Weeping Outside the Tomb
John 20:1-18
by Jim Westmoreland
A Sunday school teacher asked each child in her class to write one sentence each on "What Easter Means to Me." One child wrote: "Egg salad sandwiches for the next two weeks!"
I'm sure that God who gave His Son to die on the cross for our sins, winces when He hears that Easter means chicken salad sandwiches! But is that so different from children who might say that Easter means being out of school, or going to Florida, or getting new clothes?
What draws us to church on Easter Sunday? Is it remembering that there is a God who cares? Is it stopping by to get our ticket punched because Easter Sunday counts for the rest of the month, or maybe for the rest of the year?
Perhaps, we are drawn because God's love is stronger and more real that our weak attempts to follow Him. Our talk about being believers is no more convincing than Peter's assurance that He would never deny Christ.
We live in a world where it is hard to believe. We have become so modern that if we can't see it, hear it, feel it, smell it or taste it, then we conclude that it isn't real. Some people think that is being sophisticated, advanced, superior. Is it? Is it more freeing to see the world that way, or is it more restrictive? I think it is much more restrictive. Instead of having freedom, values and souls, we are bundles of energy reacting and colliding like an intricately woven ribbon of dominoes with no purpose or meaning. The universe becomes deterministic and impersonal, and we become bio-mechanical robots with no soul and no conscience.
Few of us here would go so far with our doubts, but we find our faith diluted because we are uncomfortable having a strong faith in God when faith is so easily put down and made light of. To see the world without God is not progress, but regression. God has made us and created us for relationship with Him. When we deny any means of knowing and relating that are not part of our five senses, we regress from being fully human.
We come to Easter Sunday, having passed through a last supper, a weakness that leads to betrayal, a time of falling asleep while Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, a time of betrayal, a trial, lies, cries to crucify, denials, severe lashing, nails through flesh, hanging on a cross, death, and a long, deafening silence and emptiness.
It was early, on the first day of the week, that Mary Magdalene came to Jesus' tomb. Why? Why did she do that? He had already been anointed, buried, the tomb sealed. Why did she come? For those of us who have buried our parents, a child, a husband or wife, we know because we, too have gone to the grave. Yes, we know they are dead and buried, and there is nothing we can do about it. But, we go . . . to be close . . . to remember . . . to show our respect . . . to feel a heightened love from our memory of them, and to feel the sadness of no longer enjoying their presence with us.
The gospel of John gives us more details about this scene than Matthew, Mark or Luke. It was early, while it was still dark, that Mary went to Jesus' tomb. When are hearts are heavy, we do our own acts of devotion that are private, not meant for others, and we find the times and places that work for us. When Mary got there, she saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. She immediately thought someone had stolen the body, and she ran and got Peter and an unnamed disciple.
They ran back to the tomb and went inside and found the burial linens, hardly something a thief would unwrap and leave behind! And Peter even found the linen for the head all neatly rolled up and lying aside by itself. Peter and the unnamed disciples must have been in shock, depressed and dumfounded because John says they then went home. What do you do when your heart and all your dreams are broken and you don't know how to face tomorrow?
John said, "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." And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" And she said, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."
When she had said this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn't recognize him. Jesus asked her the same question, "Woman, why are you weeping?" . . . And He turns to us and asks, why is your heart sad? What has taken away your smile, your energy, your joy in living? Why do I see tears in your eyes?
Jesus asks Mary, "Why are you weeping?" because He cares and wants to know our needs, and because Mary needs to tell him and not deny what she is thinking or feeling. And Mary, perhaps out of her grieving heart, perhaps because she is angry because Jesus' remains have not been treated with respect and they are missing, says to Jesus, "Sir, if you have carried him away, then tell me, and I will go get him." Her heart is heavy, but don't cross Mary. Just tell her where he is. She'll take care of it from there.
And Jesus says, "Mary!" Her heart stopped, then started pounding as her eyes once again filled with tears and she exclaimed, "Rabbouni," which is Aramaic for "my dear teacher."
Just moments before, Mary had stood weeping outside the tomb. Alone, defeated and hopeless, she was left in the garden to cry. Alone, defeated and hopeless! Have you ever felt that way? Maybe we have some parts of our lives under control and everything is just fine, but there are other parts of our lives that are not so fine. There are parts of our lives where we feel a failure, where we are not so confident, where we feel bruised and tired.
And then, Jesus calls our name. Maybe in an Easter service like this. Maybe over the noise of our busy, busy lives. Maybe in the silence of self-pity. He calls our name. And, once again we are loved and called to follow Him and care for others. It always comes down to giving as much of ourselves as we know to as much of Jesus as we know.
We may be full of doubts and resistance to a lot of past "bad" experiences with religion. Jesus is not a "religion." He is God revealing Himself in the form of a human like us. He came to reveal love, mercy and forgiveness in real and personal terms. He takes our sin seriously. It is our rebellion against His goodness, our inhumanity, that crucified Him.
To start a relationship with Jesus is opening oneself to the possibility of faith. We start with where we are, warts, doubts and all, and we start with whatever we know about Jesus. And, we make that a journey everyday. Let the witness of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, inform us as we read them to learn more about Jesus. Who is He? What is He like? What does He teach me about God?
Sometimes, we begin our journey following Jesus, and we hit a bump in the road. Life disappoints us. Hard times come. And, we interpret these things as defeat. When that happens, we need the support of other believers who have also gone through hard times. Part of the answer is persistence. Don't give up. Each day, get up and give as much of yourself as you know to as much of Jesus as you know. Keeping learning about Jesus. Pray to Him even when you don't know how or don't feel like it. Too often, we give up and are defeated because we haven't stuck with it to get the whole message.
Mary got the message, Jesus was alive! Death had been defeated! Christ is risen! We are not alone! He is with us! Praise God! Praise God! She could not contain herself. She immediately went to the other disciples and announced, "I have seen the Lord!" It was a victorious announcement. Death has been defeated! He is alive! She was telling them that they were not alone either!
A single battle can determine the outcome of an entire war. Like Gettysburg during the American Civil War and the Invasion at Normandy in World War II, a very important battle concerning the future of England had occurred. General Wellington of the British Army represented the last formidable opposition to the French army under the command of Napoleon. If Wellington lost the battle, England would be ruled by the French. To communicate the outcome of the battle, English towns from Belgium across the English Channel devised a system of flashing lights to be directed from one church top to another. When the battle ended, England had proved victorious and the message was sent "Wellington Defeated Napoleon!"
As the message was received and sent, moving from church to church towards the island of Great Britain, the fog began to rise. By the time the message reached the island, the fog cut the message short as the church received the message "Wellington Defeated." For hours, the nation feared the eventual overthrow of their country until the fog lifted and they finally had the complete message, "Wellington Defeated Napoleon!"
Like those anxious hearts in England, as we approach the tomb where Jesus was buried, our own hearts are heavy with the news spreading through Jerusalem, "Jesus Defeated." We must remember that that is not the complete message. When the fog lifted in the garden around the empty tomb, we see the rest of the message, "Jesus Defeated Death." Let us not live believing in an incomplete message.(1) Let us not stand paralyzed weeping outside the tomb, but let our hearts overflow with joy as we race to share with our friends, families, neighbors and with everyone we meet, "I have seen the Lord!" Amen.
Century Christian Church, April 8, 2007 - Sermon by Jim Westmoreland
www.centurychristian.org
1. Steven Blair, Illustrations at SermonCentral.com