Shock and awe. According to Mark, that’s what the women experienced when they went to the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter morning. They meant to go and anoint the body of Jesus, and asked each other along the way, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" for such stones were huge and heavy. Imagine their shock upon arriving at the tomb, to find the stone already rolled away. Imagine their awe when they looked inside the tomb, to find not Jesus, but an angel dressed in white. "Do not be amazed," the angel said to them. "You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here." Mark tells us that the women fled the tomb, filled with trembling, astonishment, and fear. Shock and awe at what they had just seen. Shock and awe at what it might mean.

Since the War in Iraq began, we have heard the phrase "shock and awe" used to describe the reaction of those facing the power of the U.S. military. Today, we use that same phrase to describe the reaction of those who have witnessed the power of God; the power to overcome death.

The same shock and awe that the women at the tomb experienced must have stayed with the early believers in the Resurrection, because the four gospel accounts that we have of it can’t seem to get their stories straight. So awestruck were they, that each one has a slightly different account of what really happened on that morning.

Mark’s account, which we heard this morning, is the starkest and most shocking. The women flee from the tomb, terrified. Mark’s ending is so abrupt that later writers weren’t satisfied with it—they just couldn’t leave it like that, so they added 12 more verses, to make it come out a little better. If Chapter 16 of Mark’s gospel in your copy of the Bible has more than eight verses, you’ve got one of those edited versions.

The other three Gospel writers tell us a little more about what happened after Jesus rose from the dead, which is what we want to know. Matthew has the risen Jesus meet up with his disciples back in Galilee, where he gives them their marching orders, the Great Commission; "Go and make disciples of all nations." Luke has the risen Jesus hang around for a while, making various appearances to his disciples, and asking for something to eat, just to prove that he really is alive—before he ascends into heaven before their very eyes. John, too, reports a number of post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. Jesus walks through a closed and locked door behind which the disciples are cowering in fear and doubt. Then he meets them for a picnic on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where he gives them their final instructions.

All of these stories are comforting and reassuring, and we will hear them as the Easter season goes on. But in a way, I think that they tend to domesticate the story of the Resurrection. They lack the shock and awe that Mark leaves us with--He is not here. He is risen.

On this Easter morning, as we gather to proclaim the Resurrection, I would like to tell you that I believe in the Resurrection, even without the proofs that Scripture offers us. I believe in the Resurrection for at least three reasons;

I believe in the Resurrection because somebody told me about it.

I believe in the Resurrection because it has stood the test of time,

I believe in the Resurrection because I have experienced it.

First; I believe in the Resurrection because somebody told me about it. Now that may not sound like a very good reason to believe in something, but if you think about it, we know most of what we know because somebody told us about it. How do you know that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen-hundred-ninety-two? Were you there? Of course, you weren’t, but somebody was, and they wrote about it and eventually it wound up in your third-grade history book, and your teacher told you about it. How do you know that a man has walked on the moon? Were you there to greet him when he took that one giant step off the lunar lander? If you are old enough, you can say that you know about it because you saw it on TV. It was on the news then, and continues to be talked about today in scientific documentaries. I’d have to say that I believe it, because people continue to talk about it.

And so it is with the Resurrection of Jesus. Mark tells us that the women who fled from the tomb were so frightened, so filled with shock and awe, that they went away, and said nothing to anyone. But they must have. Eventually, they must have said something to someone, probably to the disciples, who eventually told enough people that the Church was born. Within 30 to 40 years, the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection were written, and so there was a written account that could tell people about what had happened. That record has come down to us nearly 2000 years later, and each of us was told the story of the Resurrection—first by our parents, and then by our Sunday School teachers, and then by our Pastors. Or if you never heard the old, old, story as a child, perhaps a friend who believes it has told you about it. I believe in the Resurrection because somebody told me about it.

Second; I believe in the Resurrection because it has stood the test of time. A lot of things start out good, but soon fizzle out. Remember the Chicago Bulls three-peat in the 1990’s? They seemed unbeatable, but where are they today? Even Michael Jordan’s star, which shone so brightly, had dimmed with time. Tiger Woods burst onto the sports scene as the new wunder-kind of golf a few years back, but barely made the cut for the Master’s Tournament this year.

Fame fades and new fads and fashions emerge. Nowhere is this more true than in the music business, where the industry philosophy is, "You’re only as good as your last hit record." Songs come and go so fast that you barely have time to learn them. And how about movies? Who remembers who won the Oscar for best actor two years ago? As important as it seemed then, nobody much cares now.

But not so with the story of the Resurrection. The Resurrection of Jesus is as important today as it was on the day it happened. Maybe even more so. It was not something that was here today and gone tomorrow. As long as there is life on earth, people will be talking about the Resurrection of Jesus. I believe in the Resurrection because it has stood the test of time.

And finally, I believe in the Resurrection because I have experienced it. No, I wasn’t an eyewitness—but like those who were, I believe in the Resurrection because I have experienced it. The disciples didn’t believe in the Resurrection because they could explain it—they believed in it because they had experienced it. Jesus, whom they had known in the flesh, Jesus who was crucified, who died, and was buried in the tomb, was now and alive with them. I have experienced that, and so have you.

I have experienced it with grieving families—including my own—who got through their grief because of their belief in the Resurrection. That’s not to say that grief goes away quickly, or that everything is all right overnight. But those who have faith that their lost loved ones have a new life often find their own lives transformed as well. They find that they, too, have a new life. Life is never the same after a loved one dies, but a new life is possible. Resurrection happens. I have experienced it, and so have you.

I have also experienced the Resurrection in those who have been dead because of addictions. I have seen them break free of what has enslaved them. That is a powerful example of Resurrection.

And I have experienced the Resurrection in this very church. A few years ago this congregation was sinking down. Now, by the power of God, we are rising up. We are experiencing a Resurrection.

And we have taken that Resurrection beyond these walls. We have given hope and new life to homeless women and children through the WINGS program. We have brought healing and a loving touch to those we serve on our Mexico Mission. Together, we have experienced these things.

The Resurrection cannot be proved, but it can be experienced. The real power of the Resurrection is experienced in the ways that people’s lives are moved from death to life, from sealed tomb to open door, from the old ways to new opportunities. That is the Resurrection.

The account of the Resurrection, as Mark tells it, is an open-ended one. Mark doesn’t tie everything up into a neat package for us, telling us exactly what happened after Jesus rose from the dead. Mark leaves us at the empty tomb in shock and awe. But he also leaves us with plenty of room to make room for the experience of the Resurrection in our own lives. The Resurrection is not limited by time or space. It isn’t over. It keeps happening.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

(He is risen indeed! Alleluia!)

Alleluia. AMEN.

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