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John 20:1-18
Here's another one to think about. Abby is lying on the floor dead. There's broken glass and water all around her. Stuart is asleep on the couch seemingly oblivious to the death that's occurred. How did Abby die?
Maybe you've played those kind of games before...where you're presented with a mysterious scenario, and you have to figure out what happened. Well, just so you won't be trying to figure those two out the rest of the day, I'll tell you the answers to them.
In the first situation, the reason the man would only go to the 6th floor on his return home from work was because that was the highest button that he could reach on the elevator control panel; he was a very short man! But on days when it rained, he had his umbrella with him, and he could use that to punch the button for his floor.
In the second situation, it might help you to know that Abby is a fish, and Stuart is a cat. And the glass and water all around Abby on the floor, of course, are from her fish bowl that Stuart successfully knocked off the table.
Now...let's think about one more mysterious scenario. On Friday, a man dies. He's buried on that same night. On Sunday morning, some friends of his arrive at the tomb where he was buried to pay their last respects...only to discover that his body is gone! What happened? That's the situation we're asked to contemplate this Easter morning.
The Resurrection story we heard in our Gospel reading says that three different people went to the tomb that first Easter morning, and each one responded to what they encountered in a different way.
The first to arrive at the tomb was "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (church tradition generally says that that disciple was John). When John heard the news, he jumped up and ran with all his might to get there. He wanted to believe. He loved Jesus. He had been in the courtyard when Jesus was interrogated and sentenced to be crucified. He had been at the foot of the cross when Jesus hung there dying. He had willingly taken Jesus' mother into his home to care for her. He was so excited about the possibility that Jesus might actually be alive that he ran faster than he ever had before.
John arrived at the tomb and then, a minute or so later, Peter arrived, huffing and puffing, and they both went inside. They saw everything just as Mary had said. The linen that had covered Jesus was all neatly lying in place – like His body had just dematerialized from inside the cloth. They both saw the evidence – Jesus' body really was gone -- but they had very different responses to that evidence.
As soon as John saw, he believed. The empty grave was enough evidence for him to finally understand that what his Lord had told them was true: Jesus really had risen from the dead! John didn't need to see Jesus to know that Jesus was alive! He had heard Jesus' prophecies about His coming death and resurrection, and now, here was the empty tomb! And, for John, that was enough.
There are many people like John here this morning. You believe because there is an empty tomb and because there is the testimony of people through the centuries who have experienced the reality that Jesus IS alive. You don't need to see Jesus here to believe that Christ is alive and among us in this place. You join with John in being the ones whom Jesus spoke of when He said, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" John reacted to the empty tomb with belief.
Then there was Peter. He went in and examined the evidence for himself. He saw the linen that had wrapped Jesus' body and the piece of cloth that had been around His head. It was enough to prove that SOMETHING had happened there. But, for Peter, it wasn't enough to prove that Jesus was alive. Another account of this event in the Gospel of Luke says that Peter was "wondering to himself what had happened". He was a skeptic. He needed more evidence.
Then Peter did one of the most foolish things of his whole life. He left. Something as important as that, and he left without even coming to a conclusion as to what had happened. If Peter had stuck around just a little while longer, he would have gotten to experience the same miracle that Mary is getting ready to see. There wasn't enough evidence for him because he didn't stick around long enough to encounter it all!
Too many people don't have enough evidence to place their faith in Jesus simply because they don't stick around the empty tomb long enough. They've allowed the failings of "religious" human beings to convince them there are no spiritual miracles left to see. They may smirk at people like us, in our community, who still believe in Christ -- while secretly wishing they could rediscover their faith, too. They may come to church once or twice...but if they don't immediately make 6 new best friends or find that all their problems are solved, they just don't bother to keep coming. Consequently, they aren't present to see the miracle of God's life-changing power that so many here have seen. Many of them, like Peter, walk away too soon, confused and empty-hearted.
But what about Mary Magdalene? When Peter and John left, she stayed. The angels who appeared to her asked a good question: "Why are you crying?" Back in verse 1 of this passage, it says that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while "it was still dark". That not only talks about the fact that the sun hadn't risen yet; it also talks about the condition of her heart. It was the darkest time of her life; Mary was depressed. We know that, almost inevitably, depression will come when you've lost something of value to you. The more valuable the person or thing that you lose, the deeper the depression can often be. Mary had lost that which was more valuable to her than anything else – she had lost Jesus. She thought that all the wonderful things that had come into her life because of Jesus -- release, peace, forgiveness, a sense of purpose and a leader for her life – were gone, so she cried…she wept. But she also stayed put!
And then a miracle happened! After Peter and John had left, she encountered the Risen Christ! To see Jesus alive – that's what Mary had wanted more than anything else, and she had obviously wanted it more than anyone else. She wanted to see Him so badly that she didn't allow the hateful comments or threats that the soldiers made at the foot of the cross to push her away. She wanted to see Jesus so badly that even though His face was covered in blood and His body was mangled from torture, she didn't turn away in disgust. She wanted to see Him so badly that when His body was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb, she stayed. And then, when the tomb was sealed with the stone rolled across the entrance, she sat outside the tomb…watching. The only thing that pulled her away for a while was her respect for the traditions of the Sabbath. But as soon as the Sabbath was over, she was back at Jesus' tomb again. Mary wanted to see Jesus...and Mary got her desire! She stuck around long enough to be able to say, "I have seen the Lord!"
Everyone here this morning is like one of those three witnesses to the empty tomb. All three of them had been told what had happened that day – Mary had been told by the angels, and Peter and John had been told by Mary. All three saw the same tomb and examined the same evidence, yet all three had different reactions. We, also, have been told that Christ is Risen, yet there are varied reactions here today as well.
Many of you are like John. You see the empty tomb, and you believe. Jesus says that you are blessed. You can truly rejoice that Christ is alive! And then some of you are like Mary. You see the empty tomb, you see the change in other people's lives, and you think that there's got to be some profound reason for what's happened. Now remember...Mary didn't believe right away either. But she stuck around long enough to have her questions answered and her faith grown.
Maybe that's you. Either you're not quite sure about what happened on that day, or more likely, you're not sure how what happened on that day impacts your life on this day. You ask, "What does it all mean? Or, what does it all mean to me?" But, at least, you're ready to wait and see.
And some of you are like Peter. You see the empty tomb, and you don't know what to believe. There's something going on, but you don't know what. You say, "I don't understand all this religion stuff. I don't understand why people would willingly get up every Sunday morning, give up their sleep and free time to come here, especially with all the hurt that so many churches have caused."
Well, there's only one way that you'll ever understand why so many of us choose to be here and want to be here. Stick around! Don't just come here on Easter. Come back again and again and again until you begin to experience the miracle of your own life changed! That's what this church is all about, you know. We don't believe there's any reason to change who people are or how each of us loves -- but in many other kinds of ways, most people's lives do need some changes -- deep, heart-and-soul-level changes. And in this church...that can truly happen!
Since Jesus is alive, Jesus can be to you all those things that Mary had found – release, peace, forgiveness, a sense of purpose and a leader for your life. Maybe you came here this morning ready to believe in Jesus. Maybe when you leave here today, like Mary, you will have encountered the Risen Christ.
Or maybe you're not in a space where you're able to believe right now -- and that's O.K. But at least do this: give Christ a chance and stick around. Come back again next Sunday...and then the next...and maybe the next. Whatever you do, don't be like Peter who went away empty-hearted. Come back...and, like Mary, resolve to stay -- until you too can say, "I have seen the Lord!" and experience your own life-changing miracle! Amen.
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