“I Have Seen the Lord!”

A Sermon Based on John 20: 1-18

Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, March 31, 2024

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb.” So begins the Easter story in the Gospel of John. In the other gospels, we find that Mary was not alone – several other women accompanied her. They were doing what women had done for centuries, and still do: preparing the body of a loved one for its final rest. The horror of the cross was still fresh in their minds. Because the Jewish Sabbath began at sundown on Friday and lasted till sundown on Saturday, this was the first chance they had had to properly anoint the body with spices for burial, as was their tradition. The women came to see what they could do to restore a bit of dignity to the body of their beloved teacher and friend.

Everything had happened so quickly. At the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem just a week ago, they thought Jesus would be crowned king, or at least receive the honor due a great prophet and religious leader. Yet, a few days later he had been arrested on trumped-up charges, beaten, tortured, and crucified, a death reserved for the worst criminals. Despair filled their hearts.

The line, “It was still dark…” says so much. The darkness of pre-dawn mirrored the darkness in their souls. Heavy with sorrow, it was not just a physical darkness that surrounded the women, but a spiritual darkness as well. Terrible memories of the Crucifixion hung over them like a black cloud. Jesus was dead.

When hope is gone, what do we do? Often we are like Mary, Peter, and John. We do the best we can. We want to be faithful, but we fall prey to our human instincts and forget that God is still in control. We don’t understand. We are blinded by sorrow and fear.

As Mary Magdalene approached the tomb, she saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. Shocked and upset, she ran back to the disciples, crying, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him.” Mary thought that her worst fears had come true: not only was Jesus dead, but the tomb had been desecrated and his body had been stolen.

How often do we assume the worst? The things we worry about the most usually don’t happen. It’s hard to do, but when you are tempted to imagine that the worst possible thing has happened, try to step back and listen for God’s voice. Maybe there is more to the situation than we, with our limited human viewpoint, can see. In this case, an angel came with an amazing message: “Do not be afraid; I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here: for he has been raised, as he said.” But Mary was so blinded by despair that she couldn’t hear or didn’t understand what the angel was saying. When tempted to despair, turn to God; listen for God’s voice. Even though it may be difficult, ask God to help you hear what God might be saying, even though your heart is breaking. Pray that you may know God’s presence and comfort.

Peter didn’t do much better than Mary. He and John ran to the tomb to see if what she had said was true. Peter saw that Jesus’ body was gone. Even though Jesus had told them at least three times that he must be put to death, and on the third day be raised from the dead, he did not understand what had happened. We, too, are like Peter and Mary. When tragedy strikes, we do not understand – how can we? When grief and pain overwhelm us, we respond like those first disciples. We cannot yet see the resurrection. We cannot yet sense God’s love and compassion. Even though the resurrection had already taken place, Peter and Mary did not understand what had happened.

In her despair, Mary returns to the grave, weeping unconsolably. Looking into the tomb, she sees two angels who ask, “Woman, why are you weeping?” As if to say – “Don’t you get it – He is risen, he is not here! Rejoice!” But Mary’s tears had blinded her eyes. Tremendous hope, in the form of the risen Christ, waited for her, right in front of her, but she could not see Him. When our tears blind us, sometimes we cannot see the hope that God is offering to us.

As Mary wept, in her sorrow and confusion she asked the one she thought was the gardener, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him.” It wasn’t until Jesus responded, “Mary!” that his voice pierced her darkness, and she realized that the impossible had happened: the risen Christ was standing before her.

At that moment, when Christ says her name, “Mary,” she suddenly realizes that the impossible has indeed happened: He is alive! She said to him, “Rabboni!” or “teacher.” In that amazing split second of recognition, darkness turns to light, despair to hope, death to life. When all is at its darkest and most hopeless, the risen Christ appears to her, and her hope and joy are restored. Yet, he was there all along – he had been there, waiting for her patiently in the garden. That moment of recognition, of blinding clarity that it was Jesus himself, who, beyond all doubt and possibility stood there, that moment of recognition is the pivot on which faith stands: full of doubt and fear, we may fail to see Jesus at all, or we may see him as just an ordinary human being – a gardener, or we may be given grace to perceive him as he is, the risen Son of God.

This is the moment when Mary’s life, and all our lives are changed forever: the moment when we see who Jesus really is: the Son of God, the Resurrected Christ; when we see that God has the final say: not grief, not suffering, not evil, not empire, not even death itself. At that moment, as day was dawning, hope was restored. Instead of death, there was life. Instead of the end, a new beginning. Jesus is alive! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.

The Resurrection is the point on which all of history hinges. Before, there was darkness and death; afterwards there is life. All things have been made new. Hope was restored to humankind. Many times in our lives we are tempted to despair. The Resurrection tells us that hope and even joy are always present, even in the darkest of times. Death will not have the final say. God is in control. The late historian and philosopher Howard Zinn wrote that hope is the willingness “to hold out, even in times of pessimism, the possibility of surprise.” God is in the business of surprising us still, often at our moments of deepest pain and sorrow, just like the sudden surprise of Mary, realizing that she is standing beside the risen Savior.

Or it may be a more gradual surprise – that one day we get up and we are feeling a bit better, one day we are able to live life a bit more normally, we are no longer quite as sad or angry, one day we are no longer overcome by grief, but can get on with our lives.

God still surprises us, God still heals us, God still brings joy in unexpected places, and we may find, to our surprise, that the Risen Christ was there all along, walking beside us; only our tears prevented us from seeing him.

Christ is risen, Christ is risen indeed. Hallelujah! Happy Easter!” Amen.

©Deborah Troester 2024