Resurrection of Our Lord  John 20:1-18                 11 April 2004

Rev. Roger N. Haugen

 

I once worked with a man who lived by the motto: “believe half of what you see and nothing you hear.”  He was a cynical man who lived in a self-constructed walled fortress of a life that didn’t let much in.  He was “safe” but missed so much of life.

 

We live in a world that wants proof for everything. Inquiries into government misdeed look for paper trails to lay blame and determine guilt.  In matters of religion and faith we can expect news reports this time of year, in the newspapers, or at least the supermarket tabloids, with new “proof” to establish some aspect of faith.  Much effort was given to suggest authenticity in Mel Gibson’s movie from the graphic violence to claims of authentic language because somehow, an “authentic” portrayal makes it more true and certain. 

 

We want guarantees, something to hold on to – in our investments, our cars, our toasters and in our faith.  In an increasing uncertain world, we want certainty.  Our life of faith is no exception.  We understand Mary’s desire to hang on to Jesus.  Here was the one upon whom she always depended. Here was the one who loved her no matter what.  Here was the one that was steady no matter what happened.  He was gone, now appeared again.

 

So much energy is spent proving and disproving matters of faith.  People come to our door wanting so much to prove that Jesus was not divine.   We have scholars trying to prove what words were actually said by Jesus and which were not -- both looking for truth on which to hold.  We have much written in the Christian press about the absolute and literal truth of the Bible.  Yet Jesus told Mary, and he tells us not to hold on to him.  We want to know the “truth” we want certainty when what carries us is faith.  As we read in Hebrews, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

 

We want to be right, we want to know that God is on our side.  Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, says:

There is a clinging to Jesus that shows itself in the longing to be utterly sure of our rightness.  We want him where we can see him and manage him, so that we know exactly where to turn to be told that everything is all right and he is on our side.

 

He points out the idolatry and falsehood of such thinking,

From now on, my justification is not that I am proved to have been right all along; it is that Jesus has promised, irrespective of my success or failure to be there.[1]

 

My friend had it at least partly right, according to today’s gospel we should believe nothing of what we see.  Mary sees the stone rolled away and believes the body had been stolen.  Mary sees the two angels and believes that a theft has taken place.  Mary sees a man and believes him to be the gardener.  It is only when Mary hears her name that she knows it is Jesus.  It is the same true shepherd who knows his sheep