J. Douglas Dortch, Jr., Ph.D.
First Baptist Church, Tallahassee, FL
“Where You Can Find Jesus ”
From the Lenten Series "A Living Lord "
Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10
March 23 , 2008
The older I get, the less I like surprises. I’m talking, of course, about the big, unexpected, unforeseen things that happen in the course of the day, most of which are never positive – the appliance malfunction, the viral bug, the bill I thought Judy paid. It’s amazing, isn’t it, the number of things that come up in the course of a day that can complicate life and rob us of our joy. You probably feel the same way, even about the unanticipated good things that may come your way.
For example, have you ever noticed how in a restaurant a person will be enjoying a nice meal with family and friends, when suddenly the entire restaurant staff will come parading out of the kitchen, clapping their hands and singing a birthday ditty? Inevitably, the person who’s on the receiving end will turn as red as the ketchup bottle and act embarrassed and ashamed that others had felt it their duty to call attention to the birthday boy or girl. I look over at them, see the expression on their face, and think to myself, “If looks could kill.” Have you ever seen that look on someone’s face, someone who wasn’t happy about being surprised? You probably have. No one likes to be put in a situation where the unpredictable carries the day. We think it’s better to be able to map out life and gear up for the things that might otherwise throw us off course.
But sometimes that’s not possible. Sometimes life just takes a sudden and startling turn. And though this new development might cause us to have to adjust our schedules and alter our routines, in the long run, as little as we like it, we are better for it. In the long run, we are often even blessed for it.
Consider the surprise of the first Easter morning. It’s hard for us to think of Easter in that way, now that we’ve been observing Easter for almost 2,000 years. We know the story so well that about the only surprise left to associate with Easter is figuring out when on the calendar Easter is going to fall.
But Matthew’s account of the Resurrection is a basket chock full of Easter surprise. You have an earthquake, which you have to admit is not an everyday occurrence. (When’s the last time you were in one?) You have an angel, which in the Bible is always a signal that God has some important (and surprising) news He’s about to announce. (When’s the last time you were “touched by an angel?”) Most importantly, you have an empty tomb, which on the surface is not that surprising until you pause to reflect on how two days ago a crucified man had been buried there. (When’s the last time you saw a “Resurrection” column among the obituaries?)
And yet the greatest surprise of all may be something we so easily miss in the story because of how our “church-broke” minds are so quick to tick off the Easter details of women and angels, earthquakes and empty tomb; and that is the Easter message itself: “(Jesus) is not here; he has risen…and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.”
Why Galilee? The Resurrection took place in Jerusalem, capital of Judea, site of the Holy Temple. Jerusalem was “uptown.” It was where the action was. It was the place where people could make connections and move up the social and political ladder. Galilee was the backwoods. Galilee was the place where people were always trying to move beyond. Galilee was an ordinary place. And yet two times in Matthew’s account of the first Easter Galilee is mentioned – once by the angel and once by the Risen Jesus himself. What surprising thing is God trying to tell us? Might God be trying to teach us that if you’re really serious about finding Jesus, then you need to be looking for him in the “Galilee” places of life, that you need to be looking for him in the ordinary places of life?
I think the greatest challenge we face as human beings is that of trying to find transcendence in our everyday lives. So much of what we deal with on a daily basis seems so mundane, so ordinary. How do we come to discover meaning and purpose in the menial and routine stuff that occupies so much of our time and energy? How do we find hope in the face of unforeseen setbacks? How do we cope with the opposition and even the rejection that come to us in the course of our everyday experience? Might our lives be more lifted up if in the midst of even the most mundane and miserable aspects of life we came to encounter the presence of the Risen Jesus?
You see, what makes the Easter story such a glorious story is the “everyday flavor” the Gospel accounts give it. Sure, there are earthquakes and angels and other things you may never see at school or at work or at home or at any of the places where you spend your free time. But what there is in this story that none of us should ever miss is how Jesus is in the “Galilee” places of life, and if you’re paying attention, you can see him even there.
In other words, the message of Easter is not just a proposition to be believed or a hope to be anticipated; it is a reality to be lived and a truth to be put into practice. If we fail to see Easter in that light, then we make it just another special day to dress up and be with family – nothing to dismiss; just nothing that really has the potential to change our lives for the better.
Think of it this way: What if Jesus were to show up at your office this week? What if he were to show up in your classroom? What if Jesus were to show up at any of the other places you tend to frequent in your Monday through Saturday world? What impact would he have? What difference would he make? What courage might he give? What hope might he instill?
The truth of Easter is that he is already in those places, and Resurrection joy comes only to those who dare to meet him and pursue him in their “Galilee” lives.
Some time ago, I came across the story of a young boy who was a fan of both Mister Rogers and Sesame Street. Those two television shows came on back to back and not a day went by when the boy wasn’t in front of the tube to catch his two favorite characters – Mr. Rogers and Big Bird.
One day, it was announced that Mister Rogers would be paying a visit to Sesame Street in the near future. The boy was beside himself at the news! Both of his heroes would be together on the same show!
Every morning the boy would ask his mother, “Is today the day?” “Is it today when Mister Rogers goes to Sesame Street?”
Finally, the big day arrived, and so much had been said about the meeting that the whole family decided to gather around the television to watch the big event. There they were – Mister Rogers and Big Bird together on the TV screen. The mother looked over at her son and tears were running down the little boy’s cheeks.
“What’s the matter?” the mother asked. “Is anything wrong?”
The boy just shook his head, never turning away from the tube. “It’s too good” was all that he could say. “It’s just too good.”
On that first Easter morning, as the women hurried from the tomb to find the disciples, Matthew tells us that they went “afraid yet filled with joy.” Tears no doubt were running down their cheeks. “It’s too good,” they probably were saying to one another. “It’s just too good.” Then “suddenly” they met Jesus. “Don’t be afraid,” is what he said to them. “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Where is the first place you’re going to be looking for Jesus this week? You say, “Well, I’ve never really thought about it that way?” No, you probably haven’t. And until you do, your life will remain empty and incomplete.
There’s a better way to live, and that is by looking for Jesus wherever life may take you, even and especially in the ordinary places of life. For in precisely those places will you find him in his glory and his grace. And when you do, it will be good; when you finally find Jesus, your life then will be “Easter” good.