Matthew 28:1-10
Unfinished Business
James Sledge April
12, 2020, Easter
“Unfinished business lingers in
every graveyard—broken promises, betrayals, countless secrets left to perish
with the departed.”[1] That
quote really resonated with me when I first read it years ago. I suspect that
it is true for most people. There’s always something that should have been said
but wasn’t, a conflict that wasn’t resolved, a wound that still festers, a
chance for reconciliation lost.
I once heard about a woman who could not get
past the unfinished business with her late husband. After his death she learned
of a terrible betrayal by him, and it poisoned all her memories of their life
together. She was able to move on only after following her pastor’s suggestion
of going to the cemetery to have it out with her husband. I presume that he remained
silent for this “conversation,” but through it she was able to deal with some
of her hurt and anger, some of the unfinished business from her husband’s death.
In a Jerusalem graveyard all those
centuries ago, unfinished business lingered. The followers of Jesus were left
to contemplate how they had abandoned him in his hour of need, deserting him
when he was arrested. For Peter, that included cursing and swearing that he did
not even know Jesus. Peter had wept bitter tears afterward, but they had not
washed away the horrible memory.
And then there was their
disappointment and anger at Jesus. How could he have let this happen? He put up
no fight at all. Maybe he was not who they thought he was, who they hoped he
was.
Perhaps all this unfinished
business is the reason that only two women go to the tomb that first Easter
morning. For others, memories of abandonment, desertion, denial, failure,
disappointment were too fresh, too raw. Visits to the tomb would have to wait.
Matthew’s gospel isn’t clear about
why these two women go to the graveyard. It says nothing about them wanting to
anoint Jesus’ body, only that they went to see the tomb. Likely they knew
that the tomb was sealed and guarded, that they could not get inside. Were they
going to deal with their own unfinished business, to speak some words that they’d
not had the chance to say before Jesus died? Or were they going simply because
there was nothing else they could do?
But God intrudes abruptly into
their visit. There will be no soft weeping, no wondering what might have been,
no words spoken too late. The ground shakes; the tomb opens; God’s angel appears
with frightening radiance; the guards are paralyzed with fear; the angel
speaks.
The gospel is remarkably sparse in
describing what happens next. It says nothing about how the women react. It
tells of the angel inviting them to view the empty tomb, but doesn’t say what
they saw, only that they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy.
With fear and great joy… We hear
nothing of them being frightened when the earth shook or when an angel appeared
and spoke to them. Only after they have seen the empty tomb and leave do we
hear of their fear and great joy. The reasons for joy are obvious. Jesus is
alive! He is risen! They will see him again!
But there are also reasons for
fear. All that unfinished business of the graveyard, all those unspoken words
they had hoped to whisper quietly at a tomb, must now be spoken to a living
Jesus. All those memories of abandonment and denial, all their doubts would now
have to face Jesus himself. The wonderful news was that Jesus was alive. But
the frightening news was that Jesus was alive. What would he have to say to his
followers?
Unfinished business may linger in
every graveyard – a visit not made, a word not said, something left undone. It
may cause pain and guilt, but it is relatively safe, unfinished business. But
not if Jesus is alive; not if Jesus plans to meet us along the way. Then the
unfinished business – the failings, abandonments, betrayals, denials, and
doubts – have an air of danger about them. What if Jesus confronts us? What if he
calls us to account for all the unfinished business we have with him?
What would it feel like to suddenly
meet the risen Jesus? What fears would rise up in us as we remembered those
times we have ignored what he told us, those times when our actions denied him or
seemed ashamed of him, those times we have pretended we did not know him, those
times when we’ve given up on him? If we suddenly encountered the risen Jesus,
what unfinished business would confront us and cause us to tremble?
This morning we sing, “Jesus
Christ is risen today!” We sing of the same great joy those two Marys felt. But
we have our own unfinished business, our own fears and failings that might more
easily be spoken in a silent graveyard. We can understand how those women must
have felt, how the disciples would feel when they hear that Jesus is alive.
Hurrying along with that mix of
fear and great joy the women suddenly encounter the risen Jesus. He speaks, and
they fall at his feet in worship. I wonder if their fear perhaps turned to
terror. At least by falling at his feet they could avoid looking into his eyes.
On the surface, there seems little
reason for the gospel to report this encounter. Jesus will appear to the
disciples in Galilee just a few verses on. He gives the women no further
instructions, simply echoing the words of the angel.
But Jesus does brush away those
fears about unfinished business. “Greetings!” he says, and then “Do
not be afraid.” “Greetings” may
not sound like much, but a literal translation is, “Be joyful.” Jesus
gives the women no new instructions, but he does say, “Do not worry about that
unfinished business. Be joyful and let go of the fear.” The women left the tomb
with
fear and great joy, but Jesus says that only the joy is needed.
The risen Jesus does not confront
us with our failings or fears, with the unfinished business that all of us
have. His death and resurrection somehow remove that. Jesus looks forward in
hop to the future, to the work he calls us to do. “Go and tell. Go and make disciples.” Go and continue his
work in the world.
Jesus is risen! No worries about the
unfinished business of graveyard. Be joyful, do not fear. Go into a broken and
hurting world to show, by our lives, the new day his resurrection heralds.
[1]
Frederick Niedner, “Living by the Word” in The
Christian Century, March 11, 2008, Vol. 125, No. 5, p. 21.
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