Why do we gather here this morning? My guess, if I went around the room asking, I
would get answers that fall somewhere along the lines of “Because we Christians
are supposed to” to “I come because _______ makes me” and maybe in some places
in between. For us in the Church, we
gather today to remember this amazing and wonderful act of God. I know, for those of you who have been
watching the shows on the cable channels about the “real Jesus,” we Christians
seem not to know why we gather. Maybe it
is good that I address the reason first.
We gather today because we remind
ourselves that God has acted in history, that He continues to act in history
and our lives, and that He will act in the future. The world, of course, testifies that there is
no God and He certainly did not nor does not act. If there is a God, He just sits out there and
watches. He cannot reach into this world
without upsetting the delicate balance He created. The existence of evil is proof enough for
some of this lie. Various reasons are
given for the Resurrection being a myth in these discussions. My personal favorite is the one where the fishermen
plotted to steal His body and hide it from the Romans because they wanted the
power and prestige of Rome. Never mind
the fact that the “power and prestige of Rome” was three centuries and several
persecutions off. None of the earliest
“plotter” got to enjoy their fruit of their labors, if such was their
goal. Talk about a leap of faith! Some of us Christians contribute to that false
myth. I watched a show this week
explaining that the Resurrection was not real, that the disciples had been
suffering from a mass hallucination or psychosis. The dead simply do not get up and live
again. I see the nods. Some of you could not sleep either, eh?
We gather today to remind ourselves,
however, that God acts in history and in our lives. The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus is simply
the culminating event in salvation history.
If God can raise the dead, He can do anything and everything He
promises. Often, we need to be reminded
of His power and His determination to redeem everything in the lives of all His
people. That is why we gather. We gather to remind ourselves that we have a
Savior and that our Savior can redeem all things in our lives, even death!
A couple weeks ago, I found an incredible
offer. A local bar on Harpeth Avenue was
offering half price beers for the next year, if one could correctly guess the
Final Four. Better still, the
establishment in question was giving us a mulligan. We got to pick five teams. Well, I am an Episcopal priest. I do like a good beer every now and again. They serve microbrews on tap, and I saw an
easy on the wallet way to enjoy them during the rest of 2016 and the beginning
of 2017. I see some of you are doing
some quick calculations in your head and wishing you had heard about this offer
before March Madness started. That’s ok,
your wives are doing the same calculations in their heads, too! Yes, I played, and I played to win. My big question was Kansas versus Villanova
in my bracket. I was not really sure who
would win that matchup. I figured
Carolina would beat either Indiana or Kentucky.
I was confident Oklahoma would take down Oregon. I had no doubts Michigan State owned Virginia. Quit laughing. This was two weeks ago. How many of you had MTSU beating the
Spartans? Sure, we all pick a #12 seed
to beat a #5—everyone does that, but something like only 8 people correctly
picked MTSU to beat Michigan State. And
we all know Gonzaga is nigh near impossible to beat when they are a
double-digit seed. Seriously, always
take God and the double digit seed when you have a chance, right? Quit laughing, you know it’s true! As you can all see, assuming Carolina wins
this evening, I got three of four right.
I was this close to getting half price beers for the next year.
In many ways, life is like a tournament
bracket. Hold on. Give me a moment. If I spoke with 13-14 year-old you, would you
have predicted your life? Maybe some of
us would have nailed everything in life, but I doubt it. At that young age there is so much that must
happen. How many of us swore we would
never get married, move out into the suburbs, change a diaper, drive the
minivan, or be happy at the combined thought like that famous commercial? How many of us ended up in the career path
wanted at that age? I daresay there
would have been a lot more astronauts and professional athletes than there are. How many of us work at the company we thought
we would? How many of us married the
person we crushed on then? And we have
not even begun to think of the chaotic events we call life. Some of us have been impacted by death or
disease. Some of us have had companies
shut down beneath us, forcing us to follow professional detours or alternate
routes. Anyone dealt with natural
disasters like floods or fires or tornados or some such natural violence? Did you really have more than a few minutes
warning?
