I said it before, but how good and wonderful is it to be together as God’s people on this Easter Sunday?! Who would have ever thought that we would be out of our sanctuary for Easter, much less the past three! It does feel like a great victory to be together again, but it is still important to remember why we were apart. More than that it is important to remember the way in which we were together, and the way in which we are still together today.
It is important to remember that we were apart in order to demonstrate a collective response of care and concern and sacrificial love for those who were – and still are – the most vulnerable in the face of a disease like none we have ever known. There are those whom we lost to this disease – in this congregation and in our community – who remain in the embrace of God. There are those who became estranged over the way our communities and families and even our very nation responded to this disease, and the pain of that separation lingers.
These are all ways in which we have been made to feel separated, isolated, and alone, yet through our faith, we can see that they are also the ways in which we have been united. The expressions of care and the universal experience of limitation need not be seen as brokenness when we see it through the lens of the active, restorative presence of God! Like the new growth of bone after a break, we have come back stronger, more resilient, and more flexible in the face of tragedy and trial.
Today – this Easter morning – is the day that gives meaning to all of our sorrows. This is the day that encourages us to believe that those we lost have not been lost to God. This is the day that we celebrate the fact that the love of God is stronger than anything the world can cook up – even death itself!
In the text that we have shared today, there may be some points that are familiar and some that are strange to you. There may be some parts of the story that you have never heard before or that you just never considered before, or at least I hope there were. The Spirit of God works through the stories that we share about Jesus to reveal new things all the time.
The word of God as we have received it today picks up after the death of Jesus. In John 19:38 we see Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus, and Nicodemus, who first came to Jesus at night, embalming Jesus with oil and myrrh, and they lay him in an unused tomb because it was close by and it was the day of preparation for the Passover.
As we’ve said over the last few weeks, it’s no coincidence that Jesus is in the tomb over the Passover – a celebration that commemorates the release of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Particularly for John’s gospel, this is the way that God revealed through Jesus that all of us might become free from a life of separation from God and one another!
Now, in our story, Mary Magdalene went to visit the gravesite, as one might after a loss like that. She saw that the body was gone and ran to tell Simon Peter. He and the disciple Jesus loved – some say that was Lazerus (11:3), others say it was John – ran to the tomb, but the one Jesus loved stopped. Peter rushed in, as he would, and saw the shroud folded and set aside. Verses 8-10 say that they both went in and believed, though they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead, and they went home.
It’s not super clear to me if they believed he had risen or if they just believed what Mary said, that his body had been taken. Jesus is going to clear that up with them in the next part of the chapter (and we’ll deal with that next week), but all it says here is that they see this evidence and they believe and they go home. I hate to say it but it sounds a bit like what most of us do every Sunday. “Yup. We went to church. It wasn’t exactly what I expected…or maybe it was. What’s for lunch?”
Mary, on the other hand, could not bear to leave. She wanted something more. This couldn’t be it. This empty tomb – this easter egg of an empty tomb – and this pile of fabric in the place where Jesus was supposed to be could not be all there was to it! Then she saw them. In the tomb there were angels. I can’t help but wonder what I might have done in her place. Would I have seen them? I can’t help but wonder if there are angels that we miss in the empty spaces where we look for meaning, and we just miss them because we are not looking for them.
What I find really interesting about this, though, is that right after telling them that she is looking for Jesus she sees someone who she thinks is a gardener and she doesn’t say, “Um…did you see the angels in there?” Instead, she says something similar to what she said to the angels, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Gotta admire her consistency. When Jesus responds with her name, she sees him for who he is and he tells her to tell the others that he is ascending to heaven to be with God.
To be fair, I’m not sure if it truly matters that the disciples left and Mary stood weeping. It may be that her initiative and her desire were greater, but I’m not sure that matters as much as God’s initiative and God’s desire. Her grief certainly put her in the right place to receive a revelation from God, and I wonder if the same might be true of us.
Not that I want to dwell on grief on a day such as today, but there is a lot to grieve about in the world today. War still rages in Ukraine. Oppression and violence are still going on around the world. Fears of another war over the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem have been high as Holy Week, the Passover, and Ramadan have made an unusual convergence this year, and around Acadiana and particularly in Lafayette we are seeing a spike in gun violence involving teenagers.
If that weren’t enough, we have had several years of massive storms hit our region over and over and over, and no reason to expect it to stop. With all of this in mind, it’s pretty easy to identify with Mary as she weeps outside of the tomb looking for Jesus.
