John 20:1-18
Paonia United Methodist Church
April 20, 2003
Death is an unpleasant subject.
No matter how you look at it,
There is nothing good about the idea of growing old and dying.
I think I have told you before about the day that I became an “old people.”
For those of you who have not heard this before,
It bears repeating.
I was walking across the parking lot with two children
While I was the youth pastor during seminary.
Redeemer was a very casual church,
And many of the adults as well as the youth showed up for church in jeans
And casual clothing.
However, when I began,
I dressed in a suit.
Anyway, I was walking through the parking lot with two of the kids.
Brian, a 12 year old commented…
“Man, you sure do dress up for church.”
“Well Brian,” I responded, after I have been here for a while,
maybe I won’t dress up so much.
At this point, his 8 year old sister Katie chimed in…
“Oh, that’s okay. All the old people dress up!”
So, at 23, I became an old people…
It has been down hill ever since.
It’s a great story, isn’t it?
Its I have to tell you, I love to hear people groan when I tell them I got old at 23.
But again, back to my original statement, like it or not,
Your body will eventually fail,
And the day will come that you will die.
I suspect that on this high holy day of the Christian calendar year,
That may not come as good news.
After all, how many times have you stood at the foot of the grave
And felt anything but grief?
Yet, this morning’s story is a story that is a completely unexpected graveside story.
It is a story unlike any other.
It is a story about cheating…
No… better yet…
Defeating death itself.
How fitting it is that on this great festival of Easter,
the Bible readings assigned by the church should be so powerful as they are today.
People of God, I am going to ask you to do something a little different
this morning.
As we hear the Gospel this morning…
I want you to take your shoes off…
For we are standing on holy ground.
John 20:1-18
1 Early on 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. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!"
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
10Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"
14"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don’t know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
16Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ’I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ "
18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.
This is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
People of God, we are standing on holy ground.
The stone rolled away from the empty tomb on Easter Day
is the greatest event and mystery in the history of mankind.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is God’s greatest miracle.
It is not great simply because Jesus was raised from the dead…
After all remember that Jesus also raised his friend Lazarus from the dead as well.
No…
What make this the greatest miracle is not that he only came back from the dead…
But Jesus defeated death, hell, and the grave...
And he brought us with him.
That’s the miracle.
But, what comes as a surprise to me,
And I suspect to the people that were there that day was
That even after they had been told this was coming,
They were still completely unprepared for it.
Jesus took every opportunity to tell them about His impending death.
And He was also careful to tell them of His Resurrection.
He told them that, yes, they would see Him betrayed.
Yes, they would see Him condemned to die.
Yes, they would see Him beaten, bruised, and bloodied.
And they would see Him crucified.
He told them all of these things were coming.
And they still were unprepared for it.
Even early in His ministry he told them,
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
so also must the Son of man be lifted up.”
So what does this mean?
Well, the bronze serpent was a symbol of judgment for sin,
and was lifted on a pole, which is exactly how Jesus died.
He warned them repeatedly that He would die, and would be in the heart of the earth.
“Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale 3 days and 3 nights,
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth.”
Why is that important?
Because just as the whale could not hold Jonah when God
ordered His release, neither could death or the grave
hold Jesus when God commanded His release!
He had told them, “I lay down my life.
No man takes it from me. I have the power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it up again.”
Jesus did not conceal His death, or His Resurrection.
But throughout that entire weekend, the disciples were terrified,
the women were weeping, and the earth was sorrowful.
Even though Jesus had done everything possible to prepare his followers for this moment,
They still were completely unprepared.
They were people without hope because in the darkness,
They had forgotten the promises made to them.
They were in utter despair.
Then something happened…
Sunday came.
And they stood together on Holy Ground.
The first Easter morning had arrived…
The tomb was empty…
And they believed.
Suddenly, all the promises, all the time together, all the preparations that Jesus had made
Finally came together.
And they believed.
People of God,
The grave is like that.
It’s the biggest mystery of all.
And when we stand before it,
No matter the amount of preparation,
We still stand before it feeling completely inadequate,
cheated, and unprepared.
Its like a giant cosmic mistake has just happened.
But the reality is that you, and I, and everyone else will one day face it.
But today, this day, this first Easter, something was different.
The stone was gone, the dead was alive again, and Jesus was with them.
And all the promises came back to life.
Jesus Christ, through his suffering and death
Conquered sin.
Through his sacrifice, we are justified before God.
Through his resurrection,
We are assured that the promise is real.
If God has the power to raise his Son from the dead,
He has the power to raise us as well.
The promises that Jesus made all came true…
And the people who watched him murdered were the same
That testified to his resurrection.
That’s what Holy Ground is about.
Its not about a building.
Its not about a church or denomination.
Holy Ground is about experiencing God’s promises coming to life.
This morning, as we gather at the mouth of the empty tomb,
We stand on Holy Ground.
We recognize that the promises God has made to us are real.
Jesus is alive and is among us.
This morning we stand on Holy Ground because the invitation to the empty
Tomb continues to be received by those gathered here today to worship…
And by the new covenants that will be made today by those who will come
Forward to be baptized, confirmed, and join this worshipping community.
Today, in this Holy place, on this Holy Ground, we form this covenant between God
And those who have been called to receive this gift…
But also you here today are called to be people of God’s covenant.
The covenant we make today is between the person coming forward, God, and the church.
It is a three fold promise.
God’s gift of salvation to mankind.
That person’s reception of the gift…
And your promise to be a Christian influence in this person’s life.
You are a part of the promise.
You are a part of God’s plan of salvation.
You are Christ’s hands and feet in this world.
And this is where the covenant takes place.
This is Holy Ground.
For those of you who are visiting with us today,
Or have not been particularly regular,
Let me share something with you…
A visioning committee met a few months back and talked about
Releasing the Holy Spirit in this church and following
Where he leads us.
We came up together with a vision.
You have already heard it this morning.
Our vision is to build followers of Jesus Christ by Sharing and Growing Together in Faith.
We are living that out.
That’s what we are gathered here to do this morning.
Those of you who are visiting with us this morning,
We welcome you and invite you to walk with us
In our journey together in faith.
If you have not received the gift God has for you,
It is here, in this Holy place.
And through baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
you are invited to be a part of it.
If you would like to receive the gift of Jesus Christ, please come forward
with the group about to be Baptized, and be baptized in his name.
It does not mean you have to join this church.
It is simply receiving the gift that Christ was willing to die to give you.
People of God,
We stand together on Holy Ground.
Let us covenant together…
Begin baptismal service.
