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Easter Sunday 2010 April 4th St. Peter’s Brodhagen, Lutheran Church
Text: John 20:1-18
Theme: Jesus transforms with one word
Grace and peace to you from our risen Lord. Amen
This
is Easter Sunday - the first day of the week. Sunday is now and always
has been the first day of the week. We just heard about that
first day of the week – that Sunday following Jesus’ death. Jesus
died and was buried on a Friday. On that dark Friday when the sun
went down that evening, the Sabbath started – and a long, long
Sabbath that must have been for the men and women followers of
Jesus. The women that had stayed with Jesus all through that dark
Friday didn’t even get a chance to anoint Jesus’ body before the
Sabbath was upon them.
So after the Sabbath was over and
before it was light, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. She
was up at the tomb before sunrise to anoint Jesus’ body according to
their traditions. She probably approached with a mournful
and heavy heart.
But what she saw was the stone that
covered the tomb had been rolled away.This is not what she expected:
She expected everything to be the same – the same as they had
left everything on that Friday evening. She was expecting
Jesus to still be lying there in the tomb.
And she
wasn’t there in the hope that Jesus had some how survived or that this
had all been a bad dream. No she was there to anoint the body
according the traditional rituals.
On that first Easter Sunday
morning, Mary was fulfilling her duty to Jesus – the anointing of His
body. Then she saw with shock that open tomb. She had forgotten
all the things that Jesus had told them before – about the three days
and about his resurrection. This Sunday morning she reacted in
shock.
Mary was scared – they’d stolen the body. What
could she do about it? So she ran to John’s house to tell the
men. She told about what she saw – “I saw the stone moved
away from the tomb. I didn’t see anyone else around - just the open
tomb”
Maybe the men didn’t believe Mary that the tomb was
opened. Maybe she was mistaken – maybe the body’s still there –
after all Mary only saw that the stone was moved away. So the men came
to take a look. John and Peter raced to the tomb and the two men went
inside the tomb and sure enough the body wasn’t there. But the
men still didn’t understand the scripture “that he must rise from the
dead”.
This wasn’t what they expected – they had come
running up expecting to see an empty tomb with no body and no
linens. But the did see they linens all neatly rolled up and set
in two piles. This was no theft of a body. But what was
it? They went back home not knowing what had really taken place
that Sunday morning. The men were confused not knowing what to
think. So they went home.
By now Mary was
grieving. The Lord’s body was gone. She still thought that
Jesus’ enemies had taken the body. She wept. Even when she saw
the angels, even when she saw Jesus who she mistook for a gardener –
she wept.
This was a dark, scary and confusing first day
of the week for Mary and the disciples too. The empty tomb was a
sign of all their fear, all their confusion, all their grief and loss.
But
then the man that Mary asked ‘where have you laid his body’ – that man
that Mary thought was a gardener- that man spoke to Mary calling out
her name.
You know when we think about how events in
history occur – there is usually a build up of plans or events – for
example there were years of plans and work before that moment
when history changed when Neil Armstrong said “one small step for
man and one giant leap for mankind.” But that was the moment,
and the words, that most of us remember about the NASA putting men on the moon.
Now this moment in the gospel story just after Mary talks to the man she thought was a gardener –
that
is moment that changes history. It changes history in the way the
history professors talk about history – you know the creation of
Christianity and how Christianity has shaped the world.
But so much more than that, it changes our understanding of our relationship with God and with Jesus.
Right
then - with a word – Jesus changed Mary’s life –the disciple’s lifes –
and all the saints to follow (that’s you and me by the way). Just
like in the book of Genesis tells us – how God created the world with a
word – here Jesus creates a new understand and a new relationship
with a single spoken word. “Mary.”
Jesus spoke Mary’s
name to her. “Mary.” That was all it took.
At that moment Mary knew what had happened. At that
moment Mary knew this was Jesus and that he was alive. She knew
that the Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!
Jesus sends
Mary back to the men to tell them what had happen. Mary now knows
and believes all that Jesus had already told them before his death.
Here is the promise of the resurrection in the person of Jesus –
standing in the garden – The Lord is risen! He is risen
indeed!
Jesus with a single word “Mary” changes everything – changes everything for her and everything for us.
That
first witness to God’s work in resurrecting Jesus – that first
realisation that the Lord is risen - He is risen indeed … in that
twinkling of an eye, with that one breath and one word
“Mary” – Jesus changed the meaning of the empty tomb: from fear and
disbelief – to boldness and hope from sorrow and tears – to joy and
laughter from confusion and doubt – to surety and confidence from sin
and death – to forgiveness and eternal life
And Jesus is still
transforming the meaning of the empty tomb with one word for each of us
as he speaks our names: {Pastor Steve names several member of the
congregation.}
As Jesus speaks your name this glorious Easter morning that empty tomb is filled with God promises
of forgiveness of sin, the resurrection, and eternal life.
Yes
- it is not the empty tomb that is the celebration – it is more
than that. This day, this brilliant Easter morning is the
high point of our whole belief in Christ because Jesus is alive.
The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!
Yes friends - Easter is all about the resurrection. This is God's victory over all the sin of the world.
Through
Christ Jesus, all the sin of the world, all the sin before Christ’s
death, and all the sin since His death has been taken away. The
price has been paid – once and for all time.
As we prepare to
share in Christ’s body and blood at the Lord’s table this Easter
morning, we celebrate the ultimate forgiveness in Christ’s
resurrection. God has raised up Jesus, God's son,
and all our debts are forgiven because The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!
Amen
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
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