John 20:1-18
Early in the morning of the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. She ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him.” Peter and the other disciple left to go to the tomb. They were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and was the first to arrive at the tomb. Bending down to take a look, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he didn’t go in. Following him, Simon Peter entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. He also saw the face cloth that had been on Jesus’ head. It wasn’t with the other clothes but was folded up in its own place. Then the other disciple, the one who arrived at the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. They didn’t yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying.
Mary stood outside near the tomb, crying. As she cried, she bent down to look into the tomb. She saw two angels dressed in white, seated where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and one at the foot. The angels asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
She replied, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” As soon as she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn’t know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will get him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabbouni” (which means Teacher).
Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold on to me, for I haven’t yet gone up to my Father. Go to my brothers and sisters and tell them, ‘I’m going up to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene left and announced to the disciples, “I’ve seen the Lord.” Then she told them what he said to her.
It is hard to believe that just a little over two months ago, a group from Meridian Street spent time in Jerusalem --- walking where Jesus walked.
seeing the places where tradition says he was crucified
and the places where tradition says he was buried
The Garden Tomb with its beautiful simplicity is the perfect place to remember Jesus and celebrate that HE IS RISEN! He is risen indeed!
Friday afternoon, while the world was laying witness to the murder of Jesus on a Roman cross . . .
Murdered by the Roman Imperial authority --- because Jesus was threatening their way of life --- Jesus was offering a different way of LIFE --- what he repeatedly called God's Kingdom.
We didn't want to get rid of OUR kingdom --- so when the opportunity was ripe, the Roman's along with the Religious Leaders found a way to get rid of him.
While we were gathered around the cross --- watching Jesus die --- a most horrible death --- I was at Crown Hill cemetery with 9 other people to remember Dr Beverly Maxam.
It was --- to put it mildly --- surreal.
We were spread out in a huge semi-circle, so that we might practice social distancing --- everyone standing in their own unique family grouping.
I don't think that I have ever lead a funeral where I could not touch a person --- so much of ministry, as the way that I have done it, is about physical space --- not invading space --- but being present. A touch, a hug, a handshake --- but right now --- those days are gone.
As I stood there, I was taken back to our story of Resurrection morning from John's gospel. Mary has gone to the tomb and finds it empty, and she is perplexed. She is looking for the physical proximity of Jesus --- and he is not there.
John tells us:
Mary stood outside near the tomb, crying. As she cried, she bent down to look into the tomb. She saw two angels dressed in white, seated where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and one at the foot. The angels asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
She replied, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him.”
In this age of social distancing --- which often feels like social isolation --- I often feel the same way Mary did: Not knowing what has happened to Jesus --- they have taken his body and I don't know where he is
. . . not really knowing what is happening to my friends
. . .or even to my extended family.
Sure we can talk --- even talk on Zoom or FaceTime --- but things are different
This is an Easter unlike any other.
As Pastor Mary so aptly put it two weeks ago --- this Lent has gone on forever!
Wednesday evening, Passover began --- the ritual of remembering how God afflicted the Egyptians with 10 plagues --- because they would not let the Israelite's go.
The tenth plague --- you probably remember from watching The Ten Commandments --- is the final plague, where God vows to kill all of the first born of Egypt (and in the movie, you watch a black mist floating from house to house) --- but the homes of the Israelite's, they had put blood over their doors and the angel of death passed over them.
Some of my Jewish friends, were referring to the current pandemic as the 11th plague
This plague, however, doesn't appear to pass-over anyone
--- but does disproportionally kill the poor and minorities.
Our Jewish brothers and sisters had to celebrate Passover, much like we are celebrating Easter --- in a morally responsible way --- not gathering as diverse groups at the Seder dinner --- but having their Seder over Zoom.
Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell us that it was a Passover meal that Jesus celebrated with his friends at the Last Supper --- John wants to tell us that Jesus IS the Passover Lamb, and so in his telling of the story, Jesus is crucified at the same time as the lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover meal --- the day before Passover.
These last few weeks have felt like a daily dose of crucifixion Friday --- and sometimes I think we have all wondered if Sunday was ever going to come.
Will Easter really arrive this year?
It fees like we are perpetually stuck in the doom and gloom of Lent and Good Friday.
Remember how we began six weeks ago
As we marked your forehead with palm dust we said:
You are dust, and to dust you shall return
It isn't the normal demands of life that break us; it's the painful surprises. We find ourselves fighting battles in a war we never declared, and carrying burdens for reasons we don't understand.
I think we can all relate to what he is saying.
None of us were prepared for what has happened this past month.
Normal isn't normal anymore
And we all wonder what surprise awaits us.
What burdens will we be forced to carry?
I have been excited about the youth trip that is scheduled with the Appalachian Service Project this June.
My experience as a youth with Appalachian Service Project is part of the reason I went into ministry.
I have wonderful memories of going as a youth, and as an adult leader.
Learning the art of digging and building an outhouse, repairing leaky roofs, and building accessibility ramps have stuck with me throughout my life.
But more than the repairs --- it was the people that made the difference in my life.
Unsurprisingly, that trip has been canceled.
I received this from Walter Crouch, the president and CEO of Appalachian Service Project ---
This summer, hundreds of families, who have been patiently waiting for the month of June and the arrival of ASP volunteers so that much needed repairs could begin, will still have to wait. Roofs, badly in need of repair, will continue to let water pour through every time it rains. Collapsing floors, making whole rooms within a house unusable, will continue to rot. Crumbling foundations, threatening the safety of the families living on them, will continue to deteriorate. Wet, moldy, unsafe living conditions will remain. The health of the families living in these substandard conditions will continue to get worse, some to the point of hospitalization. And here’s the rub: the cure we have chosen as a country has brought economic recession and widespread unemployment which always disproportionately affects those living in poverty. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost in central Appalachia. The region had been making great strides in rebuilding its economy, making difficult decisions to transform its economic base away from traditional industries. Many of the families with whom we would have served this summer will now have deepened economic poverty, exacerbating the stress of living in substandard conditions. For them, my heart aches and my soul is troubled.