Those of you who attend infrequently or
who are, perhaps, visiting, might wonder at the claim. It is understandable. More importantly, your doubts and confusion
place you in great company. Turn in your
orders of worship to John’s account this morning. I know most of think that John is the
theologizer. John is the Apostle who
looked at the big picture. Matthew,
Mark, and Luke concentrated on the details, but John gave the meaning to the
details. In some ways, the gross
oversimplification is understandable.
But, just because John theologizes does not mean he abandons all
details. Similarly, Matthew, Mark, and
Luke certainly capture a number of the big statements regarding the Messiah
Jesus. But John captures some details to
remind us that the Resurrection was a real, historical, transformative event
and to remind you and me that we are not alone in how we come to our faith in
Jesus and in God promises.
Mary Magdalene and another lady or two are
headed to the tomb before dawn. It might
seem an inconsequential detail to you and me, but to those living at the time
of John’s ministry, such a claim is outlandish.
Sorry, ladies, but women in the ANE had very few rights, as you and I
understand them. Jewish ladies, in
particular, though they were treated well by comparison to other groups in the
ANE, were unable to study under a rabbi or to provide testimony in a court of
law. Right off the bat, in this chapter,
John breaks both those understandings.
The women are the first to come to the tomb and see Jesus is not
there. Mary calls Jesus “Teacher” when
she finally recognizes that the gardener is THE Gardener. If John was propagandizing, this is a crazy
way to start the story, by ANE standards.
Woman are the first to witness the Resurrection? Judges would have tossed that case in a
heartbeat. Yet John tosses in that other
little detail, “while it was still dark.”
Some of us are of an age when gender roles were significantly more
defined. Some of us may have been raised
in a household where the woman got up to get lunches made, clothes ironed and
laid out, and breakfast made.
One of my greatest memories as a child is
the visits to my grandmother’s. She very
seldom ever had to come in and wake me.
Usually, it was the wonderful wafting odor of bacon that brought me out
of my sleep. As wonderful as a warm bed
was, the thought of bacon, eggs, and toast still make my mouth water. My grandmother was always the first up. She had to get everything ready for the
day. Whether it was just my grandfather
or she had some family in the house, she was up first brewing the coffee,
starting breakfast, packing lunches, and doing all that other stuff the matriarch
did in those days. I see the nods. Some of you may have done that yourself for a
time. Today’s world might find it sexist
that a woman was up first to get the household going, but the world of 2000
years ago would have understood it as normal.
Jesus’ death likely hung like a pall over the women that Sabbath, and
they wanted to get His body spiced and moved from the preparation table into
His shelf. It makes sense they were up
and about early. That John highlights
the fact that it was women, when women were deemed too hysterical for
testifying, makes it appear as if it really took place in this world.
What happens next? Mary returns and tells the disciples the body
is missing. In the beginning of the
account, she cares only to find out where the body of our Lord is so that she
can minister to it. Naturally, Peter and
the disciple whom Jesus loved go running to see for themselves. What happens?
The younger guy, John, gets there
first. He bends down and looks into the
tombs, sees the strips of linen lying there, but does not go in. If John was writing propaganda and seeking to
raise his own influence with this Christian group, it is a weird way to do
it. Why not have himself understanding
Jesus’ teachings that He must die and be raised after three days? Why not be brave where Peter was a
coward? Why not enter before Peter,
rather than after? Because that is how
life works! This is not a propaganda
piece. This is not fiction. This is an account of how the disciples first
encountered the greatest act in salvation history!
Lastly, of course, Peter gets there. Poor Peter.
Not only does he not understand, but he gets there after the young
guy. Unlike John, though, Peter
enters. He sees the head-wrapping all
rolled up. Were somebody to have stolen
the body, why roll up the head-wrapping.
