United
Presbyterian ChurchUnited
Presbyterian Church 2360
Longwood Ave., Reedsport, OR
97467 (541) 271-3214
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GOSPEL: John 20:1-18 1. 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. 2. 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.” 3. Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went
toward the tomb. 4. The two were running together, but the other
disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5. He bent down to
look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.
6. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw
the linen wrappings lying there, 7. and the cloth that had been on
Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place
by itself. 8. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also
went in, and he saw and believed; 9. for as yet they did not understand
the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10. Then the disciples
returned to their homes. 11. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As
she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12. 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. 13. 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.” 14. When she had said this, she
turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it
was Jesus. 15. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are
you looking for?” 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.” 16. Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and
said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17. 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.’ “ 18. 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. |
Sermon for Easter Sunday, April 16, 2016
In those days people believed that
a dead person’s spirit hung around the tomb for three days, so it was a custom
to visit a tomb during that time to pay respects, but believe me, nothing shouts
out more loudly that death is final than visiting the grave of a loved one.
That’s
probably why Mary didn’t recognize the risen Jesus; He just simply couldn’t be
there.
That’s what makes the resurrection so wonderful—it tells
us physical death need not be the end at all; that there is something more,
something grander, something beyond this vale of tears.
The expression, “vale of tears” is
a specifically Christian term referring to the tribulations of life—especially
prior to our modern era.
There’s an ancient myth of a great Sultan who asked
his Grand Scribe to compile a history of humanity. After years of toil the
Scribe came to the Sultan with a caravan of donkeys carrying over 500 volumes.
The angry Sultan told his Scribe: “Condense it! Shorten it! Cut it down!” The
Scribe replied, “Sir, all of these volumes can be reduced to a single sentence
that tells the story of all mankind—they were born, they suffered and they
died.”
Today, however, though life is
easier—easier for some than for others, even for those of us who appear to have
it made, life has tribulations. The plain truth is that in every life there’s
tribulation,
BUT there is also joy.
Mary’s great sorrow turned to joy.
The apostles and the other women’s sorrow turned to
Joy.
I have seen people in church sob because they had a great
epiphany that brought tears of joy—and peace.
We’re all different and have
differing experiences and different types of tribulation.
Some of us are well off and seem to have no reason
for complaint—at least in the eyes of those who don’t know what our lives are
really like. But then again, most of the world, including in the US, actually go
to bed hungry.
How would you like to live in Syria?
Hunger and war are terrible tribulations to
undergo, but there are different kinds of suffering and sorrow—an unhappy
marriage makes life miserable.
Alcoholics and those around them, they’re
miserable.
Many of us suffer because of our children—they may be
sick, or disobedient, or on drugs.
Some of us suffer tribulation because we’re old; we
hurt, we rely on others or we’re alone.
Suffering takes many forms.
This morning John said that the
angel asked Mary, “Woman, why do you
weep?”
Why?
Because she was undergoing the tribulation of loss.
For the first time in recorded history, the Resurrection showed people
first-hand that life doesn’t necessarily end with death—only the suffering ends.
Some occupation see more suffering
than the rest of humanity—policemen, firemen, doctors and nurses.
Sometime even pastors.
There are times simply looking at a person reveals
more than we want to see.
A while back a woman came in and I and saw three
things in her face: she was tired, she was discouraged, and she was depressed.
When I asked how she was doing, she choked back
tears as she said, “Sometimes things are really hard.
But I know I have to be strong and just keep on
going.”
Life can be unbearably hard.
The loss of a loved is especially hard—most
especially if it is one of our children. It hurts unbearably, and knowing that
we will see them again down the road doesn’t help at all.
We miss them now.
We hurt now.
We want them NOW!
What all of us must remember is
this: we don’t understand the workings of God’s universe.
But through Jesus’ life, we get a brief glimpse of
the true mind of God.
Through Jesus, God revealed His true love for us.
He revealed His grace and His selflessness.
I’ve learned that God throws a
much wider loop than we give Him credit for.
(My story of the rope.)
A good example of the “Wider Loop”
that God throws came from a Christian counselor named Dennis Linn.
A woman name Hilda was crying because her son had
tried to commit suicide and was involved in drugs, prostitution and much worse.
After listing her son’s sins she said, "What bothers me the most is my son
saying he wants nothing to do with God. What will happen to him if he dies
wanting nothing to do with God?"
The counselor’s image of God was
that God was strict and vengeful; He was all about punishment and consequences.
So, what he thought was, "God will probably send your son to hell." But he
didn't say that.
Instead, he asked, "What do you think?"
She replied, "I think when you die, you appear before
the judgment seat of God. If you’ve lived a good life, God will send you to
heaven. If you’ve lived a bad life, God will send you to hell." She concluded,
"Since my son has lived such a bad life, if he were to die without repenting God
would certainly send him to hell."
The counselor mentally agreed, but
didn't want to say so. So he used a strategy learned in seminary: when you don't
know how to solve a theological problem, let God do it. So told Hilda, "Close
your eyes. Imagine that you are sitting next to the judgment seat of God.
Imagine also that your son has died with all these serious sins and without
repenting. Your son has just arrived at the judgment seat of God.
Squeeze my hand when you can imagine that."
After a few minutes, Hilda
squeezed his hand. The counselor asked, "How does your son feel?" She answered,
"My son feels so lonely and empty." Then he asked Hilda what
SHE would do. She said, "I want to
throw my arms around my son." And she lifted her arms and started to cry as she
imagined herself holding her son tightly.
Finally, when she had stopped crying Linn asked her to
look into God's eyes and watch what God wanted to do. And she saw God step down
from the throne and embrace her son. Then the three of them, Hilda, her son, and
God, cried together and held one another.
God loves us all and throws a wider loop than we give
Him credit for and God truly mourns the lost sheep. Think of the story of the
prodigal son.
For a moment, think about the
person in your life who loves you the most?
God loves you at least that much!
That’s why the tomb is empty.
God wants to give YOU life beyond life.
He was willing to suffer and die to make that
possible.
His resurrection was to prove it.
Amen
Trust him when dark doubts assail
you.
Trust him when your faith is
small,
Trust him when simply to trust him
Is the hardest thing of all.