John 20: 1-18
Alleluia, Christ is Risen!
He is Risen indeed, Alleluia…
This is indeed the classic Easter reading – full of excitement and emotion. It is Mary Magdalene who begins the story moving quietly in the dark to the tomb to do for Jesus what was customary, to care for his body. She is the one to whom God chooses to reveal the good news of his resurrection, she is the one who runs to the other disciples earning for herself the title ‘Apostle to the Apostles’. The action continues with perhaps the greatest running match in history, Peter and the beloved disciple dash to the tomb to see this with their own eyes. The Beloved Disciple hesitates, Peter blunders in, then they return to their homes, leaving Mary Magdalene alone, struck by sadness and despair. Yet her courage to stand and wait is rewarded by Jesus in his first post crucifixion appearance, speaking tenderly her name ‘Mary’ and commissioning her to go and tell what she has seen and heard.
What a terrific story, what amazing characters! And what can we take away from this familiar story this morning? What will refresh and reinvigorate us to tell this story too? Let us look at each of these people to see how they might inspire us this Easter.
We are told that The Beloved Disciple ‘saw and believed’. He is the one who jumps up and arrives of the tomb before Peter. He is the faithful witness, the one who stayed at the foot of the cross. He is the one who witnessed Jesus’s death and so it is natural that he would be the one who wants also to witness to the resurrection. He sees the linen cloths and the empty tomb and he instantly believes, without needing full comprehension or understanding of what it all might mean. Sometimes we too are like the beloved disciple, sometimes we have that streak of optimism and hope, that no matter how difficult things can be that in the end good will triumph over evil, people will do the right thing and that in the seeds of small, simple ideas lies the possibility of a better future for all.
We are told that Peter runs to the tomb. Why does Peter decide that he can bear witness now, when he is the one who publicly denied Jesus three times just a few days ago? Why is he running towards Jesus now? Does his guilt motivate him? Does he wish to prove himself afresh? Is he running because he is eager to apologise? Or is it hopeful curiosity? After all he was present at the raising of Lazarus, so does straightforward practical Peter imagine that because Lazarus was raised Jesus might have been raised too?
Like Peter we too can experience some of those same feelings. We might be mindful of our own sinfulness, those times when we fall short of God’s love – our petty jealousies and resentments. Or we may feel that we sometimes turn away from God’s love and care. Maybe we are running with Peter to say sorry, or maybe we are ready to acknowledge the life-giving gift of God’s love, running towards him as we would to a beloved family member of friend.
And in all of this running and frantic action, it is Mary – in stillness and tears – who speaks words tothe Word, the Logos. She has journeyed to the tomb to mourn the loss of life – ready to say goodbye. In her grief she can hardly think clearly. She sees two angels but doesn’t seem to acknowledge their heavenly nature. She sees Jesus but she mistakes him for the gardener in possibly my favourite line in the whole of the new Testament. She offers to carry his body a task simply impossible for her to do.
Then Jesus speaks her name. And she knows not only exactly who the mysterious stranger is, but she knows who she is. She is then commissioned to go and tell what she has seen. Most writers would acknowledge that the resurrection stories are a series of commissioning stories designed to empower and encourage the early church (and us) to have the confidence to share this extraordinary story. Mary obeys the risen Jesus, she fights the impulse to cling to a familiar body and leaves the garden to tell what she knows to be true. This unexpected ending has become a beginning.
This Easter may we have the belief of the beloved disciple, the energy of Peter and the voice of Mary Magdalene to communicate the love of God to a world that is deeply in need of a resurrection story.
Alleluia, He is Risen!
He is Risen indeed, Alleluia…