April 15 -- The Resurrection of Our Lord
John 20:1-18 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes. 11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her. |
He
is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia. A
few years ago, Pastor Jim Moore of St Luke’s UMC in Houston, Texas,
went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
While there his group had a powerful experience. He tells the
story like this: One morning we visited Garden Tomb, the place where the
resurrection happened. We walked around the beautiful gardens. We went
inside the empty tomb. We touched the massive stone which had been
rolled away from the door of the grave. We stood together in that holy
place and celebrated Communion. And, we sang the hymn “Christ the Lord
is Risen Today.” It was a powerfully spiritual moment. While
this was happening, I noticed a man sitting on a bench nearby watching
us. I walked over and sat down beside him. “I just love this place,”
he said. “It’s so serene and quiet here. I come here two or three
times a week.” “You
must be a devoted Christian,” I said to him. “Oh
no!” he protested. “I’m not a Christian at all. I just think
it’s real pretty here.” And
that, my friends, is the temptation many people face every Easter Day.
It is a temptation for active church goers as well as those who stay on
the periphery of church life. It is a temptation to visit the shrine,
enjoy the beauty; but stop short of a personal experience with the Risen
Lord. Satan celebrates when we succumb to this temptation because only
through such personal experience with Jesus… can the true joy of
Easter come into our life. This
was certainly the case for Mary Magdalene in today’s Gospel lesson.
The joy of Easter did not come to her until Easter called her by name.
It wasn’t until the risen Jesus said, “Mary…” it wasn’t until
their encounter became intensely personal… that Easter became a
transforming event in her life. Remember
the story with me: On the Thursday night before Easter Jesus was
arrested on trumped-up charges.
He was brutally beaten, rushed through a kangaroo trial held in
the middle of the night and declared guilty. The next day, Good Friday,
Jesus was crucified. He was buried in a borrowed grave. On
Easter Sunday morning Mary Magdalene came back to the tomb. The large
stone which had been covering the opening to the grave had been rolled
away. She looked inside, stunned to see that Jesus’ body was gone.
Mary thought someone had stolen the body. Her already broken heart was
crushed, devastated… “They crucified Him… and now they have taken
His body away. How could they be so cruel?” she cried. Then
Mary heard a noise behind her. She turned and saw the silhouette of a
man. She thought it was the gardener… until He called her by name.
“Mary,” He said tenderly. She
knew that voice… and at that moment Mary ran head-long into Easter.
Jesus body had not been stolen after all. He had risen. He had conquered
death. He had defeated evil. He had come back to life. He had been
resurrected. Mary
came to the tomb that Easter morning looking for a dead body and instead
found a Risen Lord. And with that discovery Mary too was resurrected! No
more weeping and wailing, no more heavy sighing, no more tears of
sorrow. Mary’s encounter with the risen Christ sent her running and
shouting the good news: “I have seen the Lord! I have seen the Lord!
He is Risen!!” On
that Easter morning long ago, the key moment came when the Risen Lord
called Mary by name. On this Easter morning, the Risen Lord is still
speaking and He is calling you by name. Jesus is inviting you
into the incredible resurrection joy of Easter. But
of course this isn’t the first Easter service for most of us. We have
heard it before, and
yet the promised joy has somehow eluded many of us. Somehow we have
gotten stuck on Good Friday. Bishop Kenneth Goodson loved to tell the
story about a famous painting of the crucifixion that was displayed in a
Winston-Salem, NC store window. He said the picture of the blood
dripping from the crown of thorns was so real you wanted to reach out
and wipe it away. Early
one morning a man stopped to look at the painting. He was joined by a
newspaper boy making his rounds. After a few moments of silence, the man
turned to walk away shaking his head and muttering to himself: “What a
pity and what a shame!” The
newspaper boy heard him. And as the man started across the street, the
boy shouted after him: “Hey, Mister! Didn’t you know? Haven’t you
heard? He ain’t dead anymore. He’s alive! He’s alive!” Sometimes
the “Good Fridays” of this world do indeed threaten to overwhelm us.
