Easter Sunday
Andrew Pratt says to find the meaning of the Christian faith we have to begin in the cemetery. “The search begins in the darkness of human grief and brokenness. For it's only in that place where we will hear the word that Christian faith has to speak. “He was here but he is not here any longer. This is not the end. There is more. Go find him!’”
I am an early riser. Regardless of how late I go to bed, It seems that the older I get the earlier I wake up in the morning. I tend to wake about twenty to thirty minutes before sunrise, and it’s sort of a pain to wake up that early, but it’s also a blessing because it’s the one time of the day when everything is at peace. And when it’s still dark before the sun rises, it’s so peaceful but also a bit eerie, as if something, anything might be about to happen.
Apparently, Mary Magdalene was an early riser too. It had been a horrible, dark, painful week. Her friend, her teacher, Jesus, had been arrested, convicted, and executed and her hopes and dreams had been shattered while she’d watched helplessly. But now, it's the first day of a new week and she isn’t helpless, there is something within her power that she can do. She can go and complete the preparation of Jesus’ body. The body had been taken down the night before, wrapped quickly in linen cloth, deposited in a tomb, and covered with a stone. So, Mary carefully works her way through the darkness to the tomb and as she approaches she is surprised when she can see that the stone has been removed. It’s sort of like when someone comes home to find their front door wide open when a home is robbed. She’s startled and frightened by the scene and she turns and runs back to find Peter and the other disciples. When she gives them the news Peter and John run back to find the empty tomb. Mary follows and after the disciples leave it's much lighter now and she gets the nerve to walk up to the tomb and actually look inside.
It’s one of the most poignant scenes of the entire biblical story. Mary Magdalene leans down and peers into the cave and sees something astounding, She doesn't just see the burial clothes that Peter and John saw, now she sees two angels; one standing at where the head of Jesus's body would have been, and another angel standing at the foot. And before Mary can faint or run away in fear, they speak to her. “Woman, why are you weeping?” and Mary says, “They've taken away my Lord and I don't know where they've put him.” She's crying because she thinks that all that is left of Jesus, all that is left of the Messiah, all that is left of this incredible movement, the hope and promise of this Kingdom of God that Jesus said was at hand, all that's left is Jesus' dead, cold body, and now even that is gone.
Have you ever been there, that place in life where everything you've ever hoped for, ever counted on is gone. That place in life where there isn't even the mere remains of something to at least remember what you've lost. Can things get any worse for this woman? Is this how it all ends? Well, no, of course not, because God always has the last word. God speaks the last word and calls Mary by name. She sees him but doesn't recognize him, thinks he’s the gardener. She’s consumed with grief over this loss and tragedy but Jesus... speaks her name and her world is turned upside down, it becomes clear; “yes, the Kingdom of God is here, everything we set our hearts toward is true. And she runs and tells the other disciples the news, “I have seen the Lord and He is alive.”
I don't think we are here at this celebration of Easter by mere chance. I believe that we are each called for a reason. You may not necessarily recognize God working in your life, but God is. And regardless of how dark and cold things may appear, regardless that it may seem like you are worn down to nothing and left with only the worst. You may feel that your life is like that dark empty tomb with only a few burial cloths. But the truth of the Gospel is that the worst things are not the last things, and Jesus the resurrected Christ is with you today and is calling you by name, and ever defeating death and offering you new life. At some point in everyone’s life, it gets hard and difficult and we feel like Mary Magdalene looking into the cold darkness of a tomb, but at that moment if we will stop and listen for a still small voice, if we reach out to the beloved community of Christ, even in the darkness of that tomb, we will hear, “He was here but he is not here any longer. This is not the end. There is more. Go find him!” AMEN.
The Rev. Dr. Dennis Campbell
