Egg Hunt
A Sermon for Easter Day
April 9, 2023
The Rev. Robin Teasley
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:1-10
In many cultures, even before the time of Christianity, the egg was a symbol of creation, spring, and rebirth. After the resurrection of Christ, the egg took on a new meaning for Christians and became a symbol of new life breaking forth while leaving the empty tomb behind. Eggs were a way to help people to understand the Resurrection. As an illustration for the rebirth of all humankind, Easter eggs have become a joyful symbol of Christian hope.
After the service there is going to be an egg hunt. You have to be a child to participate, but the grownups are invited to watch. Egg hunts tap into our innate human need to seek, to look for, to hope for something good. As children we play hide and seek, we love those activity book pages that have us looking for a hidden object, and of course, children love egg hunts.
I imagine we can all remember looking for eggs when we were young, hoping that they were filled with something good. This behavior continues through our lives as we look for the next good thing, or look back to what was once good, or look for something good to come out of a bad situation.
Today we heard the resurrection account from the Gospel according to Matthew. His Resurrection account is short, and that’s good for Easter services everywhere! But in just ten verses it packs quite a punch. On the first day of the week, the two Marys went to see the tomb. The writer of Matthew’s Gospel uses a Greek word that is less about seeing with the eyes, and more about contemplation, understanding, or discernment. We can imagine that the women were feeling fearful and hopeless. We can imagine that they came seeking to understand the change that had suddenly occurred in their life with Jesus. Their world had been turned upside down and they were seeking something. Was it a kind of hopeless longing for what was once good, a search for what might come next, or were they seeking what good might come out of their trauma?
Whichever it was, they did not immediately find what they were seeking, and there would be no quiet contemplation of the events that had happened, because suddenly there was an earthquake. It’s hard to ignore an earthquake and fear almost always accompanies one. Our lives are filled with both real and metaphorical earthquakes and they bring valid fear and trembling.
Fear rises in the threatening moments of lightning, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, political chaos, violence, and personal loss of every kind. When earthquakes are happening in our lives, when fears keep us awake at night, when we are burdened with grief, we find ourselves seeking answers, explanations, comfort, and some assurance that we are not alone.
Think for a moment about whatever it is that is shaking up your world right now. I’m making a guess that you have been seeking a way to respond to your earthquake, seeking God’s divine deliverance from your earthquake, hoping to find Jesus somewhere in the midst of it. Experiencing what we perceive to be catastrophic in life and feeling helpless to control it, sometimes brings fear, and we look for ways to control it anyway we can.
We may not even know this, but all of our longing and yearning is woven together in the presence of the holy and connects us to God. We are seeking what is good, seeking new life, seeking the risen Christ. Being made in God’s image, we are made to seek God, who is with us, hiding in plain sight sometimes, but always with us. Even so, seeking and finding is a lifelong endeavor, and the new life is unlikely to look like the old one, and that takes some adjustment on our part.
Some of us have memories of egg hunts in the past, but I am willing to bet that the children won’t be wearing white gloves, patent leather shoes, or straw hats at today’s egg hunt. Things do change, but seeking that which is good, even in the change, is our work in God’s kingdom.
On this Resurrection Day the good news is that we have a promise from Jesus that we will see him. It is more than a promise that we will see him at the pearly gates. We will see him in Galilee. For the disciples, Galilee was home, it was where they lived their daily lives. What might that mean for us?
Perhaps it means we see him here, in Old Church. Among family and friends, as well as in strangers and those who are different from us. In the losses, and in the joys and celebrations of life. In mission work and in silent prayer. We see Christ in our success and in our failure. In youth and old age. In the suffering of Good Friday, in the emptiness of Holy Saturday, and today as we proclaim his Resurrection.
Because Jesus has been raised, we too are raised to new life, we are part of the resurrection miracle, it is woven into our very being and sends us out seeking the joy, seeking the good, seeking the reconciliation of the world.
Imagine a holy egg hunt, where the risen Christ has hidden joy and new life all over the place and is waiting for us to find it. May we respond to the innate and holy desire planted within us to seek that which is good, to look for Christ among us, hiding in plain sight.
Go to Galilee, go home to seek the risen Christ in your life. Take with you the goodness and joy of the Resurrection, and the promise that Christ is with you always.
Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.
Title Image: Ukrainian Easter Eggs
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