John 20:1-18
“Run and Tell”
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Way In
Greeting
Sentences of scripture
He is not here, for he has been raised (Matthew)
When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back (Mark)
Why do you look for the living among the dead? (Luke)
Traditional greeting: The Lord is risen. He is risen, indeed.
I want to thank you all for keeping the Lent and Holy Week vigil
when you were able, you came and worshipped
Sundays of Lent
Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday
I pray that you have been able to prepare for this day …
your private devotional and spiritual formation times
scripture reading, reflection, and prayer
have come looking for Jesus”
As we come to the day for which we have been waiting
It is my great joy to greet you again in the name of our risen Lord
He has risen! He has risen, indeed!
There are three things I notice in today’s gospel reading from John
one of the facts all 4 gospels agree on:
it was the women who first discovered Jesus was not in the tomb
and the women went to tell the others…
In today’s gospel reading, we meet the evangelists (the tellers of the Good News) to the evangelists…
Mary, who discovered that Jesus had risen like he said he would
Mary, who “ran to tell” the others about Jesus
“Run and tell”
that’s what people of faith do when they witness the greatest miracle
you can’t keep this to yourself
you’ve got to go … run and tell
And when you feel that good about something, or you learn something so exciting …
you know what it’s like to want to … run and tell
too good to keep to yourself
just can’t wait to go and tell somebody about it
finally got a good grade in math
your “crush” at school finally paid attention to you
you got a new puppy, a new car, a new job
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Tell The Story
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb
Early in the morning, while it was still dark
but it was not so dark that she could not see that the stone had been removed from the doorway to the tomb
She ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one that Jesus loved (John)
Said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
The disciples, Peter and the other one, went to the tomb
They were running together, but the other one outran Peter
He bent down to look but did not go in
Then Simon Peter came and he went in, and saw the linens rolled up and put away
Then the other disciple went in, he saw and believed
But what he believed was that Jesus’ body was gone
He must not have believed yet that he had risen
Scripture says that they did not understand that he must rise from the dead
so they returned to their homes
went their separate ways
believing that the grave had been robbed
While all this was going on, Mary stood weeping outside the tomb
she looked into the tomb and saw two angels
Angels asked why she was crying
“They have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him.
Mary turned and saw Jesus, but she did not know it was him, she thought he was the gardener
Jesus asked, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?”
Mary said, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where he is, and I will take care of the body.”
Greek translated here as “Sir,” other times “Lord” or “Master.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
called her by name
“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (Jn. 10:3)
he told her not to hold on to me for I have not yet ascended to the Father
the risen Jesus cannot be held or controlled
what he is up to from now on, is way out of their hands
Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.”
“And she told them what he had said to her.”
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So What?
The word for us today is Mary’s faithful response
Mary had come to the tomb
and she finds the tomb empty, just like he said
overwhelmed, flabbergasted
but Mary goes to tell – she evangelizes, she testifies to what she has seen
With Mary, and the others, we have seen him
And with Mary, our response is our testimony,
to tell the good news
that Christ has risen,
he has risen indeed
and that is our testimony
that we have witnessed the new life in Christ
as he promised
and this good news is too good to keep it a secret
As Jesus taught his followers, he has taught us about being faithful followers
He has taught us how to love, and how to proclaim love to a broken and hurting world
Jesus has promised never to leave us alone
Walking with us even through the darkest path
Our Lord has promised us, even though he must go to the cross and to the tomb, he will arise, breaking the bonds of sin and death
Therefore, when we go to the worst place, the darkest tomb
There we will find the risen Lord
Waiting for us, expecting to see us
He calls us by name, the name our mother called us
Our best response for the good news of the Living Christ is Mary’s response
To acknowledge Jesus as Lord, Rabbouni
Then go and tell the others the Good News, “I have seen the Lord.”
It is through the sharing of this Good News that we become the community God is calling us to
opening our hearts and minds to new friends Jesus brings us
being witnesses to and agents of his saving love
Speaking truth to power and proclaiming the power of love and peace over hate and violence
I think that is why you are here – it’s why we are here
We sense something new for us in God, a better way to …
Deal with our wounds and brokenness
Reconcile with a neighbor, or somebody who hurt us
Welcome Jesus who comes to us in the form of a stranger
We come to church to seek connection with others who are trying to get along as people of faith …
and to connect with others who, like us, want to find the meaning for their life,
who want to make a difference
This can be scary
Committing to new people
Committing to new ways of doing things
Committing to new ways of spending our time
Esp. in a small church
if I seem too eager, will I get put in charge of something?
will I get burned out?
Maybe we expect to find the tomb still closed, maybe we hope to find the tom still closed – so we’re off the hook
it’s not all that – not all Jesus promised
it’s all over, we can go back to life as we knew it before
Sometimes out of our fear of the unknown or of admitting our own timidity – we show up fearful, maybe looking for something wrong to rationalize our bailing out – hoping the tomb is still closed
“Oops. Too bad. See, I knew that wouldn’t work. Oh well, at least I gave it a shot. At least I showed up.”
In this day, there are those who approach church as a consumer – looking for customer service … to be served by the church.
And in such cases, there is always disappointment
If you are looking for a place where…
everything’s in perfect Christian order…you will be disappointed
the pastor always remembers everything you’re worried about, and always calls you on your birthday, and seems to always know the best thing to say, or the perfect solution to every problem … you will be disappointed
everything in the building always works like a charm, and everything’s right where you can find it…you will be disappointed
You will always find neat and tidy answers to every theological question you have…you will be disappointed
You will find formulas for “How to be a winning Christian,” “How to get enough Jesus to have a new Cadillac,” “How to be the perfect Godly Parent” …you will be disappointed
Conclusion
But if you are looking for a place where …
You will find companions for a spiritual journey…the stone will be rolled away
You will find ears that are willing to listen to your dreams and fears…the stone will be rolled away
You can witness the power in the reconciling love of Jesus Christ who poured himself out for each of us…the stone will be rolled away
you can serve the Lord by practicing mercy and generosity…the stone will be rolled away
I am convinced that God is calling the women and men in this faith community to build each other up, to learn from his word and from one another how to be the beloved community
Made up of imperfect human beings who believe that God loves us just as we are, and He loves us too much to let us stay like that.
This is the place where I hope you can hear this if you hear nothing else I say.
God loves you – say it again. God loves you
There is a family being made here among the children of God, and if you choose to receive His invitation – it’s where you belong.
Spring is coming…at least that’s what the calendar says. Life will get busy. Nevertheless, remember who you are, and who you belong to.
God is calling us to a new way of being community
It’s different
It’s even scary
But as we approach our calling from God
let us see that the stone is rolled away
and let our fear and joy drive us into the outstretched arms of God’s perfect love in Jesus Christ
where we learn our true calling as members of the body of Christ
the church, where we are taught by Jesus not to expect to be served, but to serve
and in that serving, we will know his presence among us
and as we serve him, we serve one another, even neighbors, even strangers
and the fear of the unknown (or the different) no longer shackles us, but is overshadowed by the joy that comes in being part of the body that is learning together and discovering our purpose together…
that it does begin with you…
and me…
and us, in the name of Jesus Christ, and for his sake.
Run and tell
So may it be with us. Amen.