If the body was moved, and someone was willing to risk defilement, the
linens and wrapping should be trailed, as if a body was carried out of the
tomb. But these are lying where the Body
was, and the wrapping is purposefully rolled up. Peter leaves, and then John enters the
Tomb. John, we are told, puts the pieces
together and believes, but Mary and Peter do not yet.
Mary, of course, stays by the tomb
weeping. The two angels appear and
challenge her, then Jesus appears to her.
At first, she presumes He is the gardener and asks where her Master’s
body is. Once Jesus speaks, Mary hears
His voice and knows Him, a confirmation of John’s recount of the Good Shepherd earlier. The angels’ presence, supernaturally,
testifies to the fact that what has occurred here is of divine origin. It is then that she claims Him as Teacher and
clings to Him.
John’s account of the Resurrection
encounters is quite detailed. Our
selection today, though, focuses on the response of three. My guess is that you who are visitors, and you
who are infrequent attenders, and you who are faithful attenders are drawn to
John’s account. My guess is, if we went
around the room, we are all on the same path as Mary, Peter, or John in our
faith walk with God. Look again at their
response and compare them with your own standing.
Some of us come to faith by hearing, like
Mary. Perhaps there are signs of God’s
power in our lives all around us, but we are too blind to see them. We are overcome by the problem and find
ourselves oblivious to the Lord’s response and actions in our lives. Maybe it was the story of our parents, maybe
it was the story of our grandparents, maybe it was the story of a spouse or a
child, maybe it was the story of a small group or coworker, but in some way we
were drawn into this walk, this search, of the Lord who was always seeking
us. Perhaps some of us are still
looking. Some of us, no doubt, have
heard His voice as clearly as Mary did 2000 years ago. But Mary’s struggle with the Resurrection ought
to comfort us. Hearing the stories of
the marvelous deeds He has done can be the catalyst that causes us to wonder at
events that have transpired in our lives.
Hearing the works of power that He has done may cause us to look back on
our own experiences. Maybe there has
been provision in the face of privation.
Maybe there has been incredible saving in the face of death or extreme
danger. Maybe there has been
reconciliation that defies all expectation.
Chances are, though, there are events in all our lives that remind us
that God is acting in our lives every bit as much as He did in the lives of
those disciples. Maybe, for those of us
who need to hear His voice, He is speaking even now to us in the same gentle
tones He did with Mary that Easter morning, placing us in the midst of that
saving embrace.
Of course, not all of us respond to voices
or lectures, right? Some of us need to
see for ourselves. Certainly John falls
into that category, as will a number of disciples, Thomas the most
notable. Does John understand the
significance and believe in the beginning?
No. He does not know what to
believe. He stands at the entrance of
the tomb trying to solve the puzzle in his own mind. My guess, and it is only a guess as he does
not record his thoughts, is that he was trying to figure out why somebody
outside the disciples might steal the Body.
Then, as he reflects on the details, he begins to wonder about our Lord’s
teaching. Even when he writes that he
believed, he qualifies it with the understanding that he still did not
understand from the Scriptures. What had
taken place took place to fulfill God’s promises to humanity. As far back as the expulsion of Adam and Eve,
God promised to work to restore humanity to Himself. But John has no understanding of that yet. We might see he has not attended the Bible
studies, listened to enough preaching, or spent enough time in prayer.
Many of us are like John. The details are before us. The testimony is right in front of us, but we
are not sure. We are scientific. We are too smart to be gullible (except when
it comes to electing politicians). We
need to figure these things out for ourselves and reconcile them with what we
understand. The problem, of course, is
that God is beyond our understanding.
Just when we think we understand Him or have Him right where we want
Him, He acts! Outside the faith community,
outside the study of Scriptures, outside intentional communion with Him, we may
miss the significance or even miss the sign altogether. But we understand He is working in the world
around us; we desperately want to believe that He is working for us!
If you have never paid close attention to
the story of the Resurrection before, Peter’s response may surprise and
encourage you. In many ways, Peter
describes our own walk with God. Peter
is the one upon whom Jesus promised to build His Church. Peter is the one who will preach that
incredible sermon on the Feast of Pentecost, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and
begin to place the activities of God in the lives of those who hear and in the
world around us. But that is some time
off in the future. Peter, remember, just
lied about his relationship to Jesus this past Thursday. Peter, who was willing to die with Jesus and
who raised the only sword in defense of Jesus, chickens out when confronted by
powerful serving maids. Can you imagine
the shame? Can you imagine the
self-loathing? Most of us do not need to
imagine it because we live it. Every one
of us gathered here this morning, each and every one of us gathered this
morning to celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection has those disappointments in
our own lives. During the church year I often
refer to them as our secret unlovable sins.
We know we know better, but we do things which we know disappoint our
Lord. Maybe those secret sins are simply
the blowing off of the gathering to which He calls us. It is an easy command to break bread, to
pray, and to teach and study with other Christians, but life sure tries hard to
get in the way. Before we know it,
weeks, months, years, and maybe decades have passed before we know it. And we fear to approach a church again for
fear that God is disappointed in us.
Maybe our sins are more professional.
Maybe we sacrificed family to climb the corporate ladder. Maybe we trusted in mammon when we should
never have forgotten God. Maybe we
sought happiness in anything other than God’s saving embrace, and we came to
see ourselves as a disappointment in His eyes.
Maybe our secret sins are relational.
Perhaps we are judgmental of others but know ourselves deep down to be
hypocrites of the worst sort. Maybe we
are quick to condemn the sins of others and do so to deflect such criticisms
that could be leveled at us. I see the
squirming. It is tough to learn that our
Lord died for us, too, isn’t. It is
tough to learn that our Lord can forgive us and restore us, just as He did
Peter, some twenty centuries before. It
is tough for us to accept that He can love us and forgive us, even when we know
we are, like Peter, unworthy of such love and such forgiveness.
Brothers and sisters, the Feast of the
Resurrection is that wonderful time when we gather and remind ourselves that
God has acted, that God acts, and that God will continue to act for the welfare
of all His people. God has promised,
through our Lord Christ, that all our sins have been forgiven and that we are a
redeemed, a freed, people. That shame
and fear and self-loathing which should rightfully belong to each of us has
been embraced by our Lord on the Cross.
And, although such good news would be grand in our ears, still it is not
Gospel. He has promised that everything
in our lives will be redeemed. As we
travel though the bracket or forks we call life, making decisions, we do so
confident of our destination. We can
make the absolute worst decision and know that He will redeem it for His
glory. We can make choices that while
maybe are not the worst, are certainly not the best. Still, He will redeem even those
choices. And when we make the right
choices, the ones which we are confident glorify Him, we know we will be
blessed. True, to outward appearances it
may seem as if we lost. We may be taken
advantage of, we may be hurt, we may even make choices which involve tremendous
self-sacrifice, but He has promised that He will justify us all in the end,
even as He justified our Lord Christ.
Put in the language of the day, you and I are guaranteed a spot on the
top of the podium. We may miss the
excitement of the Sweet Sixteen or Elite Eight, we may even seem to lose at
important times, but in the end, we who claim Him as Lord get to share in His
glory! And we are reminded this day,
this day when death’s sting was taken from our side, that He has the power to
accomplish all that He purposes in our lives!
More amazingly, He has the willingness to address us all, whether we are
a Peter, a Mary, or a John, and remind us that His is the Voice calling to each
of us, calling each of us to His loving embrace. Brothers and sisters, do you claim that
embrace? Do you hear that voice? Why not claim Him as Lord and watch Him turn
all things new in your life, even as He did those faithful three about whom we
read this morning?
Peace,
Brian†