He ended the letter with these words:
Let’s join together to pray for miracles of grace to surround families in need during this unprecedented time. We all need the hope of resurrection to keep us looking forward to a better tomorrow. And tomorrow is Easter.
“God of mercy and grace, we ask for resurrection miracles for those in need. We have hope because of Easter. We believe, help our unbelief.”
I want to publicly thank Governor Holcomb for the strong stance that he has taken to help combat this painful surprise that has come into our lives.
And I know, my saying this, would not come as a surprise to him.
Every decision that he has been correct in making has come with consequences.
· We all know the reality that some businesses will not survive
When I drive to the church I see the Rise and Roll Bakery that was scheduled to open a couple of weeks ago in Broad Ripple and wonder what its fate will be
- So many of our favorite restaurants that are trying to hang on by carry out only
- Hundreds and hundreds of other small businesses that cannot do carryout and are praying that they can open back up soon
- The students who are losing 1/4 of the year
- The college students who are graduating and now the employment opportunities look very thin
- My nephew and his fiancé who have lost their grad positions and income
- The couples who had planned to get married
- Rebecca and Logan who were to get married in a couple of weeks
- The families who have lost a loved one
There are consequences to every action
But we need to remember the bigger consequences
- Reports suggest that 1/3 of all employees are vulnerable to losing their jobs because of the pandemic
Those people tend to be (as Walter Crouch pointed out) disproportionally poor all and living on the margin BEFORE the pandemic
They tend to have very few resources
And even if unemployment becomes available to them --- how do they survive until the check arrives?
For most of us --- this pandemic --- in reality --- has just been an inconvenience
Don't get me wrong --- It is a BIG inconvenience but:
We have homes to shelter in
We have resources to get by with
And the good news is eventually it will pass
Earlier this week, Richard Rohr shared a beautiful image of a crucified Jesus on the Cross. With his arms outstretched, Rohr imagined Jesus saying to all of the world in this season of Covid-19: “I can’t stop your suffering, but am with you in it.”
You are not alone --- even if you feel alone.
Jesus is Risen! and he promises to be with us!
But before we rush to our Easter feast --- let me say just a couple more things.
Rebekah Bled in
Sojourners said earlier this week:
This Holy Week, like Mary, let us bring our tears and grief to the garden, pouring out our hearts, explaining all the ways it shouldn’t have to be like this. And like Mary, in the intimacy of our disappointment, may we hear Jesus call our name.
Jesus is calling your name --- and Jesus is inviting you to step forward this Easter season.
To be transformed --- reborn in Christ’s image
While we can't do many of the things that we used to do --- there are still plenty of opportunities for us during this season
Can we be resurrected to seeing the world in a new way?
Not just caring about how the pandemic is infringing on our lives --- but opening our eyes and our hearts to the ways it is disproportionally affecting our poorer brothers and sisters.
One of Wesley's admonitions to us is to DO NO HARM
And by that he was challenging us not only not to harm ourselves, but to make sure we do no harm to others as well
I love what Bishop Michael Curry said:
if the message of Easter is about [new life], then for us to fast from gathering for worship is our following the path of new life, new life for those who we might be hurt by gathering together and new life for us by learning to live — not for self alone, but for others and for God – that's resurrection.
So how do we live as resurrected people?
What lessons to we need to learn, and what changes do we need to make?
Jim Wallis wrote this week:
The celebration of the Resurrection on this Easter Sunday morning may be saying to us in this COVID-19 moment, “I can, and we can make these things that have been revealed—new.” Two women rushed back early that morning from the graveyard with the happy news that everything can be different now. Other disciples ran wide-eyed into an empty tomb and ran out with courage in their hearts. Two men walking in utter despair bumped into a stranger, realized who it was, and found hope again. A movement began whose message was that all things can be made new.
What if all that we are learning about our systems and attitudes and relationships in this modern plague that is wrong, brutal, unjust, and unjustifiable were to be made new? That this public health crisis would prompt a resurrection in our hearts and minds, reminding us that we will not go back to “normal”. In a post-COVID world, we must come together to choose decisions and actions that make things “new.”
Christ is risen, He is risen indeed.
My prayer is that as we emerge from this time of "sheltering in place" that we will have a new appreciation --- that we will indeed arise with new eyes and know that ALL THINGS CAN BE MADE NEW!
But it won't happen --- if we don't step forward in this moment
The choice is ours --- to be honest it is always ours.
We can be transformed by this Easter experience
We can be transformed from our kingdom to embracing the kingdom of God
Or we can keep on doing what we have always done --- and be unchanged by this resurrection moment.
Join with those who found him raised --- and changed the world
Let's change the world again --- in the Love of Jesus
Where all are welcome
Where all are loved
Where no one goes hungry
Where no one is judged by the color of their skin or whom they may love
Where no one feels like they are less than anyone else
As Walter Crouch said:
Let’s join together to pray for miracles of grace to surround families in need during this unprecedented time. We all need the hope of resurrection to keep us looking forward to a better tomorrow. And tomorrow is Easter.
“God of mercy and grace, we ask for resurrection miracles for those in need. We have hope because of Easter. We believe, help our unbelief.”
Jesus Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
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