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| Mary Magdalene, the Apostles to the Apostles, shows us the truth: God finds us even when we are sad, grieving, confused, angry, and lost. And that is very good news! |
This sermon was preached on Easter morning at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Apostles in Hoover, AL. You may watch a video of it here. (If you are wanting to laugh you may also check out my notes for the Children’s sermon version at the bottom of this post).
Holy God, may my words be your words and when my words are not your words, may your people be wise enough to know the same. Amen.
Alright, friends, since it is Easter morning, a day when God pulled the ultimate practical joke on separation, death, and even us humans, I think we should begin with a few jokes.
First:
What is faster than Peter on Easter morning?
Well according to today’s Gospel writer, John, the beloved disciple, himself… and according to everyone, Mary Magdalene. She was faster than both of them.
Second:
How do dinosaurs celebrate Easter?
They don’t. They’re eggs-tinct.
And one more, not Easter themed, but still religious:
What do you call a monk on an airplane?
An Air Friar.
Now those are some pretty silly jokes. But Easter is actually the perfect day for a little laughter, because Easter is the day when God surprises everybody.
On Good Friday, it looked like the cruel and powerful people had won… like sadness had won… like pain had won… like death had won.
But then on Easter morning, God said, “Not so fast.” That is what happened in the Gospel story, I just read a minute ago.
Very early in the morning, while it is still dark, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb where Jesus had been laid. She loves Jesus. She wants to be near him. She is sad. She is grieving. And when she gets there, she sees that the stone has been rolled away.
Now when Mary sees that, she does not say, “Hooray! Resurrection!” Nope. She thinks something has gone wrong. So she runs. She runs to find Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. And then they start running too.
And this is one of the funniest little parts of the whole Bible, I told as a joke about it a moment ago. It’s funny because John makes sure to tell us that the other beloved disciple got there first.
It is like John is saying, “Yes, yes, this is the greatest story ever told... but also, just so everyone knows, I beat Peter in a footrace.” I love that.
Because it reminds us that the people in the Bible were real people. Holy people, yes. Faithful people, yes. But also human people. A little competitive. A little funny. Just like us.
So they run to the tomb. One gets there first. Peter goes inside. The other disciple sees and begins to believe. But here is the important part: they still do not fully understand.
And that matters, because sometimes we get it and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we understand what God is doing. Sometimes we don’t. Sometimes life makes sense. Sometimes it really does not. But in those confusing moments, we are in good company because Mary does not get it at first either.
After Peter and the other disciple leave, Mary stays behind. She stays in the garden. She stays near the tomb. She stays with her sadness. She is crying. She is confused. She is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
Have you ever had one of those? Maybe you dropped your ice cream on the ground. Maybe your best friend told you they were not your best friend anymore. Maybe the shoe store did not have the shoes in your size. Maybe you got homework on a Friday. Maybe your team didn’t win the big game. Maybe you lost someone you love very much. Mary is in one of those moments.
She is crying, and then she turns around and sees Jesus standing there, but she does not know it is Jesus. She thinks he is the gardener. And friends, that is another funny moment. She is wrong. But she is also a little bit right.
Because in a way, Jesus is the gardener. He is the Good Gardener of our souls. He is the one who brings life out of dead places. He is the one who plants hope where there was only sadness. He is the one who helps love grow again.
But Mary still does not know it is him. And then Jesus says just one word. He says, “Mary.” Her name. And suddenly she knows. It is Jesus. The risen Christ. Alive.
And I think that is one of the most beautiful parts of the whole Easter story: Jesus meets Mary not when she is cheerful, not when she has it all figured out, not when she is at her best, but when she is crying. When she is confused. When she is hurting. When she feels lost.
That is when Jesus comes to her. And that is good news for us too. Because God meets us not only when we are happy. Not only when we understand everything. Not only when we are doing our best. God is with us then, yes.
But God is also with us when we are sad. When we are grieving. When we are confused. When we are having a no good, very bad day.
Sometimes, in those moments, what we need most is to slow down and listen. Not just with our ears. But with what the Church calls the ears of our heart. That means the quiet place inside us where we feel things, where we notice love, where we learn what is bearing good fruit and what is not, where we can hear God speaking most clearly.
Mary stayed still long enough to hear Jesus call her name. And here is the really amazing thing: Mary is the first one to meet the risen Jesus. Mary is the first one sent to tell the others. She is the apostle to the apostles. We are here today, in part, because of her witness.
Because she stayed. Because she listened. Because she heard her name.
And her story teaches us something beautiful: Even when everything seems to be going as badly as it possibly could... God is still with us. Even when we are sad. Even when we are scared. Even when we are confused. Even when we do not understand.
God is with us, sweetly, lovingly, calling each of us by name. And that is Easter. Jesus is alive. Love is stronger than death. And the risen Christ still calls his people by name.
And for that, thanks be to God. Amen.
