Loving God, you turn our sorrow into joy and darkness into light, giving hope to all people through your Son, Jesus.  Help us this day to know the depth of your love and the power of the resurrection, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

           In some quarters, much has been made of the fact that Easter falls on April Fools’ Day this year.  Some have tried to make jokes about it.  Some have warned that the empty tomb is not a hoax and is not to be joked about.  And some have suggested that joy and laughter are entirely appropriate for the resurrection of Jesus.

         As I think about this, I can imagine joy and laughter from Mary Magdalene that Easter morning – but not at first.  For, when Mary first makes her way to the tomb that morning, she is distressed and grieving and wanting to see Jesus.  However, when she gets there, she does not find the sealed tomb that she is expecting, with the body of Jesus inside.  Instead the stone has been removed, and her immediate assumption is perhaps what many of us might think:  Somebody has taken the body.

         Not knowing what else to do, Mary runs and gets a couple of the disciples to come and investigate.  Peter and the mysterious “other disciple” immediately run to the tomb and go inside.  They find the linen wrappings that had been around the body of Jesus all neatly rolled up and the cloth that had been around his head rolled up separately.  If there had been grave robbers, they were certainly very neat and tidy about everything!

         And then we hear one of the most interesting parts of the story.  The other disciple, it seems, goes into the tomb, sees the grave clothes and believes (Jn. 20:8).  We are not told what he believes, but he believes something.  Then both of the disciples simply go home.  It is almost as if somebody has come and said, “Move along.  Nothing to see here.”  They saw the tomb, Jesus wasn’t there, and they go home.

         Mary, however, is not about to go anywhere.  She stays there, and weeps, and finally brings herself to look inside the tomb.  By this time, there are angels there – two of them – dressed in white.  Interestingly enough, they don’t give Mary any message.  Instead, they ask her why she is weeping.  At this point, she continues to insist that somebody has taken the body of Jesus, and she wants to know “where they have laid him” (Jn. 20:13).

         As she turns around and sees Jesus standing there (but doesn’t know that it is Jesus), she continues to ask the same question.  Jesus also asks her the same question as the angels, “Woman, why are you weeping?”  She is still looking for the body of Jesus and thinks that this man must be the gardener and must know where he is.

         It is only when Jesus calls her by name that Mary recognizes him.  She recognizes him, and she grasps his hands or perhaps falls down at his feet and wraps her arms around his ankles.  She wants to stay there and to be with him.  She does not want to lose him again.  However, Jesus asks her not to hold him there.  The thing is that they both have somewhere else to be.  Mary needs to go to the other disciples and give them a message.  Mary needs to go and tell them about Jesus.  And then later, they will see Jesus as well.

         My suspicion is that most of us can understand Mary’s inclination to want to stay there with Jesus in the garden.  There is a part of us that wants to keep Jesus all to ourselves and to bask in his love and to take every need to him.  We like the idea of me and Jesus – my Saviour and Lord and personal friend.  However, have you ever heard that when Jesus comes into your heart, he brings all of his friends with him?

         It is right there in the message that Mary is sent out with as she becomes the apostle to the apostles.  Jesus says, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (Jn. 20:17).  What Jesus is offering both to those first disciples and to us is a relationship with God that is just as close as the one Jesus had.  It is also a relationship that brings with it many brothers and sisters.  Thus, we are called into community – called to be part of the family of God.

         We are also, just like Mary, called to share the good news with others.  When we have seen Jesus, that is good news to be shared.  When we have witnessed God at work, that is something that others need to hear about.  People need to hear the message, not only that there is a God, but that the Creator of the Universe loves us and redeems us and has even come to dwell with us through Jesus our Lord.  Our God calls us by name, claims us as God’s children, and offers resurrection, forgiveness, and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

         The day of hopelessness and grief is over.  The time of weeping is past.  Sin and death no longer have the last word.  For Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!  Amen.

The Resurrection of Our Lord (NL 4)                               John 20:1-18

April 1, 2018

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2018 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved