31 March 2013

“Mary sees dead people ... and you will, too”
John 20:1-18
Resurrection of our Lord
31 March 2013


Yes, it’s true … for those of you who keep track of such things, today we’ve got “the other Gospel reading” for the Resurrection of our Lord … from the Gospel of John.
It’s “the other reading” not because it’s less important or there’s something wrong with it … of course there’s not … but, usually, we have an Easter Gospel reading from the Gospel, in which we are spending that year.
Last year, it was Mark’s gospel … the one where the women find the empty tomb, but run away, for they were afraid. That’s it. A wholly unsatisfying ending … but a great beginning … to the story of Resurrection.
Next year, we’ll read from Matthew’s gospel … more exciting than Mark, that’s the one where the women are there at the tomb when there’s an earthquake, and the guards at the tomb faint dead away, and later get paid off by the religious leaders to say that Jesus wasn’t raised, his disciples came by and stole his body. It’s the spin of the day, trying to obscure the Truth that Jesus really is raised, and that he really appeared to the women at the tomb.
We could have gone with Luke’s gospel story of the resurrection this year … that’s the “default” setting for this Sunday, this year … in Luke’s telling, a whole bunch of women are there at the empty tomb, they go tell the disciples but only Peter runs to the tomb to see and believe for himself.
Ah, but today, this Resurrection of our Lord, this Easter Day … we are in John’s gospel.
Why?
Because sometimes … sometimes we need to see dead people. And speak with them. And hear them tell us that God brings life out of death.

I remember back to that first year after my dad died. And I would think I would see him … at the store, driving around, on the street … sometimes, sitting in the chair. The psychologist in me said, oh, that’s normal, he’s not really there, but your subconscious is just wishing he was ... for a conversation, wrapping up loose ends, an assurance that he was safe and well. Probably so. But, psychology or not, I still wanted to see him.

In John’s gospel account of that first Easter day, it’s only been three days, and Mary Magdalene’s seeing dead people. Well, actually, just one … she sees dead Jesus.
Early on the first day of the week … this Word is here at the beginning of our text to tell us that the first full mourning period for Jesus in his religion is ending … three days, seven days, one month, one year … and in this first century world, days are not twenty four hour days, but sunrise to sunset … Friday, Saturday, and now, here, after the sunrise of the third day, the dead person is most certainly dead, there’s no hope that it’s all just an illusion, a bad dream.
In John’s Gospel, the disciples have their own full, rich encounter with the risen Jesus later … ah, but the honor of being first to see and speak with him is not theirs. Peter and the ‘beloved disciple’ go in the tomb first … Mary Magdalene hangs around outside, and doesn’t notice what they see … the cloths which had covered Jesus, now lying unused, along with the linen wrappings which had shrouded his body when they had left it last. Peter sees, the beloved disciple sees, they believe that Jesus is gone, but they don’t know where … how … why. Maybe someone moved or stole the body. Neither of them sees dead people. So they go home to wait it out.
But Mary stays around. And in her staying around, she is rewarded. Mary sees angels. And then Mary sees dead Jesus.
And more … Mary hears dead Jesus.
Dead Jesus isn’t dead Jesus any more.
Something new is happening.
It’s important that Mary both sees and hears Jesus, at the same time.
If she’d only seen dead Jesus, well, she could have just seen a ghost. People have been seeing ghosts … imaginary or real … for thousands of years. There are ghost stories, yes, in the Bible … in the Old Testament, the witch of Endor conjures up the ghost of dead Samuel the prophet for King Saul. If it was just a ghost that Mary saw, well, people always see ghosts. They imagine they see ghosts. She really misses Jesus … maybe Mary misses him so much that she wants and wills herself to see Jesus again.
Big deal.
And, if Mary had only heard dead Jesus, well, that might have meant she was a prophet. Prophets are always hearing the voice of God but don’t always see God. Moses heard God’s voice in the burning bush. Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Isaiah had visions … strange visions … who knows what or who they saw ... but they heard the voice of God speaking to them, and they passed the words that voice said along to their people.
Words of prophecy. Words of bane and blessing, curse and comfort.
Mary could have been a prophet. But she is just a woman. So her prophecy probably wouldn’t carry very far.
And people could always say, “ah, that Mary, she hears voices, she hears the voices of dead people. Stay away from her.”
But Mary sees and hears dead Jesus.
Dead Jesus who isn’t dead any more.
“My sheep know my voice,” Jesus said, earlier, before he died.
Mary! Jesus calls her now.
And Mary knows it is really Jesus. Mary hears, and sees, and believes.
Mary’s faith comes from hearing.
Mary’s faith is confirmed by seeing.
Mary wants to hold onto Jesus … but don’t think poorly of her for wanting to do this. Wouldn’t we want to do the same thing, if one who was beloved to us, who once was dead, was now alive – anew – before us?
But this One who was, and was not, and now is again … this Jesus, he has, he is, something new … really dead, now really alive … and on his way to his Father and our Father, his God and our God. Don’t hold him back, Mary; don’t hold him back, us.
For what Jesus is about now is something totally new. This Resurrection, this Easter … it comes at the end of the Gospels and the end of Jesus’ story in the Scriptures … so yes, there is a tendency to see Easter as The End … the end of Lent, the end of Holy Week …
But Easter is not the end. Easter is the beginning. IT’S THE BEGINNING. THE BEGINNING OF A NEW BEGINNING FOR JESUS, FOR MARY, FOR THE DISCIPLES, FOR US.
That’s why what happens for Mary, with Mary, now that she’s seen and heard, is that now … now Mary’s faith sends her out, out to tell the disciples “I have seen the Lord,” and those disciples will go out and live and do and serve in the name of this dead-now-alive-anew Jesus … disciples of that age, and into the ages, even to us today.
Disciples who saw dead people … people weighed down by the worries and suffering, pain and grief and loss of this life … people, dying, dead because of their bad life-choices or as a result of the life-choices of others … people, dying, dead … made alive because these disciples heard and saw, tasted and touched Jesus, through his gifts, his promises in Water and Bread and Wine, in Word of Forgiveness, in Lives of Service … disciples saw dead people made alive again through these who were sent out … through the ages ... even to us. Even to us.
For we are the latest, the newest beginning, the now-incarnation of Easter into the world … we who are claimed by Jesus, here and now, who are being made alive, through Word of promise and hope, forgiveness and welcome, wholeness, peace, joy … all those good things God wants and wills for us … come to us through Water of Baptism, the Bread and Wine of Communion, and in this community of disciples … each of us, symbol-signs of what was dead now being made alive through Christ … his Spirit, this community; his work, our hands; always being made new, into this world God loves so much that God doesn’t want to see it end … to see us end … so God gives us the promise, the hope, of life.
Look around you. Look around you and see dead people. Dead people made alive because of Jesus. For this life. Into this life. Living into this world God loves. Hearts warmed with Jesus’ Spirit and overflowing with love for this life and love for others sharing this life. Hands getting dirty with servant work.Called together, gathered as One, sent as many to serve.

So may you see dead people.
May you see dead people and bring them the Word, the sight, of Easter life. The beginning of real life.
For then you will see dead people, made alive again.
And one day, you will see dead people, once, really, truly and finally dead, made alive forever. No more wishing to see them alive at the store, on the street, in that chair … but then, we will see them face to face.
And, yes, hold on to them.
Because Resurrection means Jesus never lets go of us. Ever.

Mary sees dead people ... dead people, no long dead, but alive ... and you will too.
That’s the meaning, the promise, of Easter.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia! Amen.