17th April 2022 (Easter Sunday)
Title: Christ is Risen!
(John 20:1–18 & Acts 10:34–43)
By Heeyoung Lim
Christ is risen!
There are stories of people who died being restored to life in the Bible. In each case, the one who died lived again, but still faced death. The Resurrection we celebrate at Easter is testimony to Jesus the Christ who died, was raised, and will not die again.
Acts 10:34–43 tells us about Peter’s witness to the God revealed in Christ. The gospel is universal, and God does not show favouritism. He invites people from every nation to trust in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation. The gospel makes salvation in Jesus available to anyone who believes in Him. Five times in Acts the apostles speak of witnessing the resurrection. People killed Jesus, but God raised him and showed his risen Son in public to certain chosen witnesses. This risen Lord sent Peter and disciples to testify that Jesus is God’s appointed judge of the living and the dead. Peter proclaimed that everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through His name. This gospel of salvation was not a one-time event; rather God declared that whosoever may come and that will be the very essence of the gospel.
In three other gospels, Mary Magdalene is accompanied by other women to the tomb. In John’s gospel 20, one woman alone comes to the tomb where the body of Jesus is. Mary comes while it is still “dark.” The time of Mary’s arrival may also be seen to mirror both the darkness of her despair and the depth of confusion. “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him”. (13) She grieves and weeps due to the disappearance of his body. We can feel the hurt and longing in a woman who loved a lost beloved.
Mary Magdalene goes alone to the tomb. In the first 11 verses, “tomb” occurs nine times. The scene is a place of death. From verse 12 on, the tomb is not mentioned. An empty tomb is replaced with the Risen Jesus. Peter and the disciple “whom Jesus loved” go to the tomb after hearing Mary’s witness. The minute the beloved disciple hears Mary’s news, he jumps up to see what has happened, arriving at the tomb before Peter. His actions seem perfectly understandable as he always represents the most appropriate way to respond to Jesus and stayed with Jesus all the way to the bitter end.
Peter’s reaction to Mary’s news about an open tomb was instant running to the tomb. We may make some guesses for this. Perhaps guilt motivates Peter to run out the door so that he can say he is sorry for denying Jesus after boasting about his loyalty, for not being present at the cross, for running away from the suffering moment. Or maybe Peter felt a hopeful curiosity.
The empty tomb found by the disciples is a place with potential meaning not yet understood but Risen Christ will transform the disciples who run to it. Two disciples have raced to the tomb with curiosity or hope, but Mary has come to pay grief and homage to one she loved. The disciples see nothing within but empty wrappings and the leaves of one who left, but she sees not only the emptiness but the angels who give a message of Jesus’ presence when she looks in.
Peter and John believed Mary’s word that someone had taken Jesus, but they returned home without staying outside the tomb unlike Mary. They found strips of linen and reacted with hesitation and uncertainty. Belief in resurrection does not come from an empty tomb itself, it comes in a restored relationship. When it comes to spiritual truth, may we be prepared to believe what we have not seen. I hope that we can know the difference between noticing something in God’s Word and perceiving it.
Mary remains at the tomb, outside. When she looks inside the tomb, grave clothes do not grab her attention. The tomb is no longer empty! There are “two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet”. When they ask her why she is crying, she persists in her assumption that a heist has occurred. Mary backs out of the tomb, turns around, and encounters a human figure. She thinks it is the “gardener”, but He is Risen Christ. Her assumption was wrong, but she went to the tomb, turned around from where she was, and finally encountered Risen Christ. In Christ, going, turning around, and encountering are necessary in our lives.
Jesus calls her by name: “Mary!” Now she is face to face with Jesus. We remember that when Jesus was teaching in Jerusalem before his death, he said, “I am the good shepherd,” who “calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (10:11). They follow him because they “know his voice” (10:4). Jesus called Mary by name for her to recognize Him. Jesus asks Mary, “Whom are you looking for?” Mary meets Risen Christ with great joy, and Jesus tells her to go to the others with a message. (17) Mary spreads the gospel, “I have seen the Lord!” Mary is the first witness to the Resurrection and an apostle as “one sent forth”. Mary was sent by the Risen Christ. The surprise of resurrection prepares disciples for surprising witnesses.
Our story and experience in faith cannot be anchored in the past. Risen Christ calls her by name to announce to the disciples and by extension to all who would believe a new creation, resurrection, and an unimaginable future. The good news that she reports to the disciples is significant, but only the beginning of an ongoing revelation of what resurrection might mean.
Jesus commissions her to go and tell what she has seen. Some theologians and scholars remind us that the resurrection narratives are really commission stories, sending believers out into the world to tell everyone that death is not the last word. Otherwise, no one would ever know what happened, and Easter would be just a reunion story with tears and hugs all around. However, Mary obeys the risen Jesus and leaves the garden to tell what she knows to be true. Mary speaks, and in her speaking, we find our own voice. May we go and tell people about Risen Christ with words and action.
The scene evidenced God’s work in delivering his Son from death. We are invited to be witnesses of the Risen Christ and have been sent by the Lord to present Him to the world. Faithful followers of Jesus today continue to tell the good news of Easter. Mary Magdalene was first, and we are invited to continue the message. When God sends us to do His work, may we go without hesitation. Risen Christ is among us. Full acknowledgement of the resurrection means taking our eyes off the empty tomb and placing them on the Lord. I hope we can open our hearts to receive the risen Christ with hope in the new life God promised. May our Risen Christ calm our fears and free our speaking of verbal and non-verbal language for all to hear.
Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to look for Jesus. Where do we find ourselves looking for Jesus? “I have seen the Lord,” Mary tells the disciples. She is the first to announce the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. Today, we are called, like Mary, to share this good news with the world, to help others experience hope and see a new thing happening around us. We have journeyed from the dust of Ash Wednesday to the empty tomb on Easter morning. The Easter season is a time of joy! A time for change! It’s a time when we recommit ourselves to our church community and the importance of serving God and serving others. May we bear witness to the risen Christ in a hurting world. May there be many examples of new life and renewal in our faith community. Christ is Risen.
“The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”
Thanks be to God! Amen.
(Ref. Bible, commentaries, theological books, UCA materials)
