“Remember” (Luke 24:1-12)

Any person with a lick of common sense would tell you that it was over.  It was all over.  They had stood there and heard his last words, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)  They had witnessed his last breath.  They had seen the tomb in which they had placed his body. It was over . . . Jesus was dead.  Anyone with common sense could see it.  And, with its demise, everything came crumbling down . . . the hopes, the dreams, and the promises.  It was all gone and in its place was shock, grief, and tears.  It was over.

Imagine then, the reaction of the women who went to the tomb the next morning to properly prepare the body of Jesus for burial.  Imagine the surprise and shock they felt when they got to the tomb and it was empty.  The body of Jesus was gone!  Imagine the thoughts that ran through their minds . . . someone had stolen the body.  Sadden by their discovery, it only gets more intense as the women are spoken to by two ethereal beings who tell them to knock it off: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you . . .”

And then, they remembered.

I imagine that most of us have brushed up against death in our experience of life.  That we have all experienced the death of someone we cared about and loved . . . a family member . . . a friend.  We have felt its sad and mournful grip upon our lives and hearts.  Have encountered its darkness and hopelessness.  How it stops us in our tracks, renders us motionless . . . helpless . . . lost in its chaos.  To experience death throws us into that moment in which nothing makes sense . . . and, the world around us seems spinning out of control.  And, we feel so lost.

As those women stood outside of that empty tomb, the reality of death touched their hearts to their deepest depths.  As I read this passage, I cannot help but to think and feel how lost they must have felt.  How their hopes and dreams had been crushed . . . scattered to the wind, never to be found again.  How would they ever find their way back again?

Isn’t that our fear whenever we experience death . . . how will we find our way back from being so lost?  How will we get back on track again with our lives?  How will we find our way back home?

Since this past Wednesday morning I have been struggling with my thoughts and emotions over a death.  Wednesday morning, I received a call from a work acquaintance about the accidental death of her young nephew . . . a child around ten years old.  The child’s mother has been one of my mentors in the program where we have college students with disabilities mentor high school students with disabilities about the transition from high school to college.  This was the third year that she had been one of my best mentors.  But, I have known her and her sons for nearly ten years as they would stop by the office to visit their aunt.  I have pretty much witnessed these boys grow up, and to hear the news of the one son suddenly dying . . . well, it was heart-breaking to say the least.

I was heartbroken for my co-worker who lost her beloved nephew.  I was heart broken for my mentor who lost her son . . . heart broken to imagine the depths of her pain.  I was heart broken for the family, friends, and acquaintances as they stood by . . . speechless and wanting to comfort, but not knowing how.  I feel heart broken because I know that there is nothing that I can say that will ever take away the pain . . . the sorrow . . . and, the loss.

The best that I can do . . . the best that anyone can do . . . is to let them all know that I am there.  I am there with them . . . praying and shedding tears.  And, in the end, all I can really tell them is to remember.

Remember . . .

From that night that Jesus broke the bread and lifted the cup with his disciples in that upper room, we have heard that word . . . remember.  And, again this morning, as we witness the women gathering at the empty tomb, we hear it again.  “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen!”  Remember how he told you . . .”  Isn’t that what the two heavenly messengers said to the women . . . remember!  Remember what he told you . . . remember how he said it over and over again . . . remember!

The writer of the Gospel of Luke then tells us . . . “Then they remembered his words.”  From that moment on things changed.  No longer were the women mired in their sadness and mourning, but they were filled with joy and hope . . . they believed.  They believed that Jesus had been raised . . . believed that he was alive.  With great joy they—Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women—ran to the disciples to share the good news . . . he’s alive!  Jesus is alive.

Out of the darkness of death came the rays of hope as they remembered.

Of course, the message was wasted on the men . . . the common sense men.  They did not believe the women.  There is no way Jesus could be alive.  They had seen him die . . . they had seen his dead body . . . they knew he had been placed in a tomb.  As far as they were concern, Jesus was dead.  It did not matter what the women said, Jesus was dead.  Any person with common sense would know this.  No, the disciples were too lost in their grief . . . they could not remember.  But, in time they would as Luke’s gospel points out.

There would be the experience of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus who encounter a stranger—the risen Jesus.  At the end of their experience as they were sitting down to eat, the stranger took the bread, broke it . . . and, they remembered.  And, like the women before them, they rush to tell the other disciples that Jesus was alive.  They remembered.

There is power in remembering.  Jesus told us to remember . . . to remember his words . . . to remember his actions . . . to remember that death could not keep him down . . . to remember that he is alive and that he is always with us.  In remembering, they believed . . . and, so do we.

And, in remembering, the memories and stories must be shared . . . they must be told . . . if they are to stay alive.  Is that not what we hear in every funeral we attend . . . remember.  In remembrance the deceased live.  Thus, it was that the women rushed to tell the disciples . . . that the two rushed to the others . . . Jesus was alive!

As we gather to celebrate the living Jesus, we are reminded to remember.  We are reminded to remember the words of Jesus . . . his words of hope, love, and grace.  To remember his actions as he took those words and lived them in his daily life.  To remember his promises of always being with us.  And, to remember that it is all possible if we believe in what we remember.  Our faith is built on how we remember our relationship with Jesus . . . built upon the belief of those memories . . . and, our willingness to embrace them as a way of life. 

As we remember, like the two along the road of Emmaus, will our hearts not burn as we remember . . . as we remember that Jesus promised never to leave us . . . never abandon us.  Easter just proves it . . . if you can remember . . . if you can believe.  Jesus is alive . . . always alive!  As the followers of Jesus, let us never forget.  Amen.