The Centurion

Easter: The Centurion

Can you help me with something?

I’m trying to sort this thing out.

I’m trying to wrap my mind around what just

happened.

My squad left me.

They seem unphased by the event.

They went back to work.

But me, I couldn’t go back.

It is not business as usual.

Something definitely happened.

And its shaken me up.

There I was.

Watching the tomb of that Jesus fellow.

The one who was reported to be the Messiah, the son

of God.

We crucified him on Friday on a hill just outside the

city.

He was so popular, the Jews were afraid that his

followers would steal the body.

You know, making it look like he had come back to

life, making him into some kind of hero or super star.

So to keep order, Pilate stationed a guard at the tomb.

Me and three of my buddies were assigned to the

task.

We watched as the women friends of Jesus put his

body in the tomb.

We even helped them roll the rock into place.

We sealed it up good and tight.

The women were in a rush.

They had to hurry because their holy day started at

sundown.

They didn’t finish, said they’d be back.

What did I care.

I just wanted my shift to be over.

As soon as they left, my pals and I sat down by the

fire.

It was going to be a long night.

I hate the night shift but its double time and you can

do a lot with the extra cash.

To pass the time we played dice and talked.

It was so quiet you could hear the robins bedding

down for the night.

I was wide awake.

Nothing was going to get past me, not thieves, not

grave robbers, nothing.

Near the end of my shift, as the sun was peaking over

the hill, those women friends of Jesus came back.

We knew who they were but following procedure we

had to have them state their names and their business.

As we were interrogating them….ithappened.

The ground began to shake.

Nuts fell off trees, small stones gyrated across the

ground.

Anything that wasn’t nailed down fell over.

And then, this, this being, blinding, dazzling bright,

came down from the sky.

I had to shield my eyes at the brightness.

I called over to my pals, but they were so scared, they

could not move.

And then…then without any effort, the angel moved

the rock that that was blocking the entrance of the tomb.

Why, the angel moved that huge rock like it was

some tiny feather.

And then the angel sat on it, large as life, just sat on

it.

I hid behind a tree.

I wasn’t going to miss this for anything, but I was

scared and I thought a safe distance was wise.

Those women must have been scared too because the

first thing the angel said was, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid.”

It was a tender, reassuring voice.

The angel continued, “That’s right, you don’t need to

be afraid.

I know you are looking for Jesus.

He’s not here.

Come on take a look.

It’s all right.

Come and see where he was.

He’s not here.

See the tomb is empty.

Go and tell his friends Jesus is risen.”

My jaw dropped.

What did that mean?

Jesus is risen.

The tomb was empty, sure as I’m standing here.

But how could that be?

I’d been here all night.

No one had touched that tomb.

I looked at the women.

Maybe they knew something.

But they were as scared and perplexed as I was.

In fact, they hiked up their skirts and beat it out of

there.

I followed them.

Maybe they were going to Jesus’ friends.

Maybe they could explain this thing.

Well, we weren’t twenty feet from the tomb, when

Jesus himself met us.

Jesus, the crucified one.

Jesus, who I had seen buried.

Jesus was alive and standing there smack dab in the

middle of the path.

The incredible thing was, I was not afraid.

I was standing face to face with a dead man and

I was not afraid.

Instead, there was an incredible peace, like comes

from holding a sleeping baby.

A warmth filled my heart and I knew, I just knew I

was surrounded by the love of God.

The feeling that everything was ok was palpable.

The women weren’t scared either.

In fact, they hugged Jesus so tightly it was as if they

wanted this moment and this feeling to last forever.

Jesus took them by the hand and looked them each in

the eye and then with such love said, “I am alive.

You no longer have to be afraid of anything.

Death, the scariest thing on earth, no longer has its

power.

Go and tell my friends.

I have been raised from the dead.”

And then Jesus vanished.

Right before my eyes he was gone.

Jesus was gone, yet his words were branded into my

Heart and rang in my ears, “You no longer have to be afraid of anything.”

His presence filled my soul.

But what would this mean?

I knew something had happened, something had

changed.

But exactly what was the significance of this earth

shattering news?

Well, my buddies sure did not see it that way.

After Jesus vanished I went back to the tomb.

