On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the Resurrection. We celebrate that death cannot overcome God's love for us. In the words of Westley, "Death cannot stop true love. It can only delay it awhile."
After seeing their beloved friend and teacher arrested and put on trial, after the men scattered and went into hiding, after the women watched him die, the disciples had no hope left. As far as they knew, everything they had worked for was now done. They did not yet realize how true that was, even though it was not finished in the way that they thought. They were not prepared for the events of Easter morning. They were not prepared for the stone to be rolled away and the tomb to be empty. The other disciples were not prepared when Mary Magdalene came to tell them what she had found.
Mary was not prepared for what she saw when she arrived at the tomb that morning. She was not prepared for what she saw in the tomb after Peter and the other disciple left. She was not prepared for what happened next (see John 20:1-18).
As is often the case, Jesus interrupted her grief with unexpected joy.
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We know from our scriptures that Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus’ disciples. That word may not have been used to describe her, but she traveled with Jesus just as surely as the Twelve. Scripture tells us that she and some other women helped provide for the needs of Jesus and the others in their travels, so she must have been a person of means. Some may recall from the final reading of the Passion narrative that while the male disciples had all fled, Mary was one of the women who remained there through Jesus’ final moments on the cross. She actually saw him die. She saw him taken down. She saw where he was laid in the tomb.
While the other gospels mention Mary returning to the tomb with some other women on the day after the Sabbath to properly prepare the body for burial in a way that had not been previously possible, John only mentions Mary Magdalene coming to the tomb on that morning. John also doesn’t say why she had come. Perhaps it was to prepare the body, as suggested in the other gospels. Perhaps it was to have a moment of private devotion, like later pilgrims to the Holy Land. Perhaps it was simply to cry and say goodbye.
We only have to look across a cemetery to be reminded that people have all sorts of reasons for returning to the places where their friends and family are buried.
Whatever her reason for being there, she was not prepared to find the stone rolled away from the tomb. Imagine going to a cemetery to pay your respects and finding a hole dug in the ground where a loved one was buried. Would we pause to wonder what could have caused it? Would we immediately go to look inside the hole to see if it is empty? Would our first thought be resurrection?
I suspect we would react much as Mary did. We would contact someone we trust. Mary went to find Peter, the leader of the Twelve. She told him about the tomb, about the stone being rolled away. Peter and another disciple who was there with him rushed to the tomb to see for themselves. Over the years, some have suggested that this is because as a woman, Mary wouldn’t have been believed. On the other hand, upon hearing such a story from anyone, our first inclination would be to see it for ourselves.
So Peter, the other disciple, and Mary all rush back to the tomb. Though the other disciple reaches the tomb first, Peter is the first to enter, then the other disciple. Seeing the tomb empty, they return to their lodgings, wondering what to make of this. Our text suggests that the unnamed disciple believed before going on to suggest that they did not yet understand.
Mary remains behind at the tomb. She finally steels herself to look inside. If we think about it, it’s not hard to imagine why. With wild dogs and other animals roaming the countryside, an open tomb is an invitation for those creatures that could lead to a gruesome discovery. But instead of the empty tomb that the others had seen, Mary sees two angels who ask her why she is crying.
Somehow, Mary manages to answer in the midst of what must have been shock and surprise. Then she turns around and is immediately confronted by Jesus, though she does not recognize him.
I feel like at times in our own lives, this is exactly our experience of Jesus. Jesus talks to us, comes to us, and yet we fail to recognize him. This is perhaps more understandable for us. We have never seen Jesus in the flesh. But why didn’t Mary recognize him? Was his appearance changed? Was there some sort of magical or divine glamour on him that made him unrecognizable? Did the tears in her eyes make her vision too blurry to see him clearly?
Then Jesus says her name. That is the moment she realizes, the moment she knows. In disbelief, she calls him by the familiar title -- Teacher. I imagine she embraces him as well considering his next words to her. “Don’t hold on to me…” (John 20:17, CEB). And then he gives her a mission to fulfill -- to tell the other disciples what she has seen and heard.
As we think about what it is Mary saw that first morning, her fear when finding the empty tomb and her joy at meeting Jesus face-to-face in the garden, I want us to consider their brief interaction. How often do we have an experience of Jesus and then strive to simply hold on to that experience? Like Peter, we see who Jesus is on the mountain top, and we want to stay there in his presence. Like Mary, we want to simply hold on to Jesus and never let him go.
But Jesus reminds us that we are not meant to simply stay hidden away holding on to him. Jesus gives Mary a mission to tell others about her experience. And so it is with us as well. We, who have had an experience of the risen Jesus are not expected to simply hold on to that experience for ourselves. We are expected to go and share our joy with others. Death cannot destroy God's love for us.
Our scripture this morning reminds us that in the midst of our grief and our fears, Jesus is still with us.
Our scripture this morning reminds us that even if we are marginalized by society, Jesus is still with us.
Our scripture this morning reminds us that Jesus calls even the most unexpected people to carry the message.
And so, like Mary, may all our griefs be wiped away in the presence of the risen Jesus. And may we recognize his voice when he calls us by name.