Easter Earthquakes

Earthquakes happen on Easter. Why, just this morning, April 24, 2011, there were already 15 earthquakes recorded by the US Geological Survey since midnight. Most of them were insignificant, and as of 8:15 the strongest one was only 4.8 on the Richter Scale. They happen every day, all around the globe, in areas where the earth’s plates are moving for one reason or another.

Last year on Easter Sunday you may remember that there was a very large quake in Baja California—that one registered 7.2 on the Richter Scale. And they are still rebuilding after that one.

Matthew’s gospel records a great earthquake on the morning the women went to see the tomb of the Jesus they thought was dead. A great quake. I bet it was an 8 or a 9 on the Richter Scale. The earth must have been rocking and rolling that morning.

Matthew records dramatic natural events like earthquakes and untimely darkness during both the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Jesus to emphasize that what was happening was so extremely significant—so profound—that the earth shook to announce the news.

In today’s gospel we have an angel associated with the quake—the angel who came down from heaven and rolled back the stone at the tomb’s entrance. This is the angel sent by God to announce to the two Marys that Jesus had been raised. This event was such a break with the way things always were, that the earth responded almost as a living being—and shook strongly with fear and awe.

What is an earthquake, anyway? It’s the shock waves generated when the earth moves internally. Sometimes the movement shows on the surface and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes the movement of the earth is really abrupt and strong, releasing strain that’s been pent up for a very long time. These are the quakes that are huge. The Japan quake and the one in Haiti last year were two of these great quakes.

Now let’s move from GEology back to THEology. Let’s look at what the earthquake spoke on the morning of the resurrection. It said that earth and heaven are joined in a new way. The veil between them just got pulled back. It assured us that just as the angel descended from heaven, so we now will cross over to heaven as we encounter the next threshold. It said that when we die, life is changed, not ended. The quake proclaims that we will be caught up in this shaking and rising, too, no matter how unworthy we think we are.

Humans are reconciled to God; Jesus lives to shepherd us into eternity; God accepts us and loves us, warts and all, even if we struggle to believe, even if we think we are unlovable.

Have you experienced a time in your life—or times, maybe—when it seemed you lived through an inner earthquake that sent shock waves through the ground you stood on? Have you perhaps lived through a spiritual earthquake that shook up some earlier assumptions / and opened you up to the reality of the world beyond and above this one?

Sometimes our inner quakes can be associated with mystical experiences. Stories of modern people having life-changing dreams or visions aren’t that unusual—you just have to start listening for them. And many of us have had dark journeys of one kind or another—through fear or addiction, or despair or grief—and out to the light on the other side. These are all shake-up experiences that change the ground we stand on.

And the shock we receive sometimes when we see these difficult things leading to new openings and opportunities can be like an earthquake in the life of the spirit.

Sometimes it takes a while to see the new life, the open possibilities, the hope shining through—but it happens, sooner or later.

Our own earth-shaking experiences reflect the ultimate one—the Resurrection of Jesus. And they foreshadow the most profound rocking and rolling we have yet to know. That earthquake will be our own deaths and crossings into the next life.

So do not lose faith in resurrection, in God’s way of bringing newness and hope, especially when it seems that hope has died and our lives are in tatters.

There’s a song written in the late 20^th Century by Leonard Cohen that says these things with a poetic flair. Three weeks ago our supply priest Norma Schmidt quoted these lines but I’m going to repeat them, because they are so good. Listen:

The birds they sang

At the break of day

Start again I heard them say

Don’t dwell on what has passed away

Or what is yet to be….

Ring the bells that still can ring.

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in. [Leonard Cohen, “Anthem”]

That’s how the light gets in. Through the imperfections and the dead ends, the disappointments and desolations—that’s how the light gets in. This is resurrection in the midst of life.

There is always hope and things will not be dark forever, though sometimes things can be so grim, so marred. The light of Christ gets in—now or later.

So, be alert for earthquakes as the ground we think we know shifts and changes. Nothing remains the same.

He is risen. He is here.

And be prepared to rock and roll as he shakes us up and shines his light through the cracks. Be ready for resurrection as God’s energy breaks in and quakes in, infusing what is broken, bringing hope and peace.

Happy Easter, everyone. Amen.

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