It was early in the morning when they went to his tomb. I wonder if any of them had slept the night. They had to wait through the Sabbath in order to prepare his body. I can imagine each of them restless waiting for the breaking of the dawn, so that they could go and attend to their broken hearts in the only way they knew how. Dressed early, so that they could go and dress his body with spices, sing the songs of mourning, and bring love to the acts of burial.
Early in the morning with ache of grief in their stomachs and the pain of the last few days yet on their brows, they went. Mary had already been there. She came back with some wild tale about the stone, the boulder in front of the tomb – the one that the Jewish leaders had insisted on – so that they could not steal his body and claim resurrection- WAS GONE! How could she have moved it? It took a dozen people to roll it in front of the cave – she could not move it herself!
Almost dutifully, Peter and the other disciple went to disprove her idle tales. There is no way that her story could be true – – was there? No, there was no way, I can almost hear Peter and the other disciple convincing themselves as they run towards the tomb to yell out – LIAR! And as they ran to the tomb, I can imagine the internal montage.
The last three years had been a whirlwind – the travel had been extensive, the emotions had run hot and cold, the spiritual learning had been deep and intense. Jesus had called each of the disciples into relationship and apprenticeship with him. Then, Jesus had nurtured them, loved them, know them, and cared for them. And under such tutelage each had grown.
But the last week had been more of a whirlwind, even more than the three years combined. From the joy and celebration of the triumphal entry in Jerusalem to the political theater in the Temple, the week in Jerusalem had been filled with unexpected events. Confrontations with the Pharisees and scribes, lots of talk of death, and then, there was the unfolding of the emotional Passover meal. Accusations of denial and betrayal. And then as if the teaching in parables was not enough, what the disciples could have imagined to be parables became true and lives reality before their very eyes.
Crucifixion and death – a horrible death on the cross. Death is death. Death is final – were the words that he spoke of God for the last three years idle tales, were they metaphor and allegory? Not only was it first thing in the morning, but as the disciples still feel in the dark about the wild words that Jesus threw around. They knew darkness.
Still, they found themselves in a footrace towards the tomb early that morning. At the end of the race, Peter was second in the race, but first in the tomb. Sometimes we race, because like the first disciple, we like to be first. First to get there, first to believe, first to move into sharing with others. Sometimes, we race, because like Peter, we are checking out the words of others. We are examining the facts and the status. We need to understand, before we believe. Sometimes we race, because like Mary, we are dutiful to the end. We said that we would care for someone and here we are. Mary promised to care for the body of Jesus.
When it is still dark in our lives, we often dutifully go through the motions, we bury the dead, we support our families, we tiptoe through complicated relationships, we carry the burdens of pain and suffering and we hear the idle tale that something incredible has happen to change all of that. AND IT IS ALMOST AS IF WE CAN NOT BELIEVE IT. It is not reasonable and measured, it is not empirical and logical and the accounts all come from questionable sources. As people of faith, we have difficulty acknowledging that the same power that rolled away the stone that covered the mouth of the cave where Jesus was buried can roll away the stones that have plagued our lives. The power of the resurrection will dispel our darkness and enable us to live resurrection, empowered lives.
The author, Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “New life starts in the dark. Whether it is a seed in the ground, a baby in the womb, or Jesus in the tomb, it starts in the dark.” Seeds are just as likely to be duds as to produce prolifically. This is why farmers plant them in abundance to guarantee yield. Mothers carry new life with cautious optimism. Doctors acknowledge that there is much that is unknown about the miracle of life. Jesus in the tomb was dead to begin with.
These reminders are countercultural. We want to believe that everything begins with excitement and wonder and glows with light and life. We want to imagine that our lives will move from moment of joy to moment of joy or at least from moment of mundane contentment to subtle joy. The truth is simple: life begins in the dark. The disciples truly experienced doubt and despair, anguish and abandon as they watch their Lord and friend crucified on the cross. They were pretty sure they had not only wasted three years following the wrong man, but now had to worry for their own lives. As the Romans were known to execute not just a leader, but the inner circle of an insurrectionist as well.
The Brazilian writer, Paolo Coelho, writes, “If it is not good, it is not the end.” Let me say that again If it is not good, it is not the end. It could be that you are stuck in the betrayal of Maundy Thursday, suffering of Good Friday, or the sorrow of Holy Saturday. But today is Resurrection Sunday!!
Jesus races to the most important truth: resurrection is not confined to one empty tomb. God did only do something amazing one time. Resurrection is who we are as God’s people; resurrection is at the center of our beings. So, you and I are called to look for and practice resurrection going forward. If we keep the story to ourselves, we will never run into Jesus. If we are captivated by the dazzling appearance alone, we will be blinded to Christ. If we only look at the tomb and recall the used to be’s, we will miss Jesus waiting for us in the world around us in the face of others from those we know to those we cannot imagine would be the face of Christ.
If we keep resurrection to a one time, one day event, we miss the life changing power of resurrection. The life changing power of the resurrection is concurrent for us as individuals and for the whole world. Jesus’ resurrection is the first of the signs of the world’s transformation—the first fruits of the kingdom of God, that is God answering the prayer that we pray that God might come here on earth as it is in heaven. God is faithful, even in the dark. God who keeps promises as we run towards God. God who changes us day by day and hour by hour. God’s whose resurrection is not a one day, one-time event, but continues to shake us and startle us throughout our lives.
God who does not want us to boil it down to a moral, or a nice platitude about heaven, but we never can, because God’s story is so much bigger and because Jesus demands we meet him on his terms, not ours. God wants us to race towards the empty tomb. Race towards the emptiness and brokenness in your life. Race towards all that might else wise keep you bound behind an unmovable rock. Let the power of Jesus’ resurrection by for you the mystery of God’s ongoing presence in the world.
Worth running towards and sharing.
This is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, thanks be to God, Amen.
Gospel Lesson: John 20:1-18
The Resurrection of Jesus
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.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 But 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.