Easter Sunday
March 26, 2016
Acts 10:34-43; John 20:1-18
(Or watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XTALqEetbY&feature=em-upload_owner)
What was this past week’s bombshell news for you? The terrorist attacks in Brussels? Perhaps bad news from a doctor? Or maybe bad news from a family member? Bombshells are almost always bad news. They are shocks, they are completely
unexpected, and we do not like to be on the receiving end of them. Even those of us who respond well to
surprises or who are pretty easy-going and can adapt on the fly don’t like to
get them. We don’t want to hear bad
news. And we certainly don’t want to
hear major news when we’re not expecting it and don’t get any warning about it
whatsoever. You know, when someone
starts off by saying, “you might want to sit down first,” or prefaces the news
with, “I have bad news,” or The Lord of the Rings meme that says, “Brace
yourself,” you get at least a two second warning.
Sometimes, though, people just blurt it out,
without any heads-up at all. This
morning’s bombshell news doesn’t feel quite as drastic and shocking because
many of us have heard it our entire lives.
The tomb’s empty. Jesus is risen! This isn’t bombshell news to us. We knew Easter was coming. We planned for it, with special music and
flowers and Easter egg hunts and new clothes just for today. Knowing Sunday’s coming can sometimes make it
harder to get into the grief and sadness and betrayal of Good Friday. As a pastor I have trouble planning and
working on the next Holy Week service until we’ve gotten past the previous
one. It’s hard to write an Easter sermon
on Good Friday. Yet we know Jesus’
crucifixion was not the end, we know
death does not have the last
word. We know and trust and believe
there is resurrection.
However, those first three people reported at Jesus’ empty
tomb did not have that advance knowledge.
They were living it, day by day, hour by hour. They didn’t have ESP or a sports almanac from
the future. Now, the disciples did
actually have warnings from Jesus, where Jesus told them that he would die in
Jerusalem and that he would rise again after three days. Yet the disciples never understood what Jesus
meant when he told them those things.
Even today, the Gospel of John says, “They didn’t yet understand the
scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead.”[1] So, for Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the [air quotes]
“other disciple,” who might have been John, finding Jesus’ tomb empty was a bombshell. It was not
what they were expecting, not what
they had prepared for, not what they
were ready to see, and they didn’t understand and probably had forgotten Jesus’
warnings from what must have felt like ages ago that this was coming. They came to see the closed tomb, they came
to mourn at Jesus’ gravesite, perhaps to place some flowers around it. They came somber and grieving, and then they
are startled and surprised and completely taken aback by this bombshell that
the heavy stone has been rolled away from the entrance and Jesus’ body is
missing! Talk about a bombshell! This wasn’t the plan. This wasn’t how they were supposed to find
things. They came for some early morning
peace and quiet, and instead, what do you
mean Jesus isn’t there?!?! Mary Magdalene discovered it first, and then ran to get Peter and the other disciple,
who then they ran to the tomb. This is a major earth-shaking, life-changing bombshell! Jesus’ body is gone. And with these three
who first discover it, we are given three different responses to the empty
tomb.
Peter, the last of the three to get to the grave, is the
first one to go inside the tomb. He
looks around closely and is very observant.
Peter finds the linen cloths and the face cloth that is folded up in its
own place. This is Peter, who we just
read about three short days ago when he denied even knowing Jesus. Peter, whose name means the rock, who Jesus
said he will build his church upon, who was handed the keys to the kingdom;
he’s the slowest runner, and the first who’s brave enough to go inside the
tomb. Then, we don’t know anything more
about his actions except that he goes home.
Peter sees, and he goes home. He
seems to be observant, yet skeptical, at least at this point in his life. We know later that he figures things out,
because we hear what Peter has to say about this day in our reading from the
Acts of the Apostles. Peter said, “We
are witnesses to all that Jesus did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put
him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and
allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God
as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to
testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives
forgiveness of sins through his name.”[2] That’s what Peter has to say. He is a witness to what God did, and what
witnesses do is testify, they share their story. Peter was a witness to Jesus’ life, death,
and resurrection, and so he shared his testimony to the bombshell news of the
empty tomb.
Then there’s “the other disciple,” the one who outran
Peter to the tomb, yet did not enter the tomb until after Peter. We’re told “he saw and believed.”[3] Now, we assume he saw the same things Peter
did, although there are no details, and it’s unclear exactly what he
believes. He doesn’t understand, either,
though, because it says none of them did.
So, he believes, even though he doesn’t understand. This reminds me of some church history and St.
Anselm in the 11th century who wrote that “I do desire to understand
Your truth a little, that truth that my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand so that I may
believe; but I believe so that I may understand. For I believe this also, that
‘unless I believe, I shall not understand.’”[4] What St. Anselm is known for is the phrase
“faith seeking understanding,” and it appears that’s where this “other
disciple” is coming from as well. For
today, he believes. And that is enough. Understanding will come later. He doesn’t have to understand the bombshell
in order to believe it. And he also goes
home, along with Peter.
Finally, the third person at the tomb that early morning
was the first one to arrive there and who went to get the others, Mary
Magdalene. She saw the bombshell news,
and immediately had to share it with others.
When those others then left here again, she stays near the tomb,
crying. She did, after all, come to
mourn. Rather than believing and waiting
for understanding to come later, she reminds me more of Jacob from the Old
Testament, who wrestled with the angel all night long and would not let go
until he received a blessing. Mary
waits. She’s not ready to go yet; she
pushes through and won’t let go until she receives a blessing. Mary peeks in the tomb, and rather than
finding it empty again, this time there are two angels, who ask why she’s
crying. Why are you upset? Can you name the real reason behind why
you’re crying? Mary says, “They’ve taken away my Lord and I don’t know where
they’ve put him.” I preached on that
last Easter. This year, though, let’s go
past that, because as soon as she says that, Jesus appears. And as soon as he says her name, she
recognizes him. And once she recognizes
him, he sends her out. Now that she knows the rest of the story of the
bombshell of the empty tomb, she is sent out to tell others about this
bombshell news of Jesus’ resurrection.
The
Gospel of John does not judge or dismiss any of these responses. John “simply reports them and then goes on to
show how in every case skepticism, fear, and doubt are overcome by the presence
of the Risen One.”[5] I mentioned last Sunday
after we read the Passion that there are many appropriate responses, including
the kid we could hear yelling downstairs, and that includes all of these ones
as well. There are many ways to respond
to bombshell news, even more now that Facebook has added “reactions” besides
the original “like” button. The faithful
response is any response that stays in conversation with the bombshell. Yell, if you like, even, or especially at
God. He can handle it. Or struggle with the bombshell until you get
a blessing, like Jacob and Mary Magdalene, if you prefer. Believe and wait later for understanding,
like St. Anselm and the “other disciple.”
Or pay attention and tuck away those observations until a later time,
like Peter and Jesus’ mother. This
morning we have a few responses to this good
bombshell news that we will do together as our worship service continues. I pray that at least one of them will speak
to you, as we celebrate the bombshell that is actually Good News, that Jesus
Christ is risen! The tomb is empty! It is not new news to most of us, yet it is
earth-shaking, life-changing news that should make a difference in your
life. Jesus has defeated death and we
need not fear it any longer. Alleluia!
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