Isaiah 65:17-25
17For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. 19I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. 20No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. 21They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the LORD— and their descendants as well. 24Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent—its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD
John 20:1-18
20Early 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. 2So 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.” 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10Then the disciples returned to their homes.
11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and 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. 13They 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.” 14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” 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.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and sisters and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
Rejoice and be glad! Christ is Risen!- but perhaps, in your journey, that is not quite where you are.
Perhaps this is what your life feels like now: an empty shell. Oh, things may be tidied up, there may be things neatly folded and put away, but still, it is empty and dark., and much too quiet.
Or perhaps your life is like Mary’s- sadness and and grief and confusion. Mary had seen her own brother, Lazarus, die—and be restored to life by Jesus. But Jesus, apparently, couldn’t, or wouldn’t, save himself, and so she is standing in a cemetery, crying, and people are asking her “woman, why are you weeping?” Well- her beloved teacher has just died, and with him, her future. The Romans had him put to death like a condemned criminal—and there’s a good chance they will be coming for the rest of the disciples as well. Even showing up at the garden is a risk- the Romans didn’t like it when people publicly grieved a condemned criminal—gave others the wrong idea. And we’ve seen what happens when the Roman authorities don’t like you.
Or perhaps you are like Simon Peter, or the other disciple, racing about through life. They even have a foot race to the tomb, a competition, to see who gets there first. The other disciple, not Simon Peter, looks in, and sees, and believes—altho we are left wondering just what it is he believes. That Jesus is risen? That the body has been stolen? That something new has happened? We don’t know- He and Simon Peter go back home. And maybe that is what you are like—you believe, but aren’t really sure what you believe.
Wherever you are, whoever you are, this story is full of good news- if only we have eyes to see it.
The tomb is empty—and the grave clothes are neatly folded. This is a sign to us that this time, it will be different, that it is different. Lazarus was brought back to life, but he was still wrapped up in the cloths. Jesus had to say to the onlookers “Unbind him”. Here, the cloths are neatly folded, each in its own place. Because they will not be needed anymore.
The empty tomb is suddenly full—of people. There are two men there, speaking to Mary. Now, ordinarily, women did not speak to strange men—but Mary answers them. And then, suddenly, a third man is there. And when he speaks Mary’s name, she immediately knows who it is- Jesus, her beloved teacher, her Lord.
God tells us in the book of Isaiah- “No more shall the sound of weeping be heard, or the cry of distress…”
Mary stops weeping, and runs and tells the followers what she has seen and heard. She is the first preacher, and what she tells is this “I have seen the Lord”
I have seen the Lord…..
Where in your life have you seen the Lord? Where in your life has there been newness of life, growth instead of death, peace where there was no peace, a way when there was no way? Where do we, as the community of faith, the church gathered here, see the Lord?
One of the places is right here. At the Table. Jesus was famous, or infamous, for eating—and always, it seemed, eating with the wrong people—tax collectors, sinners, women, unemployed riff raff that traveled around with him. This Table may be familiar to you. Or it might be strange and new. But it is the Risen Lord who calls us here, who feeds us here. It is at this table, that we see a glimpse of God’s future. We say that this feast, this Lord’s Supper, is a foretaste of what life in the Kingdom of God will be like.
Chuck Campbell, a minister and professor, volunteered in a ministry with homeless people in Atlanta. Chuck talks about the heartbreak of having to be the guy who stood at the door, giving out lunch tickets, and of having to tell hungry men and women, who had stood for hours, waiting, that there was no more food, no more tickets, that they would not be fed there that day. He also tells this story, about what the Kingdom of God looks like.
“Shortly after Labor Day, I was standing on a platform waiting for a subway train in Atlanta. As I was waiting, a homeless man whom I had met hailed me from across the platform and came to stand with me. He reminded me of his name, Michael (like the angel), and we struck up a conversation. Michael told me about his ongoing search for a job and gave thanks for the many ways God was caring for him. When the train arrived, we boarded, sat down together, and continued our conversation.
At one point I asked Michael where he had eaten lunch on Labor Day—a difficult day for homeless people in Atlanta because many services are closed. He told me he had eaten lunch at "910" (shorthand for the Open Door Community, a Christian community that serves food to about 400 people each Labor Day). Michael's eyes widened as he described the large helpings of "real pinto beans" and the generous portions of corn bread—"this thick," he showed me, holding his thumb and forefinger about two inches apart. When he paused, I asked him how many people were at the meal. He stared at me for a moment, and then announced in a loud voice for everyone to hear: "Thousands! There were thousands! They came from the north and the south and the east and the west. There were thousands!"
Michael proclaimed the Word, [and] exposed the authority of Christ over death”
And as he spoke in that crowded subway car, the powers were put in their place, and we were set free, even if only for a moment, from the bondage of Death. God has already begun doing something new!
Like Mary, who ran and said “I have seen the Lord”. Michael the homeless man, tells of a whole new world, a new creation. It is here, even if we don’t always see it. God has done a new thing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are unbound, we are set free from death and sin. The Kingdom of God is at hand! Alleluia! Amen!
