The aroma of resurrection: Easter message from Jerusalem 2022

 

Easter Sunday 2022

Mt of Olives, Jerusalem

The Rev. Carrie Ballenger

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

People tell me that when they leave Jerusalem, it’s the smells of the city they miss the most.

I imagine they’re not talking about tear gas or skunk water or the pungent reality of a sweaty bus on a hot July day!

No, I think they mean those other smells, the ones that envelope us as we walk through the Old City: Coffee. Cardamom. Freshly baked bread. Cinnamon, cumin, and sumac. Tobacco. Onions and garlic frying in olive oil. Incense wafting from inside churches. Mint leaves floating in a glass of fresh lemonade. Spices of every kind, piled high and formed into pyramids by talented shopkeepers. Jerusalem is rich with these scents, but in fact every place in the world has a scent profile, a universe of fragrance that can deliver a flood of feelings and memories in an instant.

On that first Easter morning, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and some companions came to the tomb carrying spices. These weren’t cardamom and cumin and za’atar for cooking, however. These were spices for anointing the dead. They carried with them various fragrant roots, pounded into dust and mixed with myrrh, a mixture they had likely made and used many times before. When they arrived to the tomb early in the morning, I imagine the familiar scent of those burial spices reminded them of exactly what they were about to do: they were awake early to care for the body of their beloved Jesus. They were about to say goodbye to their teacher, friend, and cousin, the one who had cast seven demons out of Mary Magdalene’s life, the one who had raised Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus from the dead, the one who just three days before had been crucified by the empire for preaching a message of liberation, healing, and hope.

But when the women arrived at the tomb, they discovered something shocking: the stone had already been rolled away, and Jesus was not there!

Jesus. Was. Not. There.

In an instant, they forgot all about the spices they carried with them. In an instant, they abandoned their “to-do list” for the morning. Standing before an empty tomb, their entire world had changed. The women were understandably confused, afraid, and perplexed.

But suddenly two men appeared beside them wearing what Scripture describes as “dazzling clothes”.

Have you ever wondered about those clothes, or why the Gospel writer felt the need to mention the wardrobe of angels? It seems a rather strange and unnecessary detail given the gravity of the rest of the story, except for this:

Imagine what the women were likely wearing. If you’re up before dawn to deal with a dead body, you probably aren’t wearing your “Sunday best”. People who are grieving also aren’t generally thinking about fashion. So we can imagine that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James were dressed for death that morning. They were dressed for Friday.

But these two men were dressed for Sunday! These fabulous messengers were dressed for resurrection!

And they asked the women:

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here! He is risen.”

Still, the women were confused. In fact, they were terrified and bowed their heads to the ground. “What does this mean? What do we do now? Where is our Jesus? Who has taken him away?”

But then those dazzling messengers assured them:

“Remember.

Remember how he told you, when he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”

Remember.

Remember the smell of the road in Galilee: sweat, dust in your nostrils, the far-off promise of food being cooked over a fire.

Remember the jasmine blooming at the door of those who took you in for the night.

Remember those fresh baskets of bread that kept coming, and coming, and coming when the thousands gathered to hear him.

Remember how Mary and Martha were worried about the smell when their brother had already been dead for four days.

Remember the feast you ate together after Lazarus walked out of the tomb, alive!

Remember the how the scent of the expensive nard lingered in Mary’s hair after she anointed him and wiped his feet with her hair in gratitude.

Remember. Remember.

Remember!

And then…the women remembered.

They remembered all that had happened. They remembered all that Jesus had said and taught and done for them. They remembered his extravagant love for them, and for the world.

And so, returning from the tomb, they found the eleven. They told the apostles every detail of the early morning: the spices, the empty tomb, and the men with their dazzling clothes. But above all they shared the Good News that Jesus was risen, just as he said. It took the men a few moments to understand and believe, but in the end they also understood:

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Dear people, it can be difficult to remember the words and life of Jesus when life gets in the way. It can be difficult to remember the Good News of the resurrection when our world is constantly filled with news of death and destruction. Each new image from a warzone, each new video of police violence or extremist terrorism, each newly discovered strain of the virus that just will not go away, pulls our attention away from the miracle of the resurrection. We are rightfully shocked, saddened and even perplexed by the brokenness of the world, and some days it can seem that maybe this time, that brokenness will last forever.

But then, suddenly, there are the messengers. There are those who come alongside us to remind us: Friends who call with messages of comfort when we’re grieving. Neighbors who bring food when we’re sick. Strangers who share their stories and listen to ours. Leaders who take bold stands for justice and speak truth to power.

There is also music, and poetry, and art. There is good food, and good smells, and the whole beauty of God’s creation. And of course there are the Holy Scriptures, a living Word which speaks to us in new ways every day.

These and many other messengers appear alongside us and remind us that yes, the world is often a scary and confusing place; yes, injustice abounds; yes, both beautiful and terrible things will happen; but remember: death does not have the last word. As the psalmist sings: “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Ps. 30) We may feel that the world is stuck at Good Friday, but Sunday is always on the way. Christ is risen, as he said would be, and for this reason we rejoice even when the world is on fire, even when peace seems far off, even when the night seems never-ending.

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Dear people, it’s also true that sometimes we are the ones who are called to be the messengers of resurrection. Sometimes we are the ones who must help the world to remember the abiding power and presence of life and resurrection.

Theologian Peter Rollins wrote:

“In a world where people believe they are not hungry we must not offer food but rather an aroma that helps them desire the food we cannot provide. …Not only this, but we must embrace the idea that we are also called to be hints of the divine.”

Hints of the divine. The aroma that helps people desire the bread of life. Dear people, with God’s help, the church can be those things. We can be the aroma that sparks a memory among the broken and the hurting and the despairing. Like cinnamon and cumin, jasmine and coffee, fragrances which will always bring Jerusalem close to my heart again, we can remind the world that resurrection happened in this place, and is happening again today. When we love expansively, when we fight injustice boldly, when we share resources extravagantly, when we open doors widely...then we are a powerful scent that fills the nostrils and awakens the brain and warms the heart to remember: Ah, yes! God is good! I am loved! Hope is not lost! Peace will come! Christ is risen, and the power of death has already been destroyed, thanks be to God!

And so together this morning, from this holy mountain in the City of the Resurrection, let us help the world remember that the tomb is empty and we are free:

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!