“What a pity and what a shame” becomes our mantra for life. The
world is a hard place, and it is filled with pain and suffering. People
get sick and die way too young. Folks
get swindled and cheated. Children are abused. Hearts are broken. Jobs
are lost. But year after year along comes Easter to tell us: There is no
grave deep enough, no stone heavy enough, no evil strong enough to keep
Jesus in the grave. Jesus has won! Love is stronger than hate! No matter
what happens in life, through faith in Jesus victory is ours. The gift
of joy in this life and forever after is ours. But
there is a potential problem. The gift cannot bring joy until it is
picked up, unwrapped and used.
Some people are suspicious of presents, always expecting a sharp
hook hidden inside. They avoid the great gift at all cost, running in
the opposite direction whenever the name of Jesus is mentioned. Others
pick-up the gift but never unwrap it. They hope in vain that having
their name on a church roll is what the promise is all about. Some
unwrap the gift and set it on a shelf thinking it is a good luck piece
which they can rub when they want something. They are disappointed when
it doesn’t work that way. Many try to use the gift without ever
reading the instructions and are baffled when it doesn’t work so well.
Some try to use the gift all by themselves only to discover that the joy
is never complete outside of community. And yet others hoard the gift
within their own church family never realizing that the joy of Jesus
grows exponentially when shared with others. The
gift of resurrection joy is yours for the taking. Jesus has paid for it
on the cross and is holding it out to you. But the gift is very
personal. It must be picked up, unwrapped and used properly to enjoy its
benefits. This might be tough but, I promise it is worth the risk and
trouble.
A
few months ago a new baby came into this world. Certainly not an unusual
event in and of itself. But there was a problem. You see, he came a
couple of months too soon. There
were the usual health concerns which are present in such early arrivals.
And there was another thing: something was wrong with Joshua’s blood
and the doctors couldn’t figure it out. I know that for me the usual
excitement and happiness of a new baby were nearly drowned by worry and
fear. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for Rob, Monica,
Rickie, Robert and the rest of the family. It was a Good Friday which
stretched out for month after month after month. We
didn’t speak it aloud… we were afraid to… but there were times
that we doubted Easter would ever come. But it did! In this case it came
in a doctor’s office on a Monday afternoon with these words, “I
don’t understand how, but Joshua is fine. He is now a normal, healthy
baby boy.” A true resurrection moment. All the fears and pain gone,
vanished in but the blink of an eye. And in their place, unspeakable,
overwhelming, incredible, mind-boggling Easter joy. My
dear friends that is exactly the kind of joy that our Lord died to give
us. And here lies the very heart of the Easter message. There are many
Good Fridays in everyone’s life. They come in varieties uncountable.
But no matter how painful and difficult your life has been, no matter
what regrettable things you have done or left undone, there is life
after Good Friday. Easter did come. There really is no grave deep
enough, no stone heavy enough, no evil strong enough to keep Jesus in
the grave. Love is stronger than hate! Jesus’ gracious gift of joy in
this life and forever after are ours. But
once again I must remind you the gift is very personal. It must be
picked up, unwrapped and used. This may seem difficult and risky to you,
but is it worth it because it makes all those Good Fridays bearable. And
if you don’t believe me, listen to the witness of that young
Winston-Salem paper boy who exclaimed, “Hey, Mister! Didn’t you
know? Haven’t you heard? He ain’t dead anymore. He’s alive! He’s
alive!” Or ask the Allens about the joy they felt when they heard
their own personal Easter proclamation: “I don’t understand how, but
Joshua is fine. He is now a normal, healthy little boy.” Or perhaps
better yet, go back to the biblical witness of Mary Magdalene on that
first Easter morning when she heard the Jesus call her by name and ran
off shouting and laughing, “I have seen the Lord! I have seen the
Lord! He is Risen!!”
This
very morning Jesus is calling your name and inviting you into the joy of
the resurrection. I invite you wherever you are to pray with me. Dear
Lord Jesus, I want to go beyond just visiting your shrine and enjoying
its beauty. I hear you calling my name and I want to know you in my
heart. I don’t know how to use your gift very well, Lord. I struggle
to live and love the way you have taught. But I want to learn the joy of
life in your kingdom. Teach me, guide me, help me, mold me. Bring me
fully into the joy of Easter this day. Amen.
He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia. |