EASTER

May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

SEASON: EASTER
PROPER: A
PLACE: St. John's Parish, Kingsville
DATE: April 4, 1999

TEXT: John 20:1-18 - The Resurrection of Jesus

Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). . . . . . . Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord."

ISSUE: "The first shall be last and the last shall be first." Mary Magdalene who is a woman, and the women once possessed with seven demons, who might be considered least among the disciples is the first according to John' Gospel account to see the resurrected Jesus. She announces that she has seen "the Lord" alive. It is a daring announcement for it declares that Jesus is n ot only alive, but that he is the Lord and not Caesar and the powers of this world. Jesus is truly victorious over the world; and God is saying "Yes" to the least, the last, the lost, and the lonely of the world, and "No" to the dominating powers of the world. The resurrecction is God's profound grace in action.
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There was once an old Native American (Indian) storyteller. And it was reported that each time he would gather his people and children around him to tell ancestral and religious stories he would begin by saying: "I am not sure quite how it happend; I only know that it is true." Today we reflect on the Christianity's greatest feast, the greatest and climactic story. Since we have a variety of stories surround the resurrection of Jesus we might also say: "We don't know quite how it happened, but we just know that it is true: Jesus lives and Jesus is Lord.
John's Gospel tells us that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus very early in the morning when the sun was just beginning to rise. She found that the stone had been rolled away, and that the tomb was empty. She runs to tell Peter and the beloved disciple, of whose identity we cannot be certain. At least for Mary and Peter, this empty tomb and the missing body of Jesus is very disturbing. In this time a body was supposed to decay in tomb for about a year, the decaying body was a symbol of the sins painfully rotting away. At the end of the year the bones were gathered in some case and put into a box called an ossuary. At the end of time, at the last day, it was hoped that the bones would be re-enfleshed for resurrection. You get something of a picture of this from Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones. Thus, for Mary and Peter it is important to them to have a body to prepare for resurrection in the distant future. Mary is therefore particularly distraught.
She remains at the tomb and has an apparition (a vision, an experience) of two angels. Expressing her great distress to the angels over the missing body, Jesus appears next to her whom she thinks is the gardener. Thinking him to be the gardener she continues to express her distress about the missing body. But Jesus calls her by name: Mary! A great awareness dawns on Mary, and she becomes totally aware and enlightened that it is in fact Jesus, and she responds: Rabbouni!, meaning exalted teacher! Jesus discourages her grasping him or holding onto him, indicating that this is a truly and very spiritual thing that has happend. She goes to tell the disciples saying: "I have seen the Lord."
What does all of this mean, what is it's relevance? What is John's Gospel intending to convey to his early Christian community? We know that Jesus was crucified, and really died on the cross. He was crucified by the powers of the time. Pilate, a puppet governor of Caesar, and the Temple authorities, were dreadfully threatened by Jesus. He threatened the power structures because of his great affection for and following by an oppressed majority of the poor, the last, least, the lost, and the lonely. He had become perceived as a rebellious prophet. They ordered his death.
The meaning of the resurrection of Jesus declares and announces that God in Jesus Christ possesses is the greater power. Jesus is Lord not Caesar, or Pilate, or the temple authorities. They no longer need the Temple. The powers of the world can only give death, humiliation, and destruction. But God in Christ Jesus gives life and victory through his love and his reaching out to the poor, the least, the last, and the lost.
Mary Magdalene plays a very important part in the various resurrection accounts. In John's Gospel she is the very first to see the Risen Christ. Keep in mind that Mary was a woman and in this culture woman had no political status. They were often hidden. What's more, Mary Magdalene was once reportedly possessed by seven demons. She was considered to be totally abandoned and lost soul. Yet she becomes the first to be aware that Jesus Christ, and all that he stands for lives, is alive, and is Lord of live. The last becomes first, as Jesus had repeated said. Mary who has had a close relationship with Jesus is not humiliated, or last, or least. She becomes a worthy citizen in the Kingdom of God and Christ. She becomes a noble disciple. She is a recipient of the enormous grace and forgiveness of God. She is called truly to be his own.
Another important aspect of this story is the immediacy of the resurrection. Mary comes planning to prepare Jesus' body for some distance resurrection and she will attend to the corpse as was appropriate. But the resurrection is an immediate reality. It is not about corpses and bones. It is not about some distant future. Jesus lives now, and his appearance to her invites her into that understanding. She is called to live with him now, in the very present. Now is the time to be transformed and changed, and to participate in the Kingdom of God. Mary becomes an immediate disciple of the Goodnews. Though to the world it may seem that all hope is lost. The reality for her is that now Christ lives and is raised, and at the same time her own status through her relationship with him is raised as well. Mary begins in the darkness. She is frightened and fearful, and yet her hopes are transformed through the appearance of Christ, and she goes to tell, to announce to proclaim her new understanding that the Lord lives. The Spirit of Jesus Christ has become an ongoing living reality for her. He is Lord of her life and her saving grace. The powers of the world are often destructive, but Christ is Lord, and through him she is given hope, meaning and purpose in the present.
It is very interesting to me that this story and this faith that Jesus is alive, and that Jesus is Lord is still with us today. Out of this small band of people, the last, the least, the lost, comes the assurance of hope and resurrection. Inspite of all the powers of the world and along with all of its corruption through history, the story of Jesus Christ continues to break in and through history. The spirit of Christ's love, of God's forgiveness, the prevailing Spirit of Jesus who sought justice for his people, friends and disciples still lives. He is still Prince of Peace and Lord of lords. The faithful cannot help but feel that it is love and forgiveness that lifts us up, that gives our lives real meaning, not how much we have, or possess, or the power we can weild. The message of the Gospel that is so full of great reversals still prevails. Inspite of a cruel and vicious politicand cross, Jesus still lives. Love, sacrificial love as Christ taught, for one another is still the only thing that makes sense if we are to live in peace. The prayers of God's simple people, the quite meditations, the study of Scripture all contribute to the wonder of God and his continuing presence with us. So many people of faith have been simply people, sinners true, but people who find great hope and comfort in the Gospel of Christ. Like Mary, the least, who found in Jesus her transformation and hope, we still pass on the faith to others.
It is hard for us to say how this happens, how it persists, how people continue to be touched. All we can say at times is that we know that it is true. Jesus Christ lives, and he is Lord.