We Are A Resurrection People

We are a Resurrection People Easter Sunday 2009

Gospel Lesson

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 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.

Sermon

He is Risen. He is Risen indeed! All the power and pain the world threw at his Jesus could not keep him down. We are a resurrection people, a people of eternal hope. We know our Messiah has conquered death, once and for all. In a world where jaded pessimism is the order of the day, we must hold fast to our calling as a resurrection people. We gather every Sunday to remember that Easter morning when the stone rolled away and Mary hears Jesus’ voice again.
Billions of our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world have gathered today to celebrate and praise our Risen Lord. Can you see the rainbow of God’s children, with tears and smiles of joy? People who are enduring their own personal Good Fridays are holding on to hope that a resurrection day will come. God will make a way, where there seems to be no way. Yes, all things work together for good for those who love God.
On Easter Sunday, and every Sunday we gather to be nurtured and equipped as a resurrection people. Part of witness to the Gospel in our world is to tend the flame of hope. We remember this definition from Hebrews: “Faith is the assurance for things hope for, the conviction of things not seen.” In Paul’s letter to the Roman’s he reflects on the faith of Father Abraham, who hoped against hope. In our Gospel lesson, Mary Magdalene, Peter and the beloved disciple need to see with their own eyes what has happened. It can be that Jesus has risen. Someone must have stolen his body. Later Thomas will need to place his finger in Jesus wounds to believe. As a resurrection people, we need to hope and believe with our mind’s eye, with the eyes of our heart. Deep within we can see a new day dawning in spite of the pain and suffering that surrounds us day in and day out.
This is our unique Christian mandate and calling to interpret what is means to be a people of hope. We don’t turn our heads or lower our gaze. We hold on to find the glimmers of hope and the testament to the human spirit. We know that in time this Good Friday will pass and Easter morning will come. Like Mary Magdalene, we keep vigil at the Empty tomb waiting to hear the voice of our Risen Lord speaking through the gardners of our day.
Over the centuries many scholars and poets have reflected on this theme of hope and how critical it is for us to preserve our humanity.
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” A. Pope
“If it were not for hope our hearts would break.” John Ray
“Hope is the pillar that holds up the world.” Piny the Elder
Our people will perish without hope.

Hope is a poignant theme in many of our urban churches, where people of color are the majority of the residents and congregants. Unemployement, drugs, gangs and violence pervade the streets, but on Sundays we gather to lay our burdens down and breath deep God’s Spirit of hope. In spite of all we have seen this past week, we know that change is coming. Many of us are going through a Good Friday cruxifixion, but we know God will see us through to the empty tomb. Many of these hardships were never part of God’s plan for us, but God the Good Shepherd is always with us in these valleys. We hold on to hope and the faith that God will see us through.
As a Resurrection people, we resonate with our African American and Latino brother and sisters who do their part to foster this flame of hope. At the end of one of my favourite PBS programs Tavis Smiley closes every program with, “Keep the Faith.” Throughout the 80s, Rev Jesse Jackson’s anthem was “Keep Hope Alive.” Mexicans and Mexican-Americans are familiar with these two adages, at many gatherings people chant is Si Se Peude, “Yes we can” and “Hope dies last.”
People of color who have had to endure far too many Good Fridays, have a deeper and more profound hunger for the hope that our Risen Lord brings on Easter and every Sunday worship.
In our Gospel lesson, like many other moments in Jesus' life and ministry, the women are present to faithfully to tend to Jesus. In Jesus’ life and death, we see how central women are. We remember the alabaster of oil, the washing of Jesus’ feet with tears and the drying with her hair. The women in Jesus’ life keep vigil at the foot of the cross. When Jesus felt betrayed and isolated by his disciples, the women in his life never left his side. This is the eternal truth of the church. Many of our sisters in the church continue to teach us how to focus on the majors not the minors. Let’s keep our egos in check and stay focused on our call to sacrificial service. The women in Jesus ministry had a lot to teach and model for the disciples and the same is true for today.
In the midst of this crisis, the gospel writer makes it a point to note who was winning the race to the tomb. Doesn’t it seem weird to focus on such details at this point in the story? Who cares who get’s there first? Men and their egos! Everything seems to boil down to a competitive sporting event. I hope the beloved disciple did not intentionally trip Peter.
Many scholars have noted this conflict between Peter and the Beloved Disciple. Was this Lazarus? This competition between these two could be a window into the conflict playing out in the early church. Peter represents the growing hierarchical authority of the apostolic tradition and the Beloved Disciple represents the more grassroots, egalitarian church. There is this tension and anxiety in John’s gospel that the church does not turn into the very Pharisees and temple authorities they have been challenging.
One of the telling pieces of this story is that Peter and the Beloved Disciple come and go. It is only Mary Magdalene who stays to keep vigil in her grief. Blinded in her grief she can not hear what the Angels have told her. The folded clothes mean nothing. Until she knows that her Lord’s body is able to rest in peace, she will not leave. Mary is tenacious in holding on until she finds an answer. When Jesus appears to her she thinks it’s the gardner, and pleads with him too.
Many of our brothers and sisters in pain and grief cannot hear the messages God sends them. It is only when we hear the voice of our Good Shepherd speaking directly to us that we understand that our Good Friday is finally over. Like Mary, many of us will encounter the voice of our Risen Lord. Our wrestling with angst and doubts clear away in an instant, when we hear God’s voice calling us by name. All Jesus had to say was Mary, and she knew it was her Rabbouni, her teacher.
On Friday, I was blessed to have the opportunity to attend the Hubert H Humphrey Lecture Series. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman President throughout the African continent gave a speech. When she walked on stage and thousands of Liberians sang their national anthem this brought many tears. The wave of hope that filled the Northrup auditorium was phenomenal.
Liberia is a testimony to hope and the resiliency of the human spirit. Out of the ashes of Civil War and far too many Good Fridays, they are in the garden and celebrating hope as a resurrection people. We have 10-15k Liberians here in the Twin Cities. Just last week President Obama granted an extension for their visas. We can be proud of how many our Minnesota communities have embraced our Liberian brothers and sisters. We walk with them through these Good Fridays to joyous Easter moments.
Yes hope is alive. The Iron Lady of Liberia and the Liberian Christian Women’s Association have continued in the path of Mary Magdalene. They would not leave until they got the answers they needed. They held on with faith and hope in what many people would dismiss as impossible. Resurrection people hold on to hope!
Hearing the roar of the audience brought me back to South Africa, and the Durban stadium in 2002 when we cheered for Nelson Mandella’s entrance for the inauguration of the African Union. Mandella and President Johnson Sirleaf are modern day prophets who bring their people hope, and foster peace and reconciliation.
Like Mary Magdalene, we are a resurrection people, we need to keep vigil in the garden and listen for how God is calling his sheep by name. Every Sunday is an Easter Sunday. We gather at the empty tomb again to remember God’s victory over evil. We don’t need to cling to Jesus, we can hear the voice of our Good Shepherd. Jesus sends us out from the empty tomb every Sunday to bear witness to the hope in the impossible. Our Risen Lord has conquered death. Nothing in this world has a hold on us. We are freed captives!
Hope is alive. We humbly walk beside our brothers and sisters who still have not heard the voice of our Good Shepherd. Could we be a gardner in their lives. Maybe we could be the angels assuring them that yes He is Risen. Each of us have been casted into this eternal production of Resurrection Hope. We witness to our world that the storm is over. No matter how dark the skies may turn, No matter how great the odds may seem against you, these Good Fridays are not the end but only the beginning. Our Lord is victorious. Listen for the voice of our Good Shepherd. Hold on to hope and trust in him.