John 20:1-18
20 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.
Sometimes I find myself screaming into the verses of this text,
“He’s right there!”
Mary stands outside the tomb weeping, which in all fairness is a
reasonable and acceptable to response to both Jesus’ death and and the absence
of his body from the tomb. But as she’s wrestling with her grief,
doing her best to process the loss that she is feeling I want to shout into the
text, “He’s right there!”
Even for a brief moment, when Jesus asks her why she’s weeping she
doesn’t realize she’s talking to Jesus. She thinks it is the
gardner. And honestly, why would she
think it’s Jesus. She saw him die. She came to worship his dead body. The
prospect of Jesus being present and in the conversation was never a
consideration. It would be unreasonable
and proposturious to think for a second that Jesus would be present with her
while she grieves. The text even says that Mary just assumed this man was
the gardner, because who else could it possibly be!?
Not always easy to see Jesus in pain
There’s a rawness about Mary and her grief at the tomb that I
think we can appreciate. Certainly many of us can sympathize with her
pain. The burden of grief and sorrow can
be intense and crippling. The weight of loss is powerful and it can seize
in a way that’s contrary to our faith.
Week-in and week-out we profess and confess the abiding presence
of God. We acknowledge both our dependence on God as well as God’s
enduring and eternal faithfulness to those whom God has chosen. Time and
time again we commit our lives to the mission and ministry of God’s story of
love for the world, and we do our best to live as witnesses and disciples.
We do our best to always point to Jesus.
And yet, in the fullness of grief…in the deepest moments of
sorry...in the utter despair of loss...Jesus is often the last person we want
or expect to see. Like Mary this evening, we encounter difficult moments
that challenge our faith. Every
confession we have ever heard and professed seems to hang in the balance.
And even though our brothers and sisters may be shouting between
the tears that “Jesus is right there” nothing seems to calm the storm of death.
It’s by no fault of our own, nor is it the fault of our siblings in
Christ...but in the chaos of grief, Jesus is too often the last person we
expect to see or hear. We even find ourselves lamenting “I do not know
where he is…”
That’s the rawness about Mary and her grief at the tomb that I
think we can sympathize with and appreciate. It’s that rawness and
desperate search for Jesus that helps us understand the power of this Easter
moment.
Jesus calls by name
Mary says, “Sir if you have carried him away, tell me where you
have laid him, and I will take him away.” She is desperately looking for
Jesus, and certainly we recognize the irony that Jesus is right there. He’s right there!
Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in
Hebrew “Rabbouni.” She didn’t know it in the moment, but Jesus is right
there. While Mary is grieving her loss.
While Mary is frantically looking for Jesus. While Mary is
searching for understanding and guidance.
While Mary feels alone and lost. Jesus is right there.
And as much as we might want to shout through the page “He’s right
there” it is by no coincidence that her eyes are open and her hoped is restored
when Jesus calls her by name. Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
That’s the power of the of the Easter morning message. That
through the crucifixion and resurrection God has promised to present with us at
all times and in all places. Sure that doesn’t mean we always see Jesus
or feel his presence. It doesn’t mean we
always recognize God among us or that we’re always receptive and hospitable.
And that is ok. Because the truth of the Easter proclamation
is not first and foremost about our faithfulness. Rather it is chiefly
about God’s faithfulness to the world.
God’s faithfulness to us.
On this day the stone is rolled away and the tomb is empty.
God conquered the grave so that death may no longer have a hold on our
lives. Grief and sorry, though very real and acceptable emotions may be
overcome with hope and promise. Loss and pain, challenged by life and
love.
On this day God gave new life through the promise of resurrection.
Baptism … called by name
In a moment we will celebrate power of God calling us by name.
In the waters of baptism God calls us by name, washes us of our sins,
buries us in a death life Christ and raises us to new life. God claims us
and names us as children of God.
Tonight we not only give thanks for the gift of baptism but we
gather as a community to celebrate the promise of God’s abiding presence as
Kawaski Walton is washed in the water. Together we will renounce all
forces of evil, sin, and everything that defies God, and then well will witness
the power of God calling us by name.
Like Jesus calling to Mary that Easter morning, God calls us by
name. God’s abiding presence in Jesus becomes part of our identity. We are inextricably tied to God by name and
the promise that Christ will never leave us.
Precious child of God, he is forever and ever, right there.
Alleluia Christ is Risen,
Christ is risen indeed, alleluia!
© Pastor Daniel Locke, Preached 03.31.2018 @ St. Mark's Lutheran Jax, FL
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