We all know the basic plot of Easter: Jesus rose from the dead. Yet when his followers came to his tomb on Easter morning and saw the stone was rolled back and the tomb empty, none of them understood what had happened. It was not an immediate sign to them that Jesus had risen from the dead just like he said he would. It was so outside the range of human possibilities that they could not grasp it. The early believers had to work their way to faith. It was only after they had encountered his risen presence in the garden, and on the road, and at table that they could begin to grasp what had happened. Today we are blessed to be part of a faith tradition going back 2,000 years. We are blessed with the knowledge that at least ten of the eleven remaining apostles were willing to die a martyr’s death rather than deny that Jesus had appeared to them in bodily form: that he still bore the wounds of his crucifixion yet was able to do very human things like eat bread and fish. Still, each of us has to come to terms with this deep mystery of faith that we celebrate today. Like the first followers of Jesus, we have to work our way to faith. Our culture tries to distract us by turning Easter into a celebration of the three B’s (bunnies, butterflies, and brunch). Some have tried to reframe Easter as a Spring Festival or a celebration of new life in a very generic way. But the Gospels are very specific. This is not some new age, feel good festival. Easter claims that Jesus was killed and then rose from the dead. What might keep us from believing that? Well, let’s look at the experience of three of Jesus’ closest followers on Easter morning: Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the Beloved Disciple (often understood to be John).
On Easter morning Mary Magdalene came to the tomb with one purpose and one purpose alone: to reverence and anoint a dead body. Jesus had changed her life and turned her into one of his most devoted followers. She wanted to show respect to the body of Jesus just as he had shown her respect. In time she would be entrusted with bringing the Good News of the Resurrection to Jesus’ followers, but that was not her first reaction. When she encountered the empty tomb, she went on a quest to find the dead body. Who robbed the grave? Mary is so convinced that Jesus is dead that she does not even recognize him when he is standing in front of her. Mary Magdalene’s problem was that she could not think outside the box. There are dead people and living people and never the two shall mix. She forgot that God created the box along with everything in it. God does not have to play by our rules. For some of us that can be an obstacle to faith. We think that God has to play by our rules. But a God who can only do for us what we could do for ourselves is not much of a God. Yes, it is hard to believe. But that is why one of the gifts of the Spirit is awe and wonder.
Then there are the two apostles, Peter and the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved. Even though Peter entered the empty tomb first, it is The Beloved Disciple who “saw and believed.” Both of them looked at the same evidence (burial clothes folded up, like someone who didn’t need them anymore) but it was the Beloved Disciple who first came to believe that Jesus must be alive. What was the difference? I suspect it was because the Beloved Disciple knew that he was loved. Peter probably was not sure if he was still loved. The Beloved Disciples reclined next to Jesus at the Last Supper and stood with Mary, his mother, at the Foot of the Cross when Jesus was dying. Peter could not stay awake when asked to pray, ran away when Jesus was arrested, and denied even knowing Jesus three times. Peter, I suspect, was blocked by guilt and shame and a sense of failure. Sometimes that is true of us too. We try to push God aside because we feel so unworthy of his love. When we do not believe that we are loved, we often struggle with faith and hope. We live in fear and regret and not in faith and openness to the future. We have a hard time believing that we could be a recipient of a special gift from God.
We live in a world with a lot of fear and with people who exploit that fear. We live in a world that has lost a sense of wonder at God’s creation. Yet we can help change that world, as long as we are not part of the problem ourselves. Easter is a good time to remember that whatever we have done in the past, God still loves us. God does not box us in to our past and neither should we. The Good News of Easter is that the darkness has been overcome by the light of Christ. Now is a good time to let go of our guilt and shame and start living as a real disciple of Christ. It is also a good time to let go of the restrictions we sometimes place of God. Let your hope and imagination run free. Jesus can lead you to a place of life and joy, just as Jesus wants to lead the world from a place of war and violence and selfishness and fear into a place of compassion, understanding, and love. That was a cause worth dying for.
Fr. Joe
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