Two Angels

St. Peter Lutheran Church, Doss, TX  

If we could listen in on the two angels at the tomb, what would we hear? We know they talked and didn’t just roll the stone away.

Luke 24:1-12 (Gospel for the day) and John 20:¹¹ Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. ¹²She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. ¹³“Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. ¹⁵“Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” ¹⁶“Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). ¹⁷“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

     What might the two angels have talked about as they were waiting for the men and women disciples to show up? We’ll call one Michael and the other Gabriel.

Gabriel: Michael, what do you think the reaction of the disciples will be?

Michael: Probably out of their shock in grief, they will simply not believe what they are seeing.

G: How many times did the Master tell them?

M: At least 3 times.

G: The guards, Eronius and his buddy, Maximus, are still not moving.

M: If they came to, they would run off and tell a story that no one would believe.

G: Do you think they would be punished?

M: Oh yes. Did you hear how they joked about their assignment. (Matthew 27:62-65) You remember the leading priests and Pharisees going to see Pilate?

G: Yes.  They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’

M: Then they requested that Pontius Pilate seal the tomb until the third day to prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead!

G: Yes. Their comment was that if that happens, they’d be worse off than they were at first.

M: Pilate told them to go ahead and take guards and secure it the best they could.

G: And they did, until a certain earthquake came and two bug eyed guards fainted when they saw the two of us rolling away a one-ton stone.

M: Not to mention breaking their seal.

G: This new tomb is near where humanity crucified Jesus, Son of God.

M: Look, Gabriel, three women are approaching the tomb.

G: Let’s see what they do and say.

M: They are surprised at seeing the stone moved away.

G: They don’t even notice Eronius and Maximus in full battle gear, hands on their swords, lying flat on the ground.

M: They’ve looked in the tomb after sitting down their burial perfumes.

G: They look at one another speechless.

M: Let me tell them.

G: No, I’ve got this one. “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” (Luke 24)

M: They’ve hit the ground. “Don’t be afraid, sisters. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what we have told you.” (Matthew 28)

G: Did you see them running?

M: They left all their flowers and perfumes.

G: Look Maximus and Eronius are coming to.

M: Yes, they are waking up.

G: Look at them run and with their swords out.

M: That’s a safety issue. You should not run with a sharp instrument.

G: I hear other footsteps running. It’s Peter and John, two of Jesus’ close disciples.

M: John is stooping and looking in.

G: He’s just looking at the linen wrappings lying there,

M: Here comes Peter. He’s going inside and pointing to the linen wrappings lying there, with the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.

G: John is coming in now. Both are speechless.

M: Now they believe what the women told them. The rest of the disciples laughed them off.

G: They are leaving for home amazed.

M: Compare them to the women who ran out in joy. Wait, here comes one of them back now.

G: Mary Magdalen. She’s crying.

M: Dear woman, why are you crying?

G: You think they took the Lord away, eh? Turn around.

M: The Master is asking her who she is looking for.

G: She doesn’t recognize Him yet. She doesn’t expect to see Him.

M: Ears to hear and do not hear. Eyes to see and do not see.

G: She is asking whether he has taken the Master’s body away asking him where he has put him so she could go and get him.

M: He called her name and she recognized Him.

G: She wants to hug Him, but He asks her to hold off, rather to go and tell the disciples to leave for Galilee, and they will see Him there.

M: She is going to give them the message.

G: She is the first missionary

M: Remember when Jesus asked His disciples if they too were going to leave Him?

G: Peter said, Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

M: Many Christians have left Jesus Christ alone and yet tried to serve Him out of a sense of duty, or because they sense a need as a result of their own discernment.

G: The reason for this is actually the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. Their souls have gotten out of intimate contact with God by leaning on their own religious understanding.

M: Contrary to the Word

G: Once a person realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and caused uncertainties, sorrows, and difficulties for himself, it is with shame and remorse that he has to return. 

M: They need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus on a much deeper level than they do now. They should get in the habit of continually seeking His counsel on everything, instead of making their own commonsense decisions and then asking Him to bless them.

G: He cannot bless them; it is not in His realm to do so, and those decisions are severed from reality. If they do something simply out of a sense of duty, they are trying to live up to a standard that competes with Jesus Christ.

M: Yes. They become prideful, arrogant persons, thinking they know what to do in every situation putting their sense of duty on the throne of their lives, instead of enthroning the resurrection life of Jesus.

G: When Jesus’ followers do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for their actions to others. But when they do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation—just obedience.

M: That is why a saint can be so easily ridiculed and misunderstood.

G: Michael, we are blessed as angels by being able to be present at this empty tomb.

M: Yes, but look around you and the circles of the heavenly host, spread as far as the eye can see.

G: Our friends wouldn’t miss this for anything.

M: The universe has changed because of it.

G: Early in the morning, a voice in a guarded graveyard and footsteps in the dew proved that Jesus had risen, that He came back to those and for those who had forgotten, denied and destroyed Him. Hallowed be His name.

M: Hallowed be His Name. Amen

G: Amen