“Easter in Isolation”
John 20:1-20
As we celebrate Easter this morning, many of us might feel a bit anxious and isolated due to the restrictions put in place to try and stop the spread of the Corona Virus.
Across the nation, nonessential businesses have been shut, schools have been closed, and public gatherings are banned.
It’s like living in a Sci-Fi novel.
There can be no doubt about it, Easter in the year 2020 is not Easter as usual.
So, how can we, celebrate and rejoice together on this Easter morning?
Is it a little bit of a bummer?
For me, my favorite worship service of the year has always been the Easter Sunrise Service.
There is always a sparse crowd of the really faithful.
We huddle together, with the dew still wet on the grass, shivering as we begin singing: “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” and then things start to warm up.
And the sun begins to rise.
And we celebrate—we really, really celebrate together in a, simple, loving intimate—almost ecstatic way.
And once the Service is over—we are all wide awake and raring to go.
And I think that is because, when we encounter the Living Jesus, everything changes.
In our Gospel Lesson for this morning, we are confronted with a roller-coaster of emotions, perhaps, kind of like what many of us are facing today.
Our story begins in darkness.
And in a very real way, Mary herself was feeling socially isolated.
After-all, here she was, coming to a tomb, by herself in the darkness.
The pain she was experiencing was beyond description.
What she had experienced on Friday was blazing through her.
She had watched as Jesus Christ, her Lord and Savior—her best friend, was beaten, nailed to a Cross and left to bleed and suffocate alone and eventually die.
His body had been taken down and instead of leaving it for the birds to peck and the dogs to eat, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had gone to Pilate and asked for it.
They wrapped it in spices with strips of linen and laid it in a tomb—where it would stay—all by itself.
Then a large stone was rolled over the entrance—sealing it.
Saturday was the Sabbath.
The day no one could work.
And what an awful day that must have been for the followers of Jesus.
What a feeling of loneliness and despair must have come upon them and threatened to swallow them up.
They must have felt so helpless…
…so confused…
…in shock, really.
They had heard Jesus tell them that He would be arrested and killed—but they had never really believed it would actually happen.
It seemed to awful to be true.
After-all, they had dropped everything in order to follow Jesus—their jobs, their dreams, all their plans.
They had been with Him for 3 amazing years.
They had heard Him talk about God and watched Him love in ways no one had loved before.
He had fed 5,000 people with a few fish and a couple loaves of bread.
He had healed the sick.
He had raised the dead.
He had made the insane sane.
He had become their hope in the midst of the despair of this life.
He was the missing piece of the puzzle.
And now He was dead and gone—forever.
How could they go on?
Was life even worth living anymore?
Can you imagine the darkness?
Can you imagine the pain?
Can you imagine the feelings of hopelessness and despair?
Perhaps some of you can.
Perhaps some of you are feeling that way this morning.
Every Wednesday, at 1215 p.m. during this Pandemic, we are having a Red Bank Community Prayer Gathering on the Red Bank, Tennessee Friends and Neighbors Facebook Page.
It’s been very meaningful to me and I pray it has for those who participate as well.
This past Wednesday, Rev. Gregg Hauss of Red Bank Baptist Church shared a request.
A former member of his church died Tuesday night from the Corona Virus.
Boy, doesn’t that bring it close to home?
All of us are living in a whole new reality right now.
It’s like nothing we have ever seen nor experienced.
T-V anchors are broadcasting from their homes.
People are walking the streets with face-masks on.
We aren’t supposed to have parties.
Kids can’t have friends over.
The entire world is in “sheltered in place.”
And for those who live alone, the feelings are even more stark.
Many of us experience most of our social interactions with family, co-workers, friends and church.
Most of these things are not available right now, and we don’t know when they will return.
So, how are we to celebrate the Resurrection while many of us are isolated and anxious?
On that first Easter morning, Mary Magdalene stood outside Jesus’ tomb crying.
She had come to mourn and show her respects to the One Who had meant everything in the world to her, but when she got there, the stone had been rolled away and the tomb was empty.
Now, not only was she empty and alone, so was Jesus’ tomb.
How could this be happening?
Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse…
…Someone or some group of someone’s had stolen Jesus’ body.
Oh, the unimaginable darkness of it all.
But then, there is something else in there as well, is there not?
As Mary wept, she bent down and looked inside the tomb one more time.
And what she saw were two angels inside sitting where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and one at the feet.
The angels asked Mary why she was crying.
“They have taken my Lord away,’ she said, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’”
And at this, we are told that she “turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize it was Jesus.”
She wasn’t looking for a Living Jesus.
She had come looking for an unrecognizable dead body…
…the way Jesus had looked when He hung on the Cross.
She thought Jesus was the gardener.
The ordinary.
The only person she would have expected to see around a tomb that early in the morning.
But Jesus called her name.
And when He did, she allowed her eyes to refocus and everything changed.
Have you heard Jesus calling your name?
If so, have you allowed your eyes to refocus and have the new discovery change everything?
Throughout His ministry, Jesus ministered to people who were isolated, often breaking the rules of social boundaries.
In Mark Chapter 5, Jesus casts demons out of a man who had been isolated from society.
He had been living alone in the tombs.
When the townsfolk found Him with Jesus, we are told that he was dressed and in his right mind—sitting at Jesus’ feet.
He was a brand-new person, and had been re-integrated into the community.
In John Chapter 4, Jesus is traveling through Samaria.
While resting near a well, a woman comes along—who has been isolated from her community.
She is surprised when Jesus speaks to her, let alone asks her for a drink of water.
Jesus and the woman become involved in a lengthy conversation, which eventually leads to her integration back into her community as she leads others to Christ.
Whenever you feel isolated and alone, remember that Jesus has a special place in His heart for the widows, the orphans, the lepers, the blind, the prisoners, those living alone on the margins of society.
And Jesus has experienced the ultimate isolation Himself—when hanging on the Cross He cried out: “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”
He did that for you.
He did that for me.
He can relate to whatever we are going through; He has compassion and empathy.
So, again, how are we to celebrate Easter in these isolated and anxious times?
Well, I read a little longer into the Easter story this morning than I usually do.
For we moved all the way from Easter morning to Easter evening.
And we find, on Easter evening that the disciples gathered behind locked doors, afraid, anxious and isolated.
And they weren’t sequestering themselves for health reasons, but because they were afraid that their own leaders would come after them the way they’d come after Jesus.
And so, they were “sheltering in place,” feeling isolated and afraid.
And then, “Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’”
Then, “he showed them his hands and side…”
And… “The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”
Are you feeling isolated and anxious this Easter morning?
It’s true that we can’t celebrate Easter in the way we usually do this year, but the Bible reminds us that the risen Christ doesn’t need the traditional trappings of Easter in order to appear and be present in our lives—and neither do His disciples.
Instead, like it always is, Jesus comes to us in our loneliness.
Jesus comes to us in our tears.
Jesus comes to us in our fear and anxiety.
He stands among us, as He is doing right now and lovingly and compassionately whispers: “Peace be with you!”
Even though it may not seem like it, things are going to be alright.
And that is because Jesus Christ has risen from the dead!
Death has been swallowed up in victory!
The tomb is empty!
God is with us always and forever.
And that is all that really matters, when it comes down to it.
We may not be together in one place this Easter morning, but we are not alone.
Jesus’ triumph over the darkness, the loneliness of death is our hope.
It brings us new life, if we will believe.
It overcomes our isolation and fear.
We are not alone!
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
