Text:  Mark 16: 1-8

I imagine there were a lot of Easter egg hunts these past few days.  Lot of excited little children running from place to place and right behind them their excited parents.  When all is said and done, the kids open their eggs to see what is inside.  Some kind of candy or prize.

But what if the egg is empty?  That’s not a happy thing.  What’s wrong here!

It the same with so many things.  An empty refrigerator.  An empty bank account.  It won’t be long before I have to go back east to empty my dad’s house now that he is gone.  Emptiness.

Yet today we celebrate a kind of emptiness.  An emptiness that makes a profound difference, an eternal difference.  An emptiness that might seem too good to be true.  But it is.  That’s why we say:

This is the Day the Lord has Made
And here The Holy Spirit invites us in this Word:
I.   Follow the women
II.  See the place.
III.  Go with the good news

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Who are these women we meet this morning?  All of them were disciples who had followed Jesus.  One Mary was the mother of the apostle James, known as James the less.  I wonder if have been short.  Salome was the mother of another James and John, also apostles.  Mary Magdalene was one that helped support Jesus and the disciples as they went from place to place.  Like us, they came from different towns.  They came from different situations in their lives.  But they all believed that Jesus was the Christ, their Savior.  They put their hope in him.

But think of what they had experienced these past few days.  Just the other night we sang:  Were you there? Were you there when they crucified my Lord. Some of them were there.  They were there when they nailed him to that cross.  They were there as people came by and taunted Him.  They were there when he cried out to his Father My God, my God why have you forsaken me.  They were there to see him grow weaker by the hour and finally die.  Were you there.  They were.

They were there when they took his lifeless body down.  This one who had called Lazarus back to life by the power of his Word.  He now lay dead.  They were there to follow the two men who carried his body to the tomb.  And there they watched these men try as best they could to get Jesus body ready for burial before the Sabbath.  Were you there?  They were there to see that there was more that should have been done for Jesus’ body, if there was time.

But there wasn’t time until Sunday morning.  So Saturday evening they went out and bought the supplies they needed.  And early Sunday morning they set out for Jesus’ grave.

What do you think they felt as they made their way?  They must have been numb and confused.  They believed and yet their faith was full of question marks.  They did not understand but they had learned the lesson of discipleship. When life is upside down the best thing to do is what is right in God’s eyes and trust God for the outcome.    For them that meant to honor Jesus with a proper burial.

But one thing they had forgotten with the rest.  One thing they did not expect even though Jesus had promised it.  They did not expect the grave to be empty even though Jesus had told them.  And even when they saw the stone rolled away it did not occur to them that this was the day the Lord had made. For he had risen.

Do we see ourselves in these women?  I do.  We know what God has told us.  I will help you.  I will give you rest.  I’ll never leave you. I forgive you.  I have gone to prepare a place for you.  We know what God has said.  But how often we let the troubles, the problems, the hurts confuse us.  So when life throws us a curve, we forget God’s promise like these women did.

Well here it was especially important that they remember.  So important that God sent an angel messenger to tell them what had really happened.  This is the day the Lord has made.  See the place.

Think about that place, the tomb where Jesus’ body had laid cold and still.  Humanly speaking, there Jesus’ body would stay.

A heavy stone as big as one of us was rolled into the entrance.  The governor had that stone secured with a seal that if broken was punishable by death and to make doubly sure that nothing changed, he posted a guard at Jesus’ tomb. Think about that place. Like our graves will be, it seemed that Jesus body would stay. And like the graves of loved ones we have visited, it was a place of weeping and  loss.  Think about that place where Jesus body had laid cold and still.

⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.

Now think about what that place had become?  A place that was no longer needed by Jesus.  For what did they see?  John tells us they saw Jesus’ burial clothes lying on the floor.  They saw that their  spices were no longer needed.  For those things were about death.

You see, this place had become something else.  Not a place of death, but a place of life, a place of victory, a place of hope.  For what did they not see when they looked — at least for now.  They did not see Jesus.  For he had risen.  He lives.  This is the day the Lord has made.

This is the day the Lord has made for you.  For what can we now know?  Buddha, Mohammed, Joseph Smith died and turned to dust.  And that’s where there words belong.  But Jesus Christ rose to life.  So this you can know.  Every word he spoke is true, God’s truth.  This you can know.  Your sins are forgiven.  For the very Son of God paid the price for you at the cross.  This you can know.  That Jesus is the resurrection and the life and if you believe in him you will live even though you die.  And when we have to say our good byes to those who have fallen asleep in Jesus, we can know this.  We will see them again in a much better place. Do you see why day is so important?  Yes, this is the day the Lord has made

But not just for you.  For others as well.  God so loved the world, not just you and me.  So take this to heart.  But don’t just take it for yourself.  Like that Easter dish on your table that is so good, it’s meant to be passed on.  This is the day the Lord has made.  Go with the good news.

The angel gave these women their assignment.  Go and tell his disciples. Christ is risen.  It’s kind of interesting that God chose women to be the first to carry this news.  In that time and place, the testimony of women and children was not to be trusted.  But that tells you something about who God wants to share this good news with others.  Not just a man in a robe or a clerical collar.  But everyone, everyone  who can say in his or her heart, I know that my redeemer lives.

So immediately, everything fell into place.  The women understood perfectly.  They had no doubts or fears.  So off they went ready to tell the world.  Right? Wrong.  ⁸ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.  Yet they did what the angel called on them to do.  Go and tell his disciples.  And when the time came they would tell others as well.

Well that time has come for us.  This is the day the Lord has made.  Christ is risen.  This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad.  But don’t just keep it in.  Go and tell the good news.  Amen.