The squad was still there.

When I told them what had happened, about seeing

Jesus and what he had said, they did not care.

They were totally unaffected by the whole event.

They could rationalize the whole thing away.

The earth shakes sometimes.

The sun can blind and hurt your eyes.

Yeah, sure the body was gone, thieves must have

taken it.

Big deal.

Get over it.

Even if Jesus was raised, what impact would that

have on their lives.

So what if some guy came back to life.

It happened over in Bethany only a week ago to

someone named Lazarus.

Nothing had changed.

We felt the same, looked the same, talked the same,

didn’t we.

Nothing had happened.

Don’t get all shaken up about it they said.

Besides the shift was ended

Forget about it, they said.

It’s time to go home.

Come on.

It’s time to go.

We’re leaving.”

And they did.

But I, could not go with them.

I saw the dead body of Jesus in the tomb.

I sealed the tomb.

I had seen the Risen Jesus.

Something had happened.

Jesus had been raised.

What impact would that have on me?

Would my life be changed?

Or was it just a fleeting moment on a garden path in

some obscure place and time, unrelated to my life going forward?

I remembered a spring time, not too long ago, and

yet forever ago.

It may have been spring, but the wind blew with a

bitterness that chapped not only my skin but my very soul.

My son was nine.

He loved frogs, and lizards, and climbing trees.

His shirt was forever hanging out of his pants and we

had to remind him all the time to brush his teeth.

His mother and I were so proud of him.

He was the apple of our eye and king of our hearts.

We dropped him off at school, waved good bye,

saying we’d be here right at three to pick him up.

But he fell off the slide, broke his neck, and my life

ended that day.

My friends visited but even in the midst of their

Company, I was alone.

There was numbness that penetrated my very being.

As we sealed the grave, blocking his body from the

sun forever, the light in my soul was extinguished too.

Death the great separator.

Death is always victorious.

All the medicines and interventions can’t stop death

from coming…I know.

And yet, I had seen Jesus.

The dead Jesus was alive.

There in the grave yard, I had felt that presence, that

sense of peace, I had never known before.

Jesus raised to a new life.

And if that is so, if that is true, it means death

death just had its job description changed.

Death no longer holds on to us.

Death merely escorts us into the loving arms of God.

And at some point, at some assured point, we will be

reunited with our loved ones.

I will be with my son again.

And if death no longer stands in the way of us being

with God, what can separate us from the love of God.

Certainly life cannot stand between us and God.

Not those mistakes we make, those foolish choices

that make us feel unworthy and unlovable.

They certainly can’t come between God and us.

Governments certainly can’t separate us from God.

Politicians come and go, kingdoms rise and fall.

Certainly not things in the present can stand between

us and God.

Like lying on the cold surgical table while eyes peer

out atop masked faces.

Nor things to come, like the diagnosis of a lump

being cancerous.

No, if death cannot separate us from God, then

nothing can.

God is simply with us in all that creation has to throw

at us.

God is with us come good time or bad time, come

birth come even death.

Well, if that’s true, I just can’t stay here.

Because it is not business as usual.

While, I may go back to work, things are not the

same.

They can never be the same again.

Because of what happened here, I can face anything

because God is with me.

Christ is alive.

And I am never alone.

I’ve got to make sure the whole world knows.

I’ve got to tell the story of Jesus.

Jesus was right, go and tell, he said.

Make others understand.

There is nothing to fear.

Make others see that Christ’s resurrection makes a

huge difference in life.

More than a stone was pushed aside on that Easter

day, death itself lost its power.

I’ve got to tell others.

In all I do, in my words, in my work, in the way I live

my life.

Let my whole life show the world that Jesus is risen.

He is alive and with us in our daily living.

I just can’t sit here.

Christ is risen.

And my life is changed.

Because of this day, I am never alone.

There is nothing to fear.

Jesus Christ is Risen today.

It is our triumphant holy day.

Who did once upon the cross

Suffer to redeem our loss.

Hymns of praise then let us sing

Unto Christ our heavenly king

Who endured the cross and grave

Sinners to redeem and save.

Yes Jesus Christ is Risen today.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

The Reverend Michele L. Matott Easter Vigil 2007