It’s no question that we have troubles to bear. The question is whether we let them consume us or whether we are able to hear Jesus call us by name and redirect us based on a proclamation of love and justice and mercy and hope. Throughout John’s gospel, we have heard themes of light coming into the world and Jesus has claimed over and over to be “from God”, and now he is reorienting Mary’s grief to assure her that he is returning to God the Father, the originator of all that is and will be.
The good news in that is that Jesus has said that those who believe will be joined with him and with God through him in the same way! The beautiful thing about this claim, and the experiences of those that have followed the way of Jesus for centuries, is that the sweet reunion that we are waiting for has already begun! Yes, we have hope in the resurrection of Jesus that we will one day be with God and all of our loved ones in the life that is to come – but yes, there is so much more.
Even in grieving over a loss, in fact especially in the grief that we share, God is present and calling us toward something greater. Here’s what I mean by that. This weekend there were four teenagers involved in shootings. I don’t know anything about it other than the fact that it happened and two black pastors were interviewed for their thoughts on the matter. As I thought about these events, I thought about the fact that if I am less concerned about it because it wasn’t my child; because it happened in a neighborhood where people have lived in poverty for generations; or because the skin of those involved is a different color than mine, then I may be missing out on the invitation of the resurrection of Jesus.
I don’t know, but I would bet that the pastors of the Gethsemane Church of God in Christ and Freedom World Ministry who were interviewed over the weekend are probably preaching about the hope that we have in the resurrection in a way that offers more than a “get of trauma-free” card. I would bet that they are calling for a response to the gospel of Jesus that includes some marching orders to let people know that the one who is from God offers us harmony with God and with one another.
Of course, the only way to know if the gospel we share connects with the one they share is to find ways to connect and care. The only way to let anyone know, whether they are in Lafayette or Cuba or in our homes or schools or randomly met on the street is to find ways to connect and to care. For those of us who follow the way of Jesus, it all starts by seeking the presence of God and realizing that in God’s presence we find our true selves. For now – in this space – in the presence of our common unity as people who love deeply and live fully, there is a table where all are welcome, all are called by name, and all are offered pardon from all that separates us, peace through the presence of justice, and healing for all that ills.
We’ve been through a lot, and God knows it, so let us taste and see the goodness of God. Let us celebrate the hope that we have in the resurrection of Jesus – not just in the life that is yet to be but also in the life we share in the tension of the present moment. This is the way of Jesus, and in it, we have always been united and through Jesus, we always will be; and to God be the glory, now and always. Amen!
It is important to remember that we were apart in order to demonstrate a collective response of care and concern and sacrificial love for those who were – and still are – the most vulnerable in the face of a disease like none we have ever known. There are those whom we lost to this disease – in this congregation and in our community – who remain in the embrace of God. There are those who became estranged over the way our communities and families and even our very nation responded to this disease, and the pain of that separation lingers.
These are all ways in which we have been made to feel separated, isolated, and alone, yet through our faith, we can see that they are also the ways in which we have been united. The expressions of care and the universal experience of limitation need not be seen as brokenness when we see it through the lens of the active, restorative presence of God! Like the new growth of bone after a break, we have come back stronger, more resilient, and more flexible in the face of tragedy and trial.
Today – this Easter morning – is the day that gives meaning to all of our sorrows. This is the day that encourages us to believe that those we lost have not been lost to God. This is the day that we celebrate the fact that the love of God is stronger than anything the world can cook up – even death itself!
In the text that we have shared today, there may be some points that are familiar and some that are strange to you. There may be some parts of the story that you have never heard before or that you just never considered before, or at least I hope there were. The Spirit of God works through the stories that we share about Jesus to reveal new things all the time.
The word of God as we have received it today picks up after the death of Jesus. In John 19:38 we see Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus, and Nicodemus, who first came to Jesus at night, embalming Jesus with oil and myrrh, and they lay him in an unused tomb because it was close by and it was the day of preparation for the Passover.
As we’ve said over the last few weeks, it’s no coincidence that Jesus is in the tomb over the Passover – a celebration that commemorates the release of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Particularly for John’s gospel, this is the way that God revealed through Jesus that all of us might become free from a life of separation from God and one another!
Now, in our story, Mary Magdalene went to visit the gravesite, as one might after a loss like that. She saw that the body was gone and ran to tell Simon Peter. He and the disciple Jesus loved – some say that was Lazerus (11:3), others say it was John – ran to the tomb, but the one Jesus loved stopped. Peter rushed in, as he would, and saw the shroud folded and set aside. Verses 8-10 say that they both went in and believed, though they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead, and they went home.
