COME SEE THE PLACE WHERE HE LAY
A sermon in verse by George R. Pasley
Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 28:1-10
The reason he lay there-
THERE-
In the place of death
Was because he WAS dead,
And it was not a pretty sight.
Those who came to see him on Easter morning
Had seen him just three days earlier,
Grotesque and stiff,
Crucifixion gashes upon his wrists and feet,
Gaping spear wound in his side,
Gaunt and pained and
Naked in death,
His robe taken as spoil
By his executioners.
And so he lay there
Dead in a borrowed tomb.
YOU DON’T GET NO DEADER’N THAT!
So they came expecting death
In all of its ugliness-
And to tell the truth,
Sometimes even when we close our eyes
We cannot escape the sight.
Death surrounds
Like surround sound.
Just ask the refugees at the camps in
Chased by death from their homes in
Watched over by death year-after-year
In their makeshift tents,
Praying they won’t starve
Or catch sick
Or be chased again
By violence so evil
That we cannot wrap our middle-class
American minds around it.
Death surrounds like surround sound
And we cannot help but see where it lies.
Just ask those who have lost a lover
Or a son or a daughter
Or a parent
Or a brother or a sister
In our wars across the earth.
Death surrounds like surround sound
And we cannot help but see where it lies.
Three years ago
My cousin committed suicide.
At the wake my aunt took her granddaughter-
My cousin’s niece-
And asked her to walk with her
And see his body.
It had been cleaned up and dressed up
But my little cousin still did not want to see.
It was hard for us all
But even with eyes closed
We could not avoid it.
Death surrounds like surround sound
And we cannot help but see where it lies.
But on that Easter morning
The angel said to Mary and to Mary,
“Come and see the place where he lay.”
We have to look,
Because the reality of death
And all that is evil in the world
Forces us to look.
But we need to look
Because it is holy invitation
And we must look
Because HOPE requires it.
See, the invitation offered in the present
Is past-tense.
It is the place where he once lay,
Not where he now lies.
The one once beaten and mocked
Crucified and stabbed
Dead and buried
Is not there,
The tomb is empty
Death is beaten at its own bitter game.
So look,
Each one of you,
All of us,
At the place we fear most to look.
Look where death is, even now.
But know that Jesus once did lie
In such a place
But nevermore.
Look where life experiences
Its greatest suffering and pain.
Know that Jesus once did walk
Through that same place
But nevermore.
Look where we have been the most cruel.
Look where we have been the least humane.
Look where we have squandered the most mercy.
Look wherever you might never dare!
But know that those places
Have been declared
Bankrupt
Powerless
Impotent
Because Jesus rose from death
And dies no more.
So when you see the place of death.
When you see suffering and pain.
When you see deep despair.
When you see all that is wrong and evil
Flourishing like October rain in
Remember that there is another place,
An empty tomb
Where Jesus once did lay.
But then listen,
And you will hear a second invitation:
Then go quickly and tell his disciples,
'He has been raised from the dead,
And indeed he is going ahead of you to
There you will see him.
That invitation is a rally cry for hope.
Go out into the world-
The same world where death abounds
Where sin abides
Where injustice is cancer.
Go out into THAT world
And you will see Jesus,
Very much alive.
See him there,
Scars upon his wrists
But life within his breath;
See him there,
Wound upon his side,
But broad smile upon his face.
See him there,
Surrounded by suffering,
Standing victorious over death.
Yes, you will see him
And you have seen him
And you can see him now,
Out there-
Where death abounds
Where sin abides
Where injustice is a cancer.
When you see him
Take his words to heart:
DO NOT BE AFRAID.
Do not be afraid
Of any message
Nor of any power
Nor of any situation
Which would sing the grisly song
Hope is dead.
Do not be afraid,
Because Jesus
Is very much alive.
Take his words to heart:
DO NOT BE AFRAID.
Do not be afraid
Of your own weaknesses
Nor of our common sin
Nor of the failing
Of anything that is human.
Those things we will experience,
Time and time again,
But Jesus
Is very much alive
And sin and death have been proven
Bankrupt
Powerless
And impotent.
Take his words to heart:
DO NOT BE AFRAID.
Then go and tell-
Tell the poor,
Tell the widowers and the widows,
Tell the children being raised in anger.
Tell the sick,
Tell the hungry,
Tell the untouchables and the despised,
Tell the forgotten
And the never-known-at-all.
Go and tell-
Tell those ones who dare not sleep
Because death
Could come at any time.
Go and tell-
Tell the ones looking for work.
Tell the ones who have been rejected
So many horrible times
That they now expect it.
Go and tell-
Tell the ones who live in fear
Because night by night
And day by day
They are abused
And ridiculed
And mistreated.
Tell them one and all,
Tell them Jesus
Is in their world,
Very much alive,
And death has no power over him,
Not anymore,
AND YOU DON’T GET NO MORE ‘LIVE THAN THAT!
Tell them not to be afraid,
Even though death abounds
And sin abides
And injustice is a cancer.
What will you tell them?
DO NOT BE AFRAID!
Why will you tell them that?
BECAUSE JESUS IS ALIVE!
Let’s say YES to that,
And let’s say it as loud as Christians can:
YES!
Okay. Let’s go and tell.
What are you waiting for?
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
