Easter

by | Mar 31, 2024 | Sermons

Gospel Reading: John 20:1-18

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. 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.” Then Peter and the other disciple set  out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter  and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but  he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the  linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’s head, not lying with the linen  wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first,  also went in, and he saw and believed, for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he  must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But 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. 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.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and  said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not touch  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.’ ” 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.

Sermon

  • John’s version of the resurrection story feels a little like a fever dream
    • a.Some characters are human; some angelic, some familiar, some strangers, one  comes in disguise
    • b.Objects are out of place;
    • c.people are running this way and that
    • d.And everything obscured by early morning darkness
    • e.The way this story was first told must have been clouded by emotion;
    • And could easily be altered by tricks of memory
    • So, knowing this, the modern mind is prone to judge this story the way some  disciples did in Luke’s gospel, as just “an idle tale”. 
  • The two disciples who come to the tomb with Mary are said to “believe, but not to understand”
    • Then they go home, but Mary stays,
      • First, she just weeps; she is there to mourn
      • But then her curiosity leads her to look deeper into the tomb
      • And she encounters two figures who ask her to tell her story: “Why are you weeping?”
      • She responds with her immediate problem of needing to see Jesus’ body
      • And then someone else appears, who looks like the gardener
        • He also asks “Why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?
      • These mysterious figures are asking Mary to tell them her story;
      • But each time, she falls back on her rational mind, fixated on finding Jesus’ corpse,
      • She is trying to regain control of the only physical remnant she has of his life, the only thing left to love.
    • Finally, the gardener says her name, Mary
    • And she recognizes him as her Teacher: Rabbouni”
    • Then scales start to fall from her eyes
      • she has to step outside her rational mind and enter a different part of her consciousness, a different part of her brain,
      • And then she is able to enter the mystical, thin place where she stands with the risen Christ
  • Let’s stop here and notice two things about Mary’s behavior:
    • She slows down and pays attention to everything her senses are telling her;
    • Including those things that make no rational sense.
    • And then, she decides to trust her irrational experience,
      • She trusts enough to believe in what she doesn’t understand,
      • And then to trust it enough to tell others what she has seen!
    • She probably knew how unlikely it was that she would be believed. But she found  the courage to tell her story anyway.
  • A lot of people, including many of us here, aren’t comfortable with the more mystical side of Christianity.
    • I noticed in your Hartford Survey that Lyndale people come from a more rational, intellectual perspective in your theology. You emphasize Jesus’ moral teachings, and the way the Church builds beloved community.
    • But you’re not the type of people who come here looking for miracles;
    • Not the type to thank God every time you find a parking place in Uptown.
    • Our well-educated brains are doubtful about those biblical miracles:
      • the 7 days of creation,
      • the parting of the Red Sea,
      • the immaculate conception,
      • And yes, the bodily resurrection
    • those stories may seem like an embarrassing relic of a pre-scientific mindset that just doesn’t resonate with 21st century thinking.
    • If you met someone like Mary Magdalene in the local café and heard her story of seeing her beloved friend raised from the dead, you might walk away wondering if she was taking her medications.
    • Maybe you would “believe” her, in the sense that you sympathize with her story;
    • On a rational level, we simply don’t understand Mary’s story; and we might be okay with shrugging off her story as a literary device.
  • The real world we live in is not brimming over with mystical experiences; I wish it was!
    • The world is a hard-edged place
    • Global warming is starving real communities and there are no miraculous displays of loaves and fishes
    • Incarcerated people are tortured, and their wounds do not miraculously heal
    • Air strikes in Gaza are killing real children and they do not come back to life
    • You hear someone talk about miracles and you think: Hm…how come the miracles only seem to come to wealthy white people with good health insurance?
  • And yet, maybe now and then, and especially among the marginalized, who most need miracles, you may have heard a story worth believing.
    • Or you yourself may have had a time when you managed to slow down and pay attention to all your senses.
    • And found yourself in a thin place: a place in nature, or the ruins of an ancient church, or a hospital room.
    • Maybe someone you love told a story of experiencing the Divine, and because you trusted them, you believed through them.
  • This week you may have read about our visit with Doug Malchow, and hearing his family tell some mystical stories about Doug’s sensitivity to the Holy Spirit throughout his life,
    • but especially now, as he transitions into another realm where he’ll be close to God;
    • People like Doug lead us to “believe without understanding”.
  • And then there’s the story in the news a couple weeks ago, a hot air balloon got blown by the wind into a power line in Rochester;
    • There were 3 people in the basket, which separated from the balloon and plummeted 20-30 feet to the ground–just freefall.
    • All three thought they were going to die that day;
    • And all three walked away without serious injury
    • The balloon trip had been put together to memorialize the son of one of the riders, who had died a few weeks before;
    • The father now believes the spirit of his son helped them survive;
  • I don’t know what to do with stories like this;
    • sentimental explanation? A way of dealing with grief? Or is there something mystical going on?
    • Does it matter if the person who tells you a mystical story is someone you trust, like Doug, versus a stranger on the news?
    • What if you believed a mystical story enough to tell it to others?
    • What if that story helped them see the world as more complicated, multi-faceted, more beautiful than they ever thought?
  • You might remember a mystical story in your own life.
    • Maybe it happened when a loved one died, like it did for Mary Magdalene
    • Or maybe you’ve encountered a thin place out in nature
    • Or when you found yourself facing a brush with death
    • Do you wonder if your story would be credible to others?
  • Let’s practice telling our stories today, here among friends;
    • I know this is risky, but I invite you think for a moment about some irrational, mystical, or just wildly coincidental experience in your life
    • A story you might share with one other person sitting near you…take a moment of silence to think…
    • If you can’t think of a story to share, let your partner know that, and then be a good listener so they can tell their story; maybe you can believe through them.
    • And now, find a partner, one other person, and give each other a minute or two to each share your story…

Story Sharing 

  • Thank you for taking that risk with each other!
  • Our stories of divine encounters are important, even though they defy our rational experience
    • They give us a glimpse into a reality and power larger than ourselves and our rational human minds
    • And give us hope that we don’t have to mend the world alone.
    • We have a living helper, a living Savior who is still with us.
    • That is something worth celebrating! AMEN