It’s not super clear to me if they believed he had risen or if they just believed what Mary said, that his body had been taken. Jesus is going to clear that up with them in the next part of the chapter (and we’ll deal with that next week), but all it says here is that they see this evidence and they believe and they go home. I hate to say it but it sounds a bit like what most of us do every Sunday. “Yup. We went to church. It wasn’t exactly what I expected…or maybe it was. What’s for lunch?”
Mary, on the other hand, could not bear to leave. She wanted something more. This couldn’t be it. This empty tomb – this easter egg of an empty tomb – and this pile of fabric in the place where Jesus was supposed to be could not be all there was to it! Then she saw them. In the tomb there were angels. I can’t help but wonder what I might have done in her place. Would I have seen them? I can’t help but wonder if there are angels that we miss in the empty spaces where we look for meaning, and we just miss them because we are not looking for them.
What I find really interesting about this, though, is that right after telling them that she is looking for Jesus she sees someone who she thinks is a gardener and she doesn’t say, “Um…did you see the angels in there?” Instead, she says something similar to what she said to the angels, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Gotta admire her consistency. When Jesus responds with her name, she sees him for who he is and he tells her to tell the others that he is ascending to heaven to be with God.
To be fair, I’m not sure if it truly matters that the disciples left and Mary stood weeping. It may be that her initiative and her desire were greater, but I’m not sure that matters as much as God’s initiative and God’s desire. Her grief certainly put her in the right place to receive a revelation from God, and I wonder if the same might be true of us.
Not that I want to dwell on grief on a day such as today, but there is a lot to grieve about in the world today. War still rages in Ukraine. Oppression and violence are still going on around the world. Fears of another war over the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem have been high as Holy Week, the Passover, and Ramadan have made an unusual convergence this year, and around Acadiana and particularly in Lafayette we are seeing a spike in gun violence involving teenagers.
If that weren’t enough, we have had several years of massive storms hit our region over and over and over, and no reason to expect it to stop. With all of this in mind, it’s pretty easy to identify with Mary as she weeps outside of the tomb looking for Jesus.
It’s no question that we have troubles to bear. The question is whether we let them consume us or whether we are able to hear Jesus call us by name and redirect us based on a proclamation of love and justice and mercy and hope. Throughout John’s gospel, we have heard themes of light coming into the world and Jesus has claimed over and over to be “from God”, and now he is reorienting Mary’s grief to assure her that he is returning to God the Father, the originator of all that is and will be.
The good news in that is that Jesus has said that those who believe will be joined with him and with God through him in the same way! The beautiful thing about this claim, and the experiences of those that have followed the way of Jesus for centuries, is that the sweet reunion that we are waiting for has already begun! Yes, we have hope in the resurrection of Jesus that we will one day be with God and all of our loved ones in the life that is to come – but yes, there is so much more.
Even in grieving over a loss, in fact especially in the grief that we share, God is present and calling us toward something greater. Here’s what I mean by that. This weekend there were four teenagers involved in shootings. I don’t know anything about it other than the fact that it happened and two black pastors were interviewed for their thoughts on the matter. As I thought about these events, I thought about the fact that if I am less concerned about it because it wasn’t my child; because it happened in a neighborhood where people have lived in poverty for generations; or because the skin of those involved is a different color than mine, then I may be missing out on the invitation of the resurrection of Jesus.
I don’t know, but I would bet that the pastors of the Gethsemane Church of God in Christ and Freedom World Ministry who were interviewed over the weekend are probably preaching about the hope that we have in the resurrection in a way that offers more than a “get of trauma-free” card. I would bet that they are calling for a response to the gospel of Jesus that includes some marching orders to let people know that the one who is from God offers us harmony with God and with one another.
Of course, the only way to know if the gospel we share connects with the one they share is to find ways to connect and care. The only way to let anyone know, whether they are in Lafayette or Cuba or in our homes or schools or randomly met on the street is to find ways to connect and to care. For those of us who follow the way of Jesus, it all starts by seeking the presence of God and realizing that in God’s presence we find our true selves. For now – in this space – in the presence of our common unity as people who love deeply and live fully, there is a table where all are welcome, all are called by name, and all are offered pardon from all that separates us, peace through the presence of justice, and healing for all that ills.
We’ve been through a lot, and God knows it, so let us taste and see the goodness of God. Let us celebrate the hope that we have in the resurrection of Jesus – not just in the life that is yet to be but also in the life we share in the tension of the present moment. This is the way of Jesus, and in it, we have always been united and through Jesus, we always will be; and to God be the glory, now and always. Amen!
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