Acts 10:34-43 John 20:1-18
It has often been said - and
observed - that bad news, particularly gossip, travels much faster than Good
News, actually faster than the speed of light! Somehow Good News is just
not as exciting or as dramatic as what ol' so-and-so did when he thought no one
was looking.
I recall the story of a pastor
who decided one day to stop at a local liquor store to meet the owner who was
said to have once been a member of that pastor's church. Sure enough the
pastor stopped in one day, bought a soda, and visited with the man. All
went well since it was a slow day and they had plenty of time to talk without
interruption, and the store's owner agreed he had been away from worship for
too long. "But", the owner said, "folks are not real
pleased with my business. They won't be so happy to see me return."
The pastor assured him everything would be ok. The church is filled with
wonderful people who will be happy to welcome a long-lost
"prodigal". Above all else, the pastor said, “remember it's not
about being seen ‘at church’ - it's about offering oneself to the Lord”.
Sure enough, that very Sunday
the liquor store owner's return was not the "hot topic". What
set everyone abuzz was the apparent drinking problem the pastor had,
"judging by how often his car has been seen at that liquor
store!" The store owner shook the pastor's hand at the end of
service and said, "You were right, preacher. They hardly noticed me
at all!"
Strangely enough, the first
thing from John's Gospel that jumped out at me is Mary
Magdalene's "assumption" - the same "assumption" people at
the church made about how often the pastor's car had been seen at the liquor
store! The NRSV text says "Mary came to the tomb and saw that the
stone had been removed from the tomb". So what does she do instead
of having a closer look? She runs to tell the others. What does she
tell them, though? "They" have taken the Lord out of the
tomb".
It would be a reasonable
assumption, of course, considering all that had happened before that dreadful
Day. "They" would be perhaps the Romans, but most likely the
religious authorities who would just not leave well enough alone. They
had not only tortured this Innocent Man to death, but they had also mocked Him
as well. It would not be beneath them to
desecrate His body as well. Politically it would have made sense to do so
because the authorities were well aware Jesus had a following that could
continue to be a threat to the “established order”. Removing and hiding
His body would be a good way to put down this "rebellion" once and
for all.
Matthew's Gospel says
the Pharisees and chief priests tried to anticipate trickery by the disciples
who might remove Jesus' body from the tomb in order to "prove" the
Resurrection on the third day as Jesus had taught them (funny the Pharisees
remembered this detail, don’t you think?). So the religious authorities
went to the Roman authority, Pilate, and requested that a guard be posted
"until the third day" to prevent such a move. According to Matthew, Pilate complied with their
request.
Peter and John arrived at the
tomb to find it just as Mary had described, but they went inside the tomb to
see for themselves that the body truly was not there. Caution is required
at this point in the text, however, because of the statement that John looked
inside, "saw and believed". What he "believed" was
Mary's story. By seeing the tomb empty, he "believed" what Mary
had said. The following statement: "for
as yet they did not understand the scripture, that He must rise from the
dead" reminds us
that the only thing any of them "believed" at this point was that
Jesus' body was missing. That Mary had said "they" have taken
the Lord's body suggests at this point that to the disciples, nothing less than
foul play was suspected; "for
as yet they did not understand ..."
"Then the disciples
returned to their homes."
If it is true that foul play had been suspected - and by the hands of the powerful
authorities who were able to convict and execute an innocent man - we could
imagine Peter and John walking away from the tomb feeling completely dejected,
confused, disappointed, and downright defeated. Everything they had invested
of themselves to this point had accomplished little more than to be reminded of
who is really in charge. The absence of Jesus' body - and the absence of
their "understanding" - really did, for them, mean it was
all over. They killed Him, and there was nothing more to be said or done.
Jesus never taught about His
Resurrection incidentally, and He never seemed to mention it only in passing as
some minor detail! It has always struck me as odd that this teaching did
not seem to have occurred to them on this particular morning, but then I was
not there and surrounded by such angry, hateful people who seemed perversely
delighted at watching this Gentle Man be so mercilessly brutalized. And
Peter? Well, remember he felt it necessary to run for his very
life! It could be easily "assumed" he would have told the
others perhaps to warn them of potential danger if and when they were to be
identified as disciples of Jesus.
"But Mary stood
weeping outside the tomb." She stayed. Alone. In spite of the potential
danger. Why do you suppose she didn't just walk back home with the
others? Why did she choose to stay back? By the way the story is
written, we could assume she had not really connected to the reality. She
needed to see for herself that Jesus' body really was gone (remember the text
does not say she had actually "looked" inside until now; only that
she "saw that the stone had been removed"). We can only
"assume" that Mary had "assumed" by the stone's removal
that Jesus' body was gone.
Luke tells of Mary Magdalene having had "seven
demons" removed by the hands of Jesus (8:2), but tradition had
named her a prostitute even though the scriptural text never says so.
Whether one of these "seven demons" had been that of a prostitute is
not nearly as significant as the certain reality that Mary had been healed by
Jesus; not simply "saved" or justified as we have come to understand
the terms, but literally, spiritually, perhaps physically, but most certainly
miraculously "healed". Like modern-day addicts who are
delivered from these "demons" of drugs and alcohol, Mary would have
had a deeper and more abiding appreciation for what the Lord can do. She
experienced a genuine, life-changing moment. She had not merely
"witnessed" a miracle such as that of the loaves and fishes, or had
just some “strange feeling”; surely in her mind and heart and soul she WAS a
miracle!
Of course she stayed! So
would you. So would I; because Mary had not been "given" a new
job or a new car or a new home or any of those other, more material things you
and I equate with "blessings". Because she had enjoyed such an
overwhelming experience, Jesus "owned" her! Not only because He
"redeemed" her, not only because He "saved" her ... but
because she completely gave back to the Lord what had been restored to her -
her very life!
This is the true and genuine
heart of a disciple, much like the leper in Luke
17 who was one of ten lepers who
had been healed. The other nine took their "blessing" and ran
away to do their own thing and live their own lives, lives that had been
restored to them. This single leper was the only one who had returned to
give his life - and all glory - to the Lord. He, like Mary, realized his
life had not been restored for his own personal use and his own personal goals
and dreams. They both realized their lives had been restored FOR THE
LORD. Of course Mary stayed!
And because she stayed, she was the one who saw the Eternal
Reality that is Christ. She saw not only
the reality of faith but the fruition of faith when the Lord revealed Himself
to her; yes, the perfection of faith that is Christ our Lord. She truly had something to tell – not only
that the tomb was empty … but that the Promise of Eternity has been fulfilled! AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment