preached by Dr. Charlotte D. Nabors
Central Congregational Church
March 23, 2008