Easter Sunday 2010 - The Smell of Something New

John 20:1-18 (NRSV)

Early 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. So 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." Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and 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. They 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." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus 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." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus 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.'" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

THOUGHTS:

Spring is coming, I said.  No, said the cab driver, spring is here already, you just can't see it yet.   My allergies reminded me that he was right.  I had a runny nose for days because of flowers I could not yet see but my other senses were telling me were real.

It's often that way when we face challenges and disappointments.  A relationship ends and we see only faults and failings.  A job or internship we had hoped for fell through and we can't see anything else happening for us.  The world depresses us. Someone we love gets sick or even dies and we see pain and separation.

Easter is like God giving us a new way to sense life.   When Mary got to the garden, Jesus met her there but she could not recognize him.  It was only when he called out her name that she really saw who he was.   She was so excited to see him alive, she about jumped into his arms.    

That's the way it is when we see life the way God does.   We find gratitude even in relationships that have ended.   Failed job prospects lead to new opportunities we could not have otherwise imagined.   Even sickness and death are ultimately seen as temporary conditions.

Easter calls us to perceive life with more than just our eyes.   There is more to living than landing a good job and making enough money to pay the bills and raise a family.   The strength and will to change the world found in the power of love that makes everything seem vivid.

PRAYER: 

Dear Lord,  May your gracious love resurrect my senses.  Save me from the dead end of cynicism and help me to see things in a new way today.  Amen.

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Thoughts by Pastor Phil Hirsch, Assistant to the Bishop, Metro D.C. Synod of the ELCA

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These devotions for young adults are provided by:

Lutheran Campus Ministry at George Mason University http://www.gmu.edu/org/lutheran

Lutheran Student Association at the University of Maryland http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~lutheran/lsa/

DC Young Adults http://www.dcyoungadults.org/

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Lent Day #40

Matthew 27:57-66 (NRSV)

⁵⁷When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth ⁶⁰and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. ⁶²The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³and said, "Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise again.' ⁶⁴Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, 'He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception would be worse than the first." ⁶⁵Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can." ⁶⁶So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

 

THOUGHTS:

The gospels tell us that Jesus was laid in the tomb on Friday evening, but they don't tell us a lot about the events of that Saturday. 

It was the Sabbath, so the disciples wouldn't have been working. 

 

I imagine they were in shock.  They had seen Jesus perform so many miracles -- it is possible that some of them held out a little hope that he would pull off a miraculous show-stopper to cheat death even as he hung on the cross.  Their hearts must have felt completely torn apart when they realized he had died.  They may have been skeptical about him being able to rise from the dead.  (Once dead, isn't it had to do anything -- including raise yourself?)   Yet the Romans remembered his words and stationed guards to prevent the disciples from pulling off any pranks.  They acknowledge that they think the story of a resurrected Jesus would not go well for them.

 

Today, we know the rest of the story.  Even while envisioning the Christ laying in the tomb, we know that tomorrow that tomb will be empty.  As we think about these events today, we aren't mired in grief, but rather wait in anticipation.  We sit watch ... waiting for tomorrow morning ...

 

PRAYER:

Today, spend some time thinking about your Lenten experience -- ponder something that sticks out in your mind or how your heart has been affected this year.  Consider where you think God may be calling you as Easter approaches.  Pray -- chat with God about these things...