PART 1

Jerusalem was a city with many gates. The city was surrounded by walls to protect it from invaders. And in the walls there were eight to ten gates to enter or exit the city. And there were even more gates to the temple once you entered the city. Those of the Jewish faith would have been very used to entering and exiting gates as they went to and from Jerusalem and the temple. And the thing about gates is that they are designed to both keep certain people out and to keep certain people in. In Jerusalem, there was one set of gates that had perhaps a bit more prominence than the others. The Golden Gate, which was one of only two gates on the Eastern side of the city, was the gate closest to the temple mount. This gate consisted of two doors, one called the Gate of Mercy and the other the Gate of Repentance. Over the years, many Jews came to believe that the Messiah would enter the city of Jerusalem through this gate.

When the Psalmist wrote the words, “Open to me the gates of righteousness,” he may have been thinking about the Golden Gate and about gaining access to the temple and the very presence of God. And the Psalmist makes a request of, or perhaps even demands that, God open the gates of sedeq to him, the gates of righteousness or justice. “Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to God.” The Psalmist wants to enter into God’s presence for the purpose of praising God. And the Psalmist responds to his own demand by saying, “This is the gate of the Lord. The saddiqim, the just or righteous, shall enter through it. The Psalmist asks God to open the gates of justice and then responds that the just will enter through it. Two Easter truths come to mind as I think about these two verses of Psalm 118.

First, when we request justice or righteousness from God, we must be prepared to act with justice and righteousness ourselves. Easter morning is a celebration of God’s gracious and incredible action toward humanity of allowing Jesus to go to the cross and suffer death on our behalf and then be raised again to new life on the third day as the first fruits of our own resurrections. We celebrate those acts, not just because of the benefit they offer us, but because of the lesson they teach to us. Jesus sacrificed himself for us. Jesus, rather than seeking revenge for the hurtful things we had done to separate ourselves from God, acted to restore our connection to God. And Jesus told us beforehand that we were called to take up our own crosses and follow him. What are the acts of mercy and grace that we could offer others today? What are the acts of justice most needed in our world that we could seek to partner with God on, in order to help see the gates of justice open and let us in? It doesn’t take much effort to look around at our world and see injustices taking place. Perhaps we are being called to partner with God in acting in ways to bring forth justice and righteousness in the world.

We must be prepared to act with justice and righteousness, but also we must recognize that God has opened the gate for us. Before Jesus, we were separated from God. Our only access to God was through the temple and the priests and animal sacrifices and the law of God. But over time, even those things that were supposed to draw us closer to God became corrupted. The priests became legalistic and greedy. The sacrifices became a way for scoundrels to make money off of the devout. And the law became a bit convoluted and difficult to follow completely. Something else was needed. Then Jesus came into the picture. And he lived in a way that angered the corrupt faith leaders but pleased God. And it ultimately led to Jesus’ death on the cross. For Jesus’ followers, his death felt like the closing of a gate that they had been hoping to enter. They thought Jesus was the Messiah and had come to restore Israel to glory. But his death made that seem impossible.

Then, on the third day, Jesus’ tomb was found to be empty. His body was no longer there. And the angel told the women that Jesus who was dead is now alive. The impossible had become possible. What had been undone through sin was restored through Jesus’ death and resurrection. As Paul wrote, “For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.” Easter is a celebration of the reopening of the gates of righteousness, the gates of our salvation. None of us was righteous enough through our observance of the law to open the gates to heaven. But Jesus’ death and resurrection opened those gates for us. And gave to us HIS righteousness, so that we may enter into the very presence of God. THIS is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

PART 2

I’m always amazed that the miracle of Easter took place in the dark with no one watching. The women went to the tomb while it was still dark on that first Easter morning, but the miracle had already happened. They went to the tomb expecting to tend to the body of Jesus but instead met an angel of the Lord whose “appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.” They went to the tomb heavy with grief but rushed away from the tomb with joy and wonder. They went to the tomb expecting to encounter death but instead came face-to-face with life.

This morning, as we bask in the light of Easter joy, I want us to back up and remember that the miracle took place in the dark. The resurrection took place while the people were still grieving. The new life of Easter day burst forth during the deepest part of the night. I want us to linger here for a moment because this world is a tough place. On Good Friday, those of us who gathered here for worship nailed our laments to the cross, and there were many of them. I imagine if we did the same exercise today, each of us would have a pile of laments to leave at the feet of Jesus. This world can be a shadowy place, and we might struggle to believe that the good news of resurrection, the splendid reality of Easter light, is true or even possible in a world so filled with night. 

When we are overwhelmed with the seemingly unending struggles of the world, we might find comfort in knowing that the miracle of resurrection took place at the darkest time of the night. By the time the women noticed the first light of the new day, Jesus was already risen. 

As we continue our sermon series through the psalms, I want to zoom in on the first half of Psalm 118:27. In the Hebrew, the first half of this verse is only three words long: “El YHWH vay-ya-er.” God the Lord has given us light, or as the New Revised Standard Version translates it, “ The Lord is God, and he has given us light.” I want to take in the beauty of this promise for just a moment.

The Lord is God. In the Hebrew, this is just two words: the basic word for “God” and the specific word for the God of Israel, the name God revealed to Moses from the burning bush. The Lord is God. When we are going through difficulties, when it feels like the world is falling apart, none of those other powers are God. The pain does not have the last word. The brokenness does not win. It will not stay night forever, because the Lord is God. The God who created everything we see, and everything we can’t see, will not abandon us or leave us hopeless. Because the Lord is God, we can have confidence that good will win out. Death cannot defeat life.

The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Or as 1 John 1:5 puts it, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” God has given us light by giving us himself. Into this world of shadows and trouble, God the source of all light chose to become human, walk among us, and offer his life for us so that every one of us would have light to see by.

Have you ever been in complete darkness? How did it feel? Once, when I was probably in middle school, I had gone down into our creepy basement to get something. I went down the stairs and then into a room with no windows. Suddenly, the electricity went out, and I was in complete darkness. I panicked. I couldn’t see anything, not even my hand in front of my face. Even when my eyes adjusted, I still couldn’t see. I fumbled for the doorknob and opened the door of the room where I stood. One single stream of light came in through the basement window. The solitary ray of light illuminated everything. It was enough. 

The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Friends, the vast, amazing love of God was too much for the world, and rather than asking God to enlarge our hearts to be able to receive it, we killed the Lord of life. But the Lord is God, and he has given us light. In the darkest part of the night, the miracle showed up, and that ray of light urges us to draw closer, to walk with Jesus, and to offer all of who we are to God. The light of resurrection transforms all of our shadowy places into places where new life is possible.

I want to leave you with this poem by Malcom Guite called “Easter Dawn.” May this poem help you to see God’s welcoming and warm light and invite you into its healing and transformational power.

Easter Dawn

He blesses every love that weeps and grieves

And now he blesses hers who stood and wept

And would not be consoled, or leave her love’s

Last touching place, but watched as low light crept

Up from the east. A sound behind her stirs

A scatter of bright birdsong through the air.

She turns, but cannot focus through her tears,

Or recognize the Gardener standing there.

She hardly hears his gentle question ‘Why,

Why are you weeping?’, or sees the play of light

That brightens as she chokes out her reply,

‘They took my love away, my day is night.’

And then she hears her name, she hears Love say

The Word that turns her night, and ours, to Day.