Sermon - Seeing Salvation

Michael Cook, Noli me tangere, 2016

A homily given during Choral Evensong at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Sunday 20th April 2025 (Easter Sunday) at 6.30pm based on the text of John 20.11–23

“Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day.”

Inspired by God the words of the prophet Moses from our first lesson, from one of the most vivid chapters of the story of our salvation – the parting of the Red Sea.

The people of Israel have been living in Egypt as slaves for generations. God intervenes, sending plagues upon Israel’s captors and murdering their first born sons. Finally, Pharaoh relents and lets Moses and his people go – but, unlike God, Pharaoh’s mercy does not endure forever. The people of Egypt soon see that without the Israelites there is nobody to carry out their menial but vital tasks - nobody to do their dirty work. Pharaoh prepares his chariot and orders his whole army to pursue them, heading towards the sea.

The Israelites are trapped and scared. Their situation appears hopeless. Surely it would have been better to remain as slaves in Egypt than to die in the wilderness, they complain to Moses?

Moses replies:

“Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”

Standing on the brink of death - the impassable sea in front and a life of oppression and slavery behind, the people consider turning back to servitude. 

In that moment, they are called to stand still and watch God’s saving grace at work. To have faith in the midst of all the chaos. To see the salvation of the Lord. 

And they do so at the most epic scale. 

The raging waters part, allowing them to cross along the sea bed and to safety on the other side. When the Egyptians follow, the sea engulfs them. 

Here, salvation is seen as freedom from slavery. Liberation from fear, oppression and despair. Deliverance from death to life. A bright future now awaits.

After witnessing the horror of the crucifixion and finding the tomb of Jesus open, Mary Magdalene runs to inform Peter and John, who come to inspect what had happened for themselves. They go inside, see the folded grave clothes on one side - but the body of Jesus missing.

Then…..they return home.

Mary Magdalene alone remains - and as she approaches the empty tomb, she weeps. Her eyes filled with tears and blinded by the rays of the rising sun, she sees the figure of a man who asks her:

“Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?”

She thinks it’s the gardener and asks him if he knows where the body of Jesus has been placed, so she can take it away.

Jesus says “Mary”.

And in that moment, she lets go of the hopelessness – the fear – the grief – the overwhelming sense of loss – that has gripped her. She has seen her salvation. Not like the Israelites at an epic scale through a dramatic act of God – but through the whisper of a name by his Son. Mary becomes the first witness to the resurrection – and she sees salvation not just in what God does, but in who God is.

Revered in the early church as the Apostle to the Apostles before her reputation was tarnished through some sloppy preaching by Gregory the Great, Mary rushes off to tell the other disciples that she has seen the Lord.

“Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day.”

Over the past few days we have encountered the story of our salvation through scripture and sacrament and song. We have remembered Christ’s death and celebrated his resurrection. By which he restored the relationship between God and his people. Triumphing over sin and death and revealing the way to eternal life. An event which transformed the way we see life itself and through which, we believe, that we have been saved.

After the drama of the past few days, our readings this evening encourage us to stand still and see it.

To see the salvation of the Lord for ourselves.

But what does it look like?

 

Do we see our salvation as freedom from the chaos of darkness and despair?

Is our salvation liberation from addictive patterns of behaviour that shackle us - holding us back from the life we were created to live?

Does our salvation look like deliverance from oppressive relationships or regimes that coerce and control us, trying to form us into the image of someone other than God?

Does salvation for us look like letting go of something - or someone – a relinquishing of personal control? 

Like the Israelites standing at the edge of the Red Sea, it can be hard to see our salvation when those things that imprison us are all around us on every side.

Perhaps, like them, some of us see ourselves standing amidst these familiar but destructive ways of life – yet we remain tempted to turn back to a life of slavery to those powerful forces - despite knowing, despite struggling to believe that we have been saved?

May we all have the courage to stop, stand still and see our salvation. To see that there is another way to live. The Way. Like Mary Magdalene may we hear our Saviour calling each of us - his Easter people - by name. Beckoning us to follow him into the new life he has revealed and that awaits us here and now.

“Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day.”

The day when Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed. Alleluia!


Image: Michael Cook, Noli me tangere, 2016