“While it was Still Dark”
John 20:1-18
Tolstoy has a story about the ever-present threat of death.
A man was running from a bear, and to get away from it he jumps down a dry well, and clings to a small tree growing between the bricks on the side.
But when he looks down, he sees a lion at the bottom of the well waiting for him.
And when he looks back up, he sees that the bear is still there, trying to get to him.
As he hangs there holding onto the small tree, knowing he can’t stay there forever, he sees a rat crawl out on the limb he’s hanging on to, and the rat starts gnawing at the limb.
(pause)
Let’s be real about the elephant in the room.
It’s death and it haunts us all.
That’s why so many of us watch what we eat, exercise, take our vitamins and go see our doctors on a regular basis.
We are running from death.
But, like the man clinging to the tree limb, there is nowhere to run where death won’t get us.
It’s a fact of life we all must face.
(pause)
Our Gospel Lesson starts with this: “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark…”
Easter begins in the darkness.
It begins with fear, bewilderment, sorrow, pain and a profound loss of certainty.
And the fact is that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ happened in total darkness.
You know, even when Christ is Resurrected He shares in our human experience.
And what I mean by that is that Mary was experiencing profound darkness on the first day of that week.
Mary had been with Jesus all the way.
She had seen lives made new, bodies healed, and eyes opened.
She had heard the complaining of the disciples and the criticism of the religious leaders.
She saw how crowds adored Jesus, and those in power hated Him.
And she stood near that cross as they killed Him, and her heart was broken.
Now it was all over.
Her heart was heavy, and in her soul —it was dark.
What would she do now?
Have you ever experienced darkness.
I don’t think it’s possible to be a human being who has lived a little, and not to have experienced darkness.
Some of us experience more than others, but it’s another thing, besides death, we all have in common.
Let’s face it.
We all have days when we stand with our dreams in shambles around our feet.
It could be a divorce or a cheating spouse.
It could be a child who is in trouble or the death of a loved one.
It could be a pink slip or bad news from the doctor.
Have you ever been like, “My life was going so well, and now this!”?
Or perhaps, you’ve never felt that your life was going well.
Perhaps it’s not going well this morning.
(pause)
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark,” God was at work in Mary’s life.
He was making a way where there was no way.
Have no doubt about it, when things get tough—and they will—it doesn’t mean God has abandoned us.
When the darkness comes upon us, God is still working on our behalf.
Remember that when you are at your darkest.
Winston Churchhill spoke at a Boy’s school in England during the most difficult days of World War 2.
He said these words: “Never give up, never give up, never give up, never, never, never.”
After this, he sat down.
When it was reported in the papers, it became the mantra for the British people during the darkest days of the war.
I’ve been a pastor long enough to know that there is heartbreak in every one of these pews and that most of us suffer in silence.
No one is immune to heartache.
Rich or poor, we all carry our own bag of rocks.
In our Gospel Lesson for this morning, Mary Magdalene was the first of Jesus’ followers to go to the tomb, and when she gets there, much to her distress she finds it empty and takes it for granted that someone has stolen Jesus’ body.
She then runs to the other disciples with the terrible, disturbing news.
Peter and John race to the tomb and find it as she has told them.
Then they go back to where they were staying, but Mary stays there, weeping.
She looks back into the tomb and sees two angels; they are sitting where Jesus’ body had been, and while she is speaking with them, Jesus suddenly appears behind her, but she doesn’t recognize Him.
I wonder how often we are deep in despair, and Jesus is right there with us the whole time, but we don’t recognize Him…
…we don’t open ourselves up to His healing, His love, His peace, or His salvation.
God is constantly working to bring light and dispel our dark situations.
There are so many stories of people who are able to have peace—even joy—amidst some of the darkest moments in life because of—and only because of their knowledge of Christ’s presence with them.
I know what this is like, I’ve experienced Jesus with me when I’ve been at the bottom of a pit.
Have you?
It’s the peace that transcends all understanding and the joy that makes no sense outside of a relationship with the Living Christ.
Mary doesn’t recognize Jesus until He says her name.
And Jesus is always saying your name and my name.
Do we hear Him, are we listening for Him?
(pause)
Because of Mary’s recognition of the Resurrected Christ, her life suddenly goes in a different direction and she runs to tell the other disciples the good news.
“I have seen the Lord!” she told them, and with those words she was the first person to witness that Jesus had been raised and death had been defeated.
The elephant in the room had been killed.
No longer do we have to live in darkness.
Jesus, the Light has come.
God in Christ has defeated sin and death.
The cure for death has arrived.
As Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 15: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?...
…thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In this world, we are busy trying to camouflage death.
We put makeup on the corpse to prepare it for viewing, trying to make it appear that the body is not dead but merely sleeping.
But this doesn’t hide the fact of death, nor the fear of death from us.
We deny death with our language as well.
We do not die; we pass away.
We do not die; we cross over.
We do not die; we enter our eternal rest.
And it goes on.
But, with Jesus, Who by His Resurrection has defeated death, we no longer have to avoid it.
Death is dead.
The devil stands defeated.
The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is a distinct event in history.
Think about it.
Mohamed is dead.
The Greek gods have vanished.
Statesmen of the past, politicians, philosophers—they are all dead.
But Jesus is Alive, and those who believe in Him will not die either.
Jesus said in John Chapter 11: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”
And then He adds, “Do you believe this?”
Do you?
Do I?
Easter is not about reciting creeds without really thinking about them.
It’s not about going through the motions while half asleep.
Easter is about having an encounter with the Risen Christ.
It’s about new life.
It’s about transformation.
It’s about the defeat of death by Christ for me and for you—for all who will believe.
It’s about being saved.
(pause)
“One the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.”
I think a lot of us live life as if we are already in a tomb with a stone over the entrance.
Too many of us are living in deep darkness without hope, without a reason to live.
Why is the suicide rate so high?
Why are mass shootings happening nearly every day?
Why are folks so angry?
Why are people so scared?
Until we turn to Jesus when He says our name we are all living in a tomb with a big boulder blocking the exit.
We are all in darkness.
I love how Paul puts it in Ephesians Chapter 2: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient…
…But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions…
…For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
When we turn to Christ, the same power that rolled the stone away from His tomb rolls it away from our’s.
And the light shines in, and the darkness is dispelled…
…and we are made alive with Christ…
…born again, not by human birth but by the Holy Spirit!
Not only was Jesus Christ raised from the dead, He shares His resurrection with all who will believe.
And that’s why He came to earth in the first place.
He came to save us from sin, death and hell.
Do you believe this?
Have you encountered the risen Christ?
He’s alive.
Alleluia!
He is alive.
You don’t have to live in darkness and fear any longer.
You can have peace.
You can have life.
You can have joy.
Because He lives!
