Did you see any super-hero who descended from the heavens, in an earthquake at the resuurection? No!
So, who did you see? We see someone who came in the form of lightning - and was dressed in human clothing! I wonder: what did well-dressed lightning wear in first century Jerusalem?
We know the color was bright white - but what about the style?
That lightning probably prefered clothes with a looser fit.
And imagine how quickly lightning goes through new clothes! So we have this angel who looks like lightning, dressed to the 9’s, who rolls - back - the - stone - sealing - the tomb… and takes a seat on it!
This is some cool 'dude' angel. Just hot as lightning – but still cool!
And the Lightning-Angel speaks to the two women:
Take it easy... Chill! Don’t be afraid. But they are afraid! The guards are frozen in their fear and the two women are frightened…and grieving, and disappointed, depressed, defeated, confused, overwhelmed, hopeless, and bereft of their friend, the Teacher, the Master – Jesus.
If the message of Easter is "Don't be afraid..." then we need to ask ourselves, "What do we fear?" this Easter 2011?What are the fears, the disappointments, the confusion, the grief, the hopelessness, the losses in our lives in need an earthquake and Lightning-Angel to help us confront our difficulties and begin to believe, again, that no matter how great the pain, even the pain of death, Jesus, our friend, our Teacher and Master is with us through it all and that he knows the way out – not just the way to Galilee – but the way out of death to life.
Jesus didn’t spend long in the tomb himself and he doesn’t want us to hang around there, either.
He wants to bring us from fear to confidence, from hopelessness to trust, from grief to joy, from confusion to understanding, from depression to serenity, from loss to fulfillment - and from defeat to victory.
