Acts 10:34-43
1 Corinthians 15:19-26
John 20:1-18
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
“Woman, why are you weeping?”
I think this story from John’s gospel is a touching scene. A woman, totally bereft, weeping at the tomb of someone she loved. We have all seen this at some time or another, or perhaps stood weeping there ourselves. There are times when there is simply no consolation. Lonely, lost, abandoned by God. Even re-reading this story for the hundredth time still brings tears to my eyes.
Peter and the other disciple saw the empty tomb but as yet they didn’t understand the Scripture. So they went home. But Mary Magdalene didn’t. She stood weeping by the tomb, a picture of perfect misery, made worse because she thought Jesus’ body had been stolen for some unholy purpose. Wasn’t it enough that they had killed him? Did they have to take his body also? It may have been more than anyone could bear. And when she first saw him, she did not know Jesus either, at least not until he said her name. And then it all became clear.
After all that they had been through, Mary and the other disciples still had difficulty comprehending that Jesus lived again and that the prophecy had been fulfilled. They had traveled with him, seen him work healing miracles, heard his preaching, and witnessed his miraculous transfiguration on the mountain. But then, when he was arrested and killed, their hopes and dreams died with him. I suppose they can be forgiven for their unbelief. Jesus forgave them. It would be very hard for anybody to understand and believe under these circumstances.
Last night at the Great Vigil of Easter, we watched our world transform from darkness into light, from death into life, and from sorrow into joy. The miracle of Easter is all wrapped up with the reawakening of our world in springtime. Winter seems a dead time. It is cold, barren, and harsh. We can’t see the life just beneath the surface of the earth. And yet we know from experience that every year at this time the days get longer and the hidden life bursts forth yet again. It is a miracle of nature, God’s promise fulfilled.
So maybe it isn’t so hard to believe in life after death or that Jesus rose on the third day after his crucifixion. That was also God’s promise and it was fulfilled. After all, if the earth can come back to life, perhaps we can, too. That was also God’s promise to us, and it was lived out through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In our lives, we all go through periods not unlike Holy Week. Some of us go from triumph to death, from joy to bitter despair. Holy week is always an emotionally touching time for me. Maybe it is for you as well. It brings back memories. Perhaps it is just the memories that come back each time this year in the words of the Passion, the fragrant oil in the water for footwashing, or the smell of the flowers on the altar of repose. For me, it brings back memories of loved ones who are gone. Jesus knew that, and when he came to us incarnate, he lived these things with us and for us. He died as we will die. And he lived again as we will live again. His last words to his disciples and to his mother were really not good-byes, but rather “until we meet again”.
There is a time to sow and a time to reap. There is a time to be born and a time to die. And this day, it is a time to rejoice. We are Christians. We have been given the opportunity to see God incarnate in the gift of his death and resurrection. We know that we are beloved of God and that we have been saved for all eternity through God’s unmerited grace. Every week we gather to receive the gift of his body and blood in the Holy Eucharist and to hear the Word proclaimed yet again. I don’t know about you, but I will never get enough of it.
It isn’t just an old story about what happened 2000 years ago. It is here and now. When you come up to the altar rail today, Christ is somehow really present. You will hold him in your hand and taste him in your mouth. You will become one with him and he with you. This is our proof that Jesus still lives. And if he lives forever, so will we.
I think the children here understand this completely. They don’t need any convincing. Adults may be a little more skeptical because you may have been burned once or twice, or disappointed, or bereaved. Like the disciples at the tomb, you may wonder if this is all just wishful thinking. But it isn’t. Today Christ has come back to us. We are reunited in joyful communion with him.
Taste the bread and wine. Sing your alleluias. Be a part of the celebration. You and all Christendom are singing today and when you take communion, you join with all of them in the joyful refrain- Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Christ is risen! The Lord is Risen indeed. Alleluia.
