Easter Day - From tears to joy

JOHN 20: 1-18

It was a miserable start to the day. Filled with desolation at what had happened but two days previously, Mary Magdalene went on pilgrimage to the tomb of Jesus whilst it was still dark. She had no reason to hope - only reason to weep. And on her arrival, what she saw must have been like a kick in the teeth. The ultimate desecration had happened. Someone had rolled the stone away. Given that grave robbing was a sufficiently big problem to cause an imperial edict against it t have been proclaimed, there could only be once conclusion - not only had Jesus been killed in a humiliating way but even in death he was not being left in peace.

Soon she would meet two of the followers of Jesus - Peter and the Beloved Disciple. Ultimately they would both enter the tomb and see the strips of cloth lying there. Now we are told that the Beloved Disciple did at this point believe but even then such belief was incomplete.

Soon the men have gone off to wherever they were staying. But Mary Magdelene remains at the tomb. Stuck in a Good Friday world, she is left to weep. We can barely imagine the extent of her agony. But now things begin to change. We are told that she sees two angels where Jesus should have been lying and they engage her in conversation before she turns to face what she thought was the gardener. It is only when this man calls her by name, that she realises just who she is speaking to. It is Jesus! And now the transformation in Mary Magdelene takes effect. “Rabboni!” she cries. And with that she embraces him with such commitment that Jesus has to tell her to stop. But now the tears have been replaced by joy and the Mary who returns to the disciples is as different as different can be from the Mary who had set off that morning. Why the change? Well, the reason is in those words on her return;

“I have seen the Lord!”

And for her just as ultimately for the other followers of Jesus, the world became transformed. Sorrow gives way to joy. Fear gives way to boldness. And a world drenched in the tears of Good Friday becomes a multi coloured world on Easter Day, no longer filled with despair but pregnant with new and wonderful possibilities.

And so this day is full of meaning for us. It is an event that affirms our value in the sight of God. I guess that the fear of rejection is one of the greatest fears within us. We live in a society that is prone to squashing people, squeezing the sense of self worth out of them. And yet the Easter story shows us Jesus taking the place of those who are most despised and rejected. He has become as one with them in his ministry and this can be seen in his death. In this he shows the degeneracy of society which is built on the imposed suffering of those who are scapegoated. His vision is of a Kingdom which embodies rejection of scapegoat for it is a Kingdom that embraces humanity in its diversity rather than excluding and rejecting. That Kingdom of radical and peaceful inclusion gets an emphatic YES through the resurrection of Jesus. The Nobodies become Somebodies in the new order to which Resurrection points. To use the title of a children’s song from Barney the Dinassour, “Everyone is Special.”

In today’s Mail on Sunday, there is for once an article worth reading. It is an Easter message by the archbishop of York, John Sentamu. In it he makes mention of how several years ago, he was a member of the inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. Feelings ran high especially when the four young men suspected of committing the murder appeared. Amongst the angry throng, there were four equally young men with iron bars concealed in their trousers, waiting for the chance of a revenge attack. Sentamu went out to tell these men that violence was not the answer. Their reply was;

“Bish, we don’t believe in God.”

Sentamu responded;

“It doesn’t matter. God believes in you.”

And this morning I want to tell you that everything about Jesus including his death and resurrection should tell you that God believes in you!

But not only is the Easter story telling us that God believes in each and everyone of us regardless of our status and failings but it also speaks to us about hope. As we have seen the Easter story is rooted in the appearances of Jesus to heartbroken people who had lost the capacity to hope, people who knew only shattered dreams. Back in 1992 when South Africa’s future was uncertain, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was asked if he felt able to remain hopeful as he looked at the pains of uncertainty. His reply was;

“I am always hopeful. A Christian is a prisoner of hope. What could have looked more hopeless than Good Friday? But then at Easter God says, ‘From this moment on, no situation is untransfigurable.’ There is no situation from which God cannot extract good.”

Indeed as Rev Nathan Baxter, the retired Dean of the Washington National Cathedral, puts it in challenging words that speak of how Easter can be as real to us as it was to those caught up in the Easter story we contemplate during this time of year;

“Remember this: Easter is not just a holy event that happened almost 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem. It is a little Easter on whatever day we discover our need for the love of God. When we discover that all the Good Fridays of our lives cannot destroy the love God has for us.”

So this morning I invite you to respond afresh to the old story. Once more God invites you to move forward trusting in him who wipes away your tears and invites you into the circle of joy.

Christ is risen! This is the time for celebration!



BIDEFORD METHODIST CHURCH SUNDAY MARCH 23RD 2008