Dear Friends in Christ, grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

A class of second graders had just learned Jesus’ seven last words from the cross. No, they were not the last seven words of the church, “We never did it that way before.” No, now they were interested in Jesus’ first words on Easter morning.  So who better to turn to than the young pastor. “Oh, Pastor, what did Jesus say right after he was raised from the dead?”  The pastor hemmed and hawed and began to explain the significance of the question, when the enthusiastic hand of one little girl shot up.  “I know what he said, Pastor,” she insisted.  “And what was that?” he asked.  She stood up proudly. “Tah-dah!” the girl exclaimed.  Obviously, they hadn’t been reading St. John’s gospel.

All four of the gospels tell the story of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. They all follow the journey of the women who went to the tomb early on Easter morning to anoint Jesus’ body with precious spices and myrrh. St. John, however, suggests that only Mary Magdalene journeyed to the tomb.  The evangelist doesn’t write that she was preparing the oils and perfumes to anoint his body.  He doesn’t even mention the other women. Instead, Mary goes alone.  Truthfully Mary Magdalene is barely mentioned in John’s gospel until now, and when she came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed, she didn’t shout, “Christ is risen!” The darkness was still upon her. So she ran to Simon Peter and John and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”  Immediately, the two of them ran to the tomb, and John stood outside, while Simon Peter went in. He saw the linen wrappings lying there. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

St. John’s gospel poignantly captures the wonder and mystery of that first Easter morning and every Easter since then. Sometimes, the stone is still blocking our vision of the mystery of the resurrection.  At other times we find ourselves excited and racing to the tomb to see if the good news is true and seeing the empty tomb is enough.  Still, there are moments when we have to search deeper into the tomb to discover the abandoned linen cloths that help us to believe. And then, there are the moments when death and sorrow are so great that we remain outside alone and saddened, and we confuse Jesus for the gardener.

The two disciples, who hid in the city of Jerusalem on that dark and fateful Sabbath, thought that everything had ended in tragedy, so when Mary Magdalen came and told them that their teacher’s body was gone, they were even more disturbed. John and Simon Peter headed to the tomb. John, the younger of the two arrived first. Whatever the reason, the beloved disciple looked into the tomb at the linens, but didn’t enter.  Perhaps respecting the elder disciple, he let Simon Peter go in first. There he saw the linens and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrapping but rolled up in a place by itself.  Only then did John enter the tomb, and he saw and believed. He may not have understood the promise of scripture, that Jesus must rise from the dead, but he knew at once that his world had changed.

As for Simon Peter, who had denied Jesus three times, he felt that he had failed his master forever.  But as he ran with John to the tomb early that dark Sunday morning, he was overwhelmed with a new possibility- a chance for redemption. Something had died within this poor disciple- his innocence, his hope, his confidence and his courage. Weighted beneath the burden of his guilt, Peter ran to the tomb, where he discovered the linen wrappings lying there where Jesus had been laid.  What was Peter expecting to find as he searched his master’s stained and bloodied linens?  As a family member rummaging through the last possessions of the dearly departed what was he searching for? I rather suspect he was searching for a sign of new life, forgiveness and hope.  When he saw the linen cloths by themselves, he too felt as if his world had changed.

As for Mary Magdalene…Peter and John must not have told her what they had seen or experienced inside the tomb. Instead, she stood outside the weeping.  As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 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.  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.”  When she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?  Whom are you looking for?”  Supposing him to 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.”  Jesus said to her, “Mary!”  She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher).  Suddenly her world had changed.

My friends, why are you weeping this day?  What are you looking for?  Those are after all the first words Christ spoke on Easter morning in St. John’s gospel. At some point in life we all will feel the loneliness of sorrow.  Perhaps your sorrow is a lost opportunity for reconciliation with someone you once cared for. Perhaps your sorrow is your own judgment of your failing and misguided pursuits. Perhaps, your sorrow is regret. It was another summer gone by, another autumn of life taking with it its unfulfilled dreams, a winter of its good intentions, its hopes and longings, lost in a muddy spring thaw.  Yes, gone forever are those chances you didn’t take, the possibilities you never experienced, the friendships you never knew, the new leaves you didn’t turn over.  Or perhaps, someone close to you has died this year.  A mother, a father, a child, a friendship, or simply another colleague departed.  Someone you loved, or someone who loved you.  It seems for you life’s emptiness will never go away.  That’s why you are weeping.

The good news that Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter and John all discovered on that Easter morning is there is life again. It may not be as quick and as magical as the innocent second-grade girl’s “Ta-da” moment. But at Christ’s empty tomb, you can discover it’s spring, no matter what the season.

The three who ventured to the tomb while it was still dark, returned to the city and the other disciples in the fullness of morning light, and they were changed. The beloved disciple John returned from the tomb filled with peace, and joy and wonder. The once broken and defeated Peter returned from the tomb filled with forgiveness, encouragement and hope.  And Mary Magdalene, the faithful woman who followed him to his death on the cross, returned from the tomb, filled with strength, power and confidence to spread the word.  She said good-bye to everything she had known and welcomed the new life and possibilities that were placed before her. And she went and announced to Jesus’ disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” And more amazingly, these eleven men, believed her.  And their world was changed too.

My friends, why are you weeping this Easter morning?  What are you searching for. Come to Christ’s empty tomb and let your life be wonderfully changed. Amen.

Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed! May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.