"They have taken away my Lord!"

Below is the full text of the sermon, and this is the video link if you'd like to watch as I preached the sermon:
https://vimeo.com/92524175


Meditation on John 20:1-18

Easter 2014

***

     “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

       But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’

       She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. He said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ 

       Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’

     Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.”

***

   

      A toddler cried softly in the back of the church as Pastor Dean began his Good Friday message.

      And I was glad when he said how happy he was that we were all gathered together on this important night—all of us Christians from a variety of churches and “persuasions,” and that he was happy to hear the noise of children in church! And that their parents believed it was important enough to bring their children to church on Good Friday—and not necessarily to hear all of Pastor Dean’s message, but to show their children how very important it is to them to go to church on Good Friday, one of the most important days—if not the most important day—of the church year.

    I listened to his message eagerly. I found myself nodding, even quietly saying, “Amen!” a few times. Truthfully, I have wondered why so few children attend our special Lenten services, especially during Holy Week. Is it possible that we parents want to shield our children from the horror and violence of the cross? And yet the joy of Easter and the hope of our Risen Savior cannot be understood until we know what Christ endured and accomplished for our sakes on Good Friday!

     While Pastor Dean spoke, I had a fleeting memory of when I was about 8 years old and went with my parents to a Good Friday drama at my grandmother’s church in Florida. This was in the late 1970s, and it may have been an adaptation of the popular Broadway musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The drama overflowed from the stage into the audience—blurring the lines between actors and audience—and making us feel truly like we were there!! When Jesus was arrested in the garden. When Peter denied him as Jesus was tortured. When Pilate said, “I find no case against him,” and the crowd shouted, “Not this man, but Barabbas!”

      When the soldiers whipped and mocked Jesus by thrusting a crown of thorns on his head and dressing him in a purple robe. As they jeered, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him in the face. As Pilate tried to reason with the crowd, but the crowd shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

      As Jesus struggled under the weight of the cross he was forced to carry. When the soldiers tore off and divided his outer clothing, casting lots for the tunic. As Christ’s mother, Mary Magdalene, Mary, wife of Clopas, and the disciple whom Jesus loved stood weeping near the cross. I wasn’t the only one in the audience to cry as Jesus looked up and said, “It is finished.” Then bowed his head and died.

***

     If today’s gospel reading were an Easter drama, the curtain would open to the backdrop of the tomb. The stage lights would be dim because it is early in the morning—still dark—on the first day of the week, when Mary comes to anoint Jesus, but then finds the stone is missing from the entrance.

      In John’s gospel, the stone hasn’t just been “rolled away,” as it has in Matthew, Mark and Luke. The stone has been “removed” or “taken away.” And only in John does Mary come to the tomb alone—without the other women who were with her at the cross.

     Mary doesn’t look inside before running to tell the disciples, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him!” It’s interesting that she immediately concludes when she sees the stone is missing that Christ’s body has been stolen.

       Two of the disciples run to the tomb to see. The unnamed disciple gets there first. He bends down and looks in. Sure enough, the tomb is empty, save for the linen wrappings, the grave clothes Jesus wore. Peter doesn’t just look in; he goes inside! He notices that the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head in death is not lying with the other linen wrappings; it is rolled up by itself. The other disciple follows Peter inside—and verse 8 says he saw and “believed.” The next verse clarifies that belief was limited to what his eyes took in—that Jesus’ body wasn’t there. Verse 9 says, “for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”

     The two disciples return home, but Mary remains, standing outside the tomb. Weeping. Finally, she looks inside and doesn’t seem surprised or frightened to see 2 angels, unlike so many other biblical accounts of angelic appearances. And when the angels ask why she is weeping, she repeats what she has told the disciples, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”

    As I read this, I am surprised that she doesn’t reveal the real reason for her grief. Why doesn’t Mary say she is crying because the one she has loved more than anyone else—the one who healed her of 7 demons and completely changed her life—is dead?! Surely his missing body can’t be more upsetting than watching the Lord suffer and die on the cross?!

    I can only think that in her grief, she might not have fully accepted his death.  She isn’t ready. Her heart won’t permit her to let him go. This leads us to better understand what Jesus tells her—when he comes to her in her grief and shines light on the truth. “They” didn’t come and take her Lord’s body away! The grave clothes are left behind because Christ is risen from the dead! Jesus tells her not to cling to him. His work isn’t complete. He has not yet ascended “to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” And he has chosen Mary for an important job—to be his messenger—to bear witness to his glory.

     How wonderful to have been chosen to carry such joyful news to those who had placed all their hope in Jesus the Messiah, only to have their hopes dashed by the violence of the cross.

      Mary goes to tell the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!”

***       

        Friends, we, too, have been commissioned by Christ to be his messengers and bear witness to his glory. And our first mission field is our families. But the message of redemption is incomplete if we only tell our children about Easter and the miracle of the empty tomb. Our children need to know the truth about our own fallen nature—and what happened on Good Friday, when Christ did for us what we could not do for ourselves.

     On that Good Friday when I was about 8 and went to see the Easter drama with my parents, I don’t remember much conversation in the car on the way home. But later I asked important questions about the faith, such as, “Why did Jesus have to die for us to be forgiven?”

     While I didn’t understand everything, the seeds were sown.  I began to look more deeply inside myself. Even a child can understand sin and evil. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Likewise, a child can certainly understand goodness and love!

       The Good Friday message is not just the horror and violence of the crucifixion, when Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. The message of the cross is God’s mercy, grace, power, and love!

      Easter is all about new beginnings.

      The empty tomb proved that the cross was not the end of all hope; it was the start of our redemption story. Christ’s resurrection carries the promise of our resurrection and everlasting life in Him.

     Friends, today is a new day! The first day of the week—and the rest of our lives for all eternity!

    You and I aren’t what we used to be. And we aren’t yet what we will be. Don’t look back.

     God’s Word assures that, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation! The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Let us pray.

Holy One, we thank you for what you accomplished for us through the cross—and the sacrifice of your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for forgiving us for all of our sins through belief on Him! Forgive us for wanting to forget what happened on Good Friday and skip over the violence and shame of the crucifixion. Forgive us for not wanting to admit that it was for us and for our salvation that He died—and that we needed you, Lord, to provide a way for our reconciliation with you because we were perishing in our sins. Thank you for the joy of Easter morning and your Word that assures us that we are new creations in Christ. And the old has passed away! Lead us to be your faithful messengers—bearing witness to your glory to our families, communities and world. In Christ we pray. Amen.