Easter Vigil
Matthew 26:1-10
April 4, 2026
It was the wee hours of the morning. The sun was just coming up over the hill. The birds were chirping, perhaps the sound of a small brook could be heard in the distance.
But suddenly, in the middle of a tranquil dawn, there was an earthquake. Everything shook; the birds flew out of their nests. The two women who were walking to the tomb, they almost fell down from the shaking.
And what they saw at the tomb…
An angel of the Lord is sitting on the stone that he had rolled away from Jesus’ tomb. And this angel is dressed as if he had just come out of a very reverent, very “high church” worship service. He’s not some mundane angel dressed in his Sunday-worst, but this is an important angel, and he wants everyone to know it.
He makes the earth shake; he rolls the stone away; he sits on that stone so that there is no doubt about his intent. We lose the vibrance and the beauty of the Christian faith when we strip away so much of its formality and replace it with an attempt to be more like the world in how we dress, how we hold ourselves. Sanctuaries that look more like concert venues – it’s just not what we see in God’s heavenly host. God is reverent, God is holy, the holy of holies, the King of kings, the Lord of lords and our response, our depiction of Him in our lives should reflect His holiness and reverence and beauty. Do we have to; is there some commandment that says we should have reverent worship services and setup our sanctuaries in a reverent, respectful, and godly way? No. But it should be our joy and pleasure to live our lives and build our sanctuaries in a way that reflects heaven on earth.
This angel, he could have presented himself in any old way, but he comes exhibiting the heavenly throne of God before the women. This angel, he didn’t have to shake the earth or sit upon the stone in full array and splendor and majesty of heaven, but he does, because he is a reflection of God, a messenger.
Why the earthquake? Why the sitting on the stone? Well, the earthquake was clearly to draw attention to his visit, and his sitting on the stone – think about it. He’s mocking that seal of finality, that stone which covered the tomb. His sitting up there is his way of showing the world that a puny little pebble afront a hole in the rock is nothing for God. Life, death, resurrection – not a problem. Defeating sin, death, and the devil, it’s nothing.
And consider to whom the angel speaks. Not to the guards who are, like the shaking earth, trembling in fear for what they see. The guards, these men of strength and guile, whose armor is clanking because of their fear, the angel doesn’t even acknowledge their existence. No, but he turns to the women and says, “Do not fear.”
And then he speaks the message for which the women, the disciples, the world has been longing to hear for centuries: “You seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said…go and tell His disciples that he has risen from the dead.”
The women walk away, not in angst or confused about anything, but with joy and laughter, just as the prophets of old had proclaimed would happen when the Lord would restore Israel and bring life to what was dead.
Our Lord’s suffering and death, what we remembered and celebrated just last night, did not lead to despair but to hope. If we were willing or able to stay up until all hours of the night, we would do this Easter Vigil so that, right around midnight the lights would turn on, and the chancel be adorned for Easter. We’re a little early; that’s okay.
Because the stone that the angel rolled away has never been returned. That tomb has never been resealed, at least not with the body of Jesus inside. For He is risen, just as He said. And now, with joy and gladness, we go out and share this message of hope and peace with God among the world. There is no other way to salvation, to forgiveness of sins, to eternal life with God than what God has accomplished by dying on the cross and rising again. It is a message that everyone should hear and is why we sing songs like, “Jesus Christ is Risen Today,” or “Jesus lives, the Victory won.”
This is not just some religion among other religions, or some pious tradition among many, but this Gospel, our Lord’s rising from the dead, this is how true life, true living, forever living is given.
So I pray you, see that open tomb and that mighty and reverent angel of the Lord sitting atop and hear his words, “Jesus is not here, He is risen, just as He said,” and then go and bring this message with you, and invite those to whom you share this message to church, to the font of baptism, to faithful instruction in the preaching and teaching, and finally to this rail where the feast of heaven is offered as a foretaste of what awaits all who believe.
Amen.
