Witness
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 towards 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 round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did
not know that it was Jesus. Jesus
said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ 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.
What’s the first thing
you’re going to do when you go to heaven?
Have you ever thought about
that before? I think about that sometimes. And however you would answer that
question kind of depends on what you imagine heaven to look like.
Television, books, movies,
and artwork contribute a lot to building a vision of heaven for the thoughtful
or curious. So you can imagine, like many others have, that you’ll see a bright
light at the end of a tunnel and then be taken up to the pearly gates, where
St. Peter will greet you, offer you a halo, a robe, and some wings, and invite
you to walk and bounce around on the clouds.
That’s a beautiful image of
heaven, and I’d be happy to see that when my time here on earth is up. But my
image of heaven is rather different. You might have heard me share this before,
so forgive me if you’re hearing this for the second or third time, and if this
is too silly for your taste, don’t worry about it—but I’ve always imagined that
heaven is kind of like Six Flags. In my imagination of heaven, I’m going to
arrive, get my ticket stamped, and then get a cosmically huge park map, and be
told to have fun and go do anything I want. So I’ll look at my park map and see
Grandma’s rocking chair, and Grandpa’s golf course, and King David’s musical
lounge. There will be lunch in the food court with Jesus’ first disciples, a
daily Q & A session about all matters of living with St. Paul, a petting
zoo on Noah’s Ark, and milk and honey available 24/7 on tap.
I imagine heaven to be a
really fun place, and a place where there’s no shortage of things to do for all
of eternity. But as much fun as I’d have exploring, the first thing I’m going
to want to do in heaven is not going to be to look for something fun to do.
Because the most important thing about heaven to me is that when I go to heaven
I will be reunited with people I dearly love, and haven’t seen in far too long.
So the first thing I’m going to do when I go to heaven is go look for the
people I love that have passed before me—people like my grandparents. When I
see their faces, I’ll know I’m in heaven.
When you listen to this
morning’s Gospel passage, you can only imagine what it would feel like to be
Mary Magdalene at the moment that Jesus called her by name, and she recognized
her teacher’s voice. You can only imagine, the joy, the wonder, and the
incredible feeling of awe that came over her as she called back, “Rabbouni!”
But really, I think, in that
moment, Mary Magdalene knew exactly what it feels like to see heaven. She was
reunited with the one person she loved more than anyone. She heard the voice of
a man she thought was forever gone. She turned around and saw his face, and in
that moment, she experienced heaven right here on earth.
On Easter Sunday, we rejoice
that we can all feel what Mary Magdalene felt. We all can experience the joy of
heaven, even here on earth. We can feel that joy, that wonder, and that awe,
and we can feel it every single day.
When Jesus overcame the
grave, he overcame death. In the world before Jesus, everyone had to live in
fear of death. All people needed to live in the fear that, when this earthly
life is over, when your body gives out, that that’s the end of your story.
Before Jesus, when you died, that was it for you. You were completely and
eternally separated from all of your loved ones, and even from God.
When Mary Magdalene heard
the voice of Jesus, she knew that wasn’t true anymore, and it never would be
again. Jesus conquered death, and now, she was standing face to face with her
Lord, and nothing could separate them.
Mary Magdalene’s joy on
Easter morning is our joy every single day. We rest in the palm of God’s hand,
and nothing can separate us from him. God tenderly cares for our loved ones the
exact same way, and because of that, even if we can’t see the faces of those
who have passed before us, we are never separated from them. That is the
promise of heaven, and we can rejoice in it every single day, because Jesus
died and lived again for us.
But our joy is greater still
than that. On Easter morning, we rejoice that God has written the end of each
of our stories. God has already written the final page of the book of each of
our lives. God has decided our destiny, and it’s an amazing one: God has
written for us that we have eternal, inextinguishable life, and that we will
spend all of our days loved by him.
Just think about that. That’s
how our story will end. That’s our final outcome. How much time do we waste
worrying about what’s going to happen in our futures? How much of ourselves do
we waste trying to secure a better future for ourselves? How much time do we
spend worrying about our problems? Is there any problem greater than death? Is
there any outcome more final than death? If Jesus can conquer death, then why
do we waste our time worrying about anything else? It’s a lot to take in, but
just think about the burden that God has released us from through his Son,
Jesus. God has taken care of the ending—no matter what, we will have life, and
have it abundantly. And since God’s taken care of the ending, we’re liberated
from death, and we’re free. We have an unlimited lease on life, and an endless
supply of days, and we can use them however we want to. We’ve been set free to
live however we want.
But we have a responsibility
that comes with all of that freedom. It’s up to us, and us alone, to use this
incredible gift of life wisely. It’s our job to make the very most of the life
that Jesus secured for us.
How do we do that? How do
we, the followers of God, make the very most of this incredible gift of life?
By following the example of
our sister in the faith, Mary Magdalene. By following the example of our
brother Peter. By doing as the ten disciples did the day they told Thomas what
they had seen. By following the example of our brother Paul, who reached out to
men and women all around the ancient near east. By bearing witness.
As the beloved of God, we
can bear witness. We can attest to the truth of God’s promises because we have
lived them, and seen them with our own eyes. We can bear witness to God’s
promise of everlasting life. And, often, if you’re going to be a good citizen,
being a witness means being willing to offer up your testimony.
We don’t have to do any of
this—we can do whatever we want. God has set us free. But by acting as
witnesses to God’s miracle of life, by testifying to the truth of God’s
promises for us all, we can affirm our own faith in life, and maybe help
someone else find hope and comfort in God.
So, the question then is,
what’s your testimony? How would you explain the promises of our loving God to
someone who didn’t believe, or who didn’t know, or who didn’t understand? What
does everlasting life mean to you? Why do you believe?
And if that question is too
much, try this one—what brought you to this church? What continues to bring you
here? What have you found here? What has having a relationship with God added
to your life?
We have all seen the risen
Christ. We have all been Mary Magdalene. We have all seen the image of Christ
in one another. We have all seen Jesus because we have all seen the love he
taught us. However that has touched your life, bear witness—because you have
seen the risen Christ, you have seen heaven.
Amen.
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