Easter (A)
Matthew 28:1-10
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Take Your Best Shot
Perhaps you remember what it was like to get involved in a scrape on the playground or in your neighborhood. It’s a more common sight among boys than girls I would guess. Before the two actually come to blows, there is usually a verbal exchange. Before one lays hands on the other there is typically some verbal jousting. Pushing back and forth with the force of language. Intimidation by one liners and insults. For example, one kid might try to draw a line in the sand with the comment “Well my daddy can beat up your daddy!” To which the other kid might respond “Oh yeah!? Well your momma wears army boots.”
The same sort of verbal pushing and shoving shows up in the movies. Movies are famous for their one liners. Perhaps you remember Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry movies saying “Go ahead, make my day.” Or “Do ya feel lucky punk? Well do ya?” One of my favorites is from True Grit starring John Wayne where someone says to him “That’s big talk for a one-eyed fat man.”
As we gather today to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave there is one line I’d like to suggest to you today that sums it all up. And that one line is “Go ahead, take your best shot.”
As we made our way through holy week, we witnessed all sorts of people taking their shots at God’s only son, Jesus. You see how the religious leaders, seethed with rage as they plotted his death. They used their best planning to connive and conspire with each other. They put all they had into setting him for a fall. They took every opportunity, wasted no time, and gave it their best. And they succeeded.
Then you see the crowds at his trial calling for his crucifixion. They knew just what to say. They were primed and ready. Every time Pilate challenged them they had an answer “We have no king but Caeasar!” “Crucify him!” they shouted. How about I let go a criminal for you? “Barabbas! We want Barabbas!” They didn’t miss a beat. “Crucify him!” They gave him their best shot. And they succeeded.
Then you look at the soldiers beating him. They were good at it. They were professionals. They knew where to strike, knew how to rip the flesh right off. They held nothing back. Going so far as to spit on him. They unloaded all their meanness, all their ugliness, all their hatred. They gave it to him good.
Take your best shot. Give it to him. Lay it on him. He invites it you know. He asks for it. Surely you remember when he was talking to the crowds in Matthew chapter 11 and he says
“Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden.
And I will give you rest.”
Jesus invites the crowds to come to him and give it to him . . . their burdens. To those whose lives are heavy with shame and guilt, he says give it all to me. To those whose lives are full of sin and rebellion, he says let me have it. To those whose lives are out of control and headed for destruction, Jesus says "lay it on me."
Jesus came so that we could lay all that is wrong in our lives on him. He was born in that stable and raised by the virgin Mary and the carpenter Joseph so that you could come to him and give it to him. He’s got big shoulders. His shoulders are so broad that they assume the weight of the world. All the ugliness, all the darkness, all the sin, the pollution, the violence, the war, terrorism, corruption, greed, depression . . . all of it. He wants it all. Don’t hold anything back. Let him have it.
Surely you remember that the Bible says that
“he took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
(Matthew 8:17)
In fact, so completely does Jesus take all the sin, death and destruction in the world that the Bible says that he became sin for us on the cross. He absorbs it all and takes it to the cross. And he takes it down.
That’s another line you hear right before a fight: “You’re goin’ down.” That’s exactly what Jesus does with sin, death and the devil . . . takes ‘em down. Straight down to the grave. He robs them of their strength. He takes from them any power over your life. He makes them impotent. Because of what Jesus did, they’ve got nothing on you. And then as he takes it down, he says “Is that all you’ve got?”
Perhaps you remember Rocky III, when Rocky Balboa, the Italian Stallion fights Mr. “T.” At the end of the movie Rocky and Mr. T face off in the center of the ring, Mr. “T” tells Rocky “I’m gonna bust you up.” Then during the fight Rocky keeps asking Mr. “T” “Is that all you’ve got!”
And why does Jesus want all this? Why does he want it all? Why should we give him our best shot? Because the Bible says that he takes all to the cross to take it down to the grave so that he can give you what he’s got. We call this the happy exchange. You give him all that is not right in your life, the whole kit and kabootle, and he gives you all that he has: healing, wholeness, peace, love, forgiveness, everlasting life. All the beauty of his Kingdom is yours.
For those who were not able to join us for worship, our choir sang Handel's Hallelujah chorus. Actually, they sang it better than the performers in this flash mob video.
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