(John 20:1-18 NRSV)
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. {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.
Last week, we talked about the two parades that came into
Jerusalem on that day that we know of as Palm Sunday.
Lots of things have happened during this past week
·
Jesus overturned the tables of the money
changers in the market
·
Jesus angered the religious authorities
·
Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples
·
Judas sells out Jesus to the Religious
Authorities
·
Jesus, while praying the in the garden of
Gethsemane was arrested by the Roman officials
·
Jesus was tried before Jewish leaders, before Herod
and also the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate
·
Finally he was condemned, beaten and ultimately
crucified
It’s was a busy week!
But without Easter
Without Easter --- we wouldn’t be
here this morning.
If Jesus’ story had ended with his crucifixion, my hunch is
Jesus would have been forgotten, remembered only by a small few who viewed him
as a failure.
Jesus would have been just another Jew crucified by the
Roman Empire, an empire that executed thousands upon thousands on the cross.
Maybe the Roman—Jewish historian Josephus would have left us
a word or two about this preacher who was executed, but in all likelihood you
and I would never have heard of him.
Or what if the Disciples had just gone home?
What if they figured that the guy that they had been
following, well, they decided that he wasn’t all that they had imagined?
Where would we be today?
I have thought about that a great deal this week . . .
Not only, what would have happened if Jesus was never resurrected,
but also: WHY? Why was Jesus
resurrected?
As I tried to come up with an answer I thought of three
possible reasons why Jesus was resurrected.
Was Jesus resurrected for Jesus benefit?
Did God resurrect Jesus because he had not finished what he
had started?
At first blush, that makes lots of sense, if you think about
it; Jesus left a lot to be done.
But under further scrutiny, that just doesn’t make much
sense for a number of reasons
1. Jesus tells us
on the cross that it is finished
(John 19:30 NRSV) When Jesus had received the wine, he said,
"It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
The things that Jesus came to
accomplish had been accomplished, so there was no reason for him to be
resurrected to complete what he had started.
It was finished
2. Would God make Jesus come back to that
broken and battered body to interact with the people who just killed him?
I cannot image that God would allow
Jesus to continue the suffering that he had to endure dying as he did on a
cross
I don’t think that Jesus was resurrected for Jesus sake.
But what about for the Disciples?
Did God resurrect Jesus for the benefit of the Disciples?
It seems pretty clear from the gospel stories that they never
really understood what Jesus was all about.
So, did God resurrect Jesus so that they could figure it
out?
Again, when we look quickly at the stories it is obvious
that the Disciples did not expect or anticipate that Jesus would be
resurrected.
When Jesus was crucified, we are told that they fled and
were in hiding, afraid that what happened to Jesus was going to happen to them
John goes so far as to tell us that on resurrection Sunday,
after Mary has already come and told them that she had encountered the risen
Christ, that they were still hiding.
(John 20:19 The Message) Later on that day, the disciples had
gathered together, but, fearful of
the Jews, had locked all the doors
in the house.
What is amazing to me is that this frightened mass of people
changed after this event.
No longer were they afraid, but now they were willing to go
out and proclaim Jesus and his Way --- even when it ultimately meant their own
deaths.
Without a doubt, Jesus was resurrected to transform this
ragtag group of peasants into the strongest force the world has ever
encountered.
Not an army that would change the world through weapons, but
an army that would change the world through the sacrificial love that Jesus
demonstrated on the cross.
But is that why Jesus was resurrected? To straighten out the misfits who had failed
to understand him?
Or maybe, just maybe Jesus was resurrected for us --- for
you and for me --- and for all of humanity that followed.
Maybe Jesus was resurrected so that we can understand that
Jesus is not simply some historical figure, but that Jesus is an ever present
reality.
Sometimes, however, I think we get confused as to the
meaning of the Resurrection for us.
We think that because Jesus was resurrected that our
circumstances will change.
If we believe in the resurrection then no harm will come to
us
·
We will be protected from evil
· Cancer or other illness will not rage in our
bodies
·
Our marriages will be secure
If only we believe
But that is not the way that it works
The resurrection doesn’t change our circumstances --- what it
changes is our perspective
Resurrection gives us hope!
Have you ever looked closely at the resurrection story as it
is found in the Gospel of John?
John tells us something that is not found in the other
gospels, which is not unusual in itself, but I find this particular thing very
fascinating.
John is the only one who tells us that Jesus was crucified
and buried in a garden.
(John 19:40-42 NRSV) They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it
with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews.
{41} Now there was a garden in the
place where he was crucified, and in the garden
there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. {42} And so, because
it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus
there.
Why do you think John wants to make sure that we know that
Jesus was crucified and buried in a garden?
Interesting question, but let me ask you:
Where does the Bible start?
Where does the Bible begin?
In the Garden of
Eden.
Some people believe that the creation stories are describing
a literal event, others believe that it is a metaphor, but regardless the
creation story and the Garden of Eden are archetypal stories.
They are stories that describe the perfect place that God
wants us to dwell in.
A place with:
·
No sin
·
No bigotry
·
No racism
·
No poverty
·
No crime
·
No hatred
It is a place of shalom --- a place of perfect peace
We don’t live in the Garden of Eden today --- do we?
No, the truth is we have wandered far from it.
We live in a world that at times seems to be the exact
opposite from the Garden of Eden.
But John tell us the resurrection story the way he does to
point out, in no uncertain terms, that Jesus offers us a return to the Garden
of Eden.
Resurrection, for John, is a symbol of restoration
Restoration of the shalom that God created the world to live
in.
Think, once again, of the crucifixion story.
(Luke 23:39-43 NRSV) One of the criminals who were hanged there
kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and
us!" {40} But the other {criminal} rebuked him, saying, "Do you not
fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? {41} And we
indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our
deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." {42} Then he said, "Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom." {43} He replied, "Truly
I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
God restores the broken and defeated criminal.
No longer is this sinner --- this common criminal separated
from God --- but now, through resurrection, he is restored to God.
And God want to restore you and me!
Millions of people have spent great sums of money trying to
figure out what their God given purpose is.
Rick Warren from Saddleback Church in California has sold
millions of copies of his book called THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE, as people sought
an answer to that question.
But the answer to what our purpose
is --- is actually quite simple
Resurrection is an invitation for us to partner with God in
helping to return to Eden.
A place where the prophet tells us to
Love justice
Seek kindness
And walk
humbly with God
Or as Jesus told us repeatedly, quoting from the Hebrew
Bible --- to love God and love our neighbor as much as we love our self!
Easter is the story of God’s shalom --- God’s restoration ---
God’s purpose for the world.
One more interesting thing that is found in John’s story of
the resurrection.
When Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb looking for the
deceased Jesus she is surprised to find the tomb empty.
She is so surprised that she turns and runs to find Peter
and the disciple that Jesus loves and tell them about it.
They go to the tomb and Mary seems to follow them.
Then Peter and John go into the tomb and find it empty and
“the linen wrappings lying there, and
the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but
rolled up in a place by itself.”
Not finding Jesus they head back home --- back into hiding
--- but Mary stays.
John tells us:
Mary stood weeping outside the
tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 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. 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." When she had said this, she turned around and
saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
She did not know it was Jesus --- instead do you remember
who she thought it was that she was talking too?
A GARDNER
What a fascinating image --- John is telling us that
resurrection takes place in the Garden and that have been are called to join
God in his restoration of the Garden of Eden which is breaking in as a result
of Jesus resurrection.
But more than that, he tells us to follow Jesus, the
gardener, the one who is working to bring about the restoration of the world.
He is telling us it is time to get to work!
Why resurrection?
Why are we here today?
So that God can show us what we must do!
No comments:
Post a Comment