John 20:1-18 “Seeing
the Risen Christ”
April 8, 2007 By
Rev. Kathy McDowell
Without a doubt, Easter is the most important day in the Christian year, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
There is something compelling about Easter -- even for
people who don’t regularly go to church.
Yesterday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution had an article on the big
increase in church attendance on Easter.[1]
Smaller churches like us welcome our guests during a fellowship time and pass
out mugs. Larger churches have larger concerns.
Some of us have invited friends and family to worship with us today. Or maybe you are new in the community, and decided to try out the church you pass by every day on your way to work. If you are a visitor today, and don’t have a church home, we especially welcome you.
There is something about Easter that is compelling, even for people who on any other Sunday may not feel comfortable in church. All of us, whether we attend church regularly or not, are seekers. We look for purpose, for meaning. We want answers. Explanations about the big and important questions. And Easter raises some big and important questions.
And so, as Christians do, we come to the scriptures looking for answers. But if we read this passage from the gospel of John closely, the first thing we have to notice is the confusion. It’s dark, and right away we’re told that the stone has been removed. That’s where the confusion starts and it weaves through the entire reading. The disciples and Mary Magdalene do not understand. Several times in this scripture that phrase is repeated: “We do not know. I did not know. She did not know. They did not understand.” They can’t understand what’s happened, they are confused about the empty tomb. We’re told that the disciple whom Jesus loved -- it’s John -- goes in and sees the empty tomb and believes -- but it’s not clear what he believes. Even when Mary sees Jesus, she doesn’t recognize him.
This scene is not a very satisfying answer to all our questions about Jesus. We’re looking for answers. And there are plenty of people out there who
try to give us the answers. Just about a
month ago, there was a program called “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” on the Discovery
Channel. The tomb that was getting all
the attention was actually discovered in 1980 in
But then in a round of criticism and debate by academics following this program,
it was pointed out that the names found in the inscriptions were very common Jewish names, the DNA testing was nothing more than conjecture, quotes by scholars in the program were taken out of context, and the archeologists involved were using the media,
instead of the scientific community, to test their ideas.
These stories get a lot of press coverage. And these stories raise questions that the
church needs to take seriously. One of
the young girls taking my Pastor’s Class during Lent asked, “Do you think they
really did find the tomb of Jesus?” No, I replied. But her question goes deeper than that.
It’s easy to get trapped into thinking that these stories have the answers. That if we only find enough evidence -- physical, historical, scientific -- then that will answer our questions about Jesus. Remember that old song “looking for love in all the wrong places?” To paraphrase, “We’re looking for Jesus in all the wrong places.”
The evidence for Jesus is not in these empty tombs. That’s because an abandoned tomb, DNA testing, a TV docudrama, or the latest archeological dig is not enough evidence
to prove anything about Jesus that matters if we are living
a life of faith in Jesus Christ.
“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” is the way Luke’s gospel puts it.
We don’t need to search for Jesus in an empty tomb. CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! We are here to
recognize and follow a Risen Christ. And
the evidence for the Risen Christ is in our lives and as we hope for and live
into his kingdom.
I believe God raised Jesus from the dead. I believe God promises us eternal life.
I also believe that God
raises us up from the dead places we are in now.
Many of us sitting here right now have a story to tell about our own resurrection.
Others sitting here right now hope against hope that the resurrection God promises can be true in their lives too.
Paul’s letter to the Romans reminds us in chapter 4 that God
has power and possibility we cannot fathom, giving life to the dead and calling into existence the things that do
not exist.
In today’s scripture, Mary Magdalene is looking for Jesus. She bends over and looks in the tomb, but the one she is seeking is not there. She is afraid and confused.
But when Jesus calls her by name, when he says “Mary,” all the confusion and the misunderstanding of that first scene at the tomb just disappear. Mary recognizes that the one who stands before her is her teacher and Lord.
After Mary recognizes Jesus, it takes her a bit to adjust. She wants to hold on to him, to what she has known, hold on to the past. But that would prevent God’s possibilities from unfolding. By the end of the scene, Mary knows she has seen her Risen Lord.
And her life will
never be the same.
Sometimes we want to hold on to the past, because it seems safer than trusting God for our future. There are all kinds of words for this. Realistic. Cynical. Bitter. Despairing.
But it all means the same thing. We don’t believe in
resurrection. We don’t believe in God’s
possibilities. We don’t believe in God’s new beginnings. We can’t see Our Risen Lord.
But sometimes, by the grace of God, the resurrection breaks through to us.
It can happen suddenly or over time. Other people sometimes guide us to resurrection.
And we experience a resurrection in our own lives.
There is a story told by Tom Long, a professor at the seminary I attended. A story of resurrection. It’s about a little girl named Mary Ann who was born with multiple defects;
deaf in one ear, a cleft palate, disfigured face, a crooked nose, lopsided feet. As a child, Mary Ann suffered not only from the physical impairments, but also the emotional damage inflicted by other children. “Oh, Mary Ann, her classmates would say, “What happened to your lip?” “I cut it on a piece of glass,” she would lie.
One of the worst experiences at school for Mary Ann was the day of the annual hearing test. The teacher would call each child to her desk, and the child would cover first one ear, and then the other. The teacher would whisper something to the child like,
“The sky is blue” or “You have new shoes.” This was the whisper test; if the teacher’s phrase was heard and repeated, the child passed the test. To avoid the humiliation of failure, Mary Ann would always cheat on the test, secretly cupping her hand over her one good ear so that she could still hear what the teacher said.
One year Mary Ann was in the class of Miss Leonard, one of the most beloved teachers in the school. Every student, including Mary Ann, wanted to be noticed by her.
Then came the day of the dreaded hearing test. When her turn came, Mary Ann was called to the teacher’s desk. As Mary Ann cupped her hand over her good ear,
Miss Leonard leaned forward to whisper. “I waited for those words,” Mary Ann recalled, “Which God must have put into her mouth, those seven words which changed my life. Miss Leonard did not say ‘The sky is blue’ or ‘You have new shoes.’
What she whispered was “I wish you were my little girl.” Mary Ann went on to become a teacher herself, a person of inner beauty and great kindness.”[2]
For Mary Ann, that day was a resurrection from the dead places of fear and hurt. Someone had helped her to see God’s hope and God’s possibilities. Someone had been Christ to her. And she was never the same again.
We who follow a Risen Lord are promised resurrection. The evidence for our Risen Lord is right here, all around us, if we have the eyes to see. Whenever we see new beginnings from empty tombs. Hope instead of despair. Trust instead of fear.
Blessings from brokenness.
Forgiveness instead of bitterness.
Grace instead of judgment. Once we’ve seen the Risen Christ, we’ll
never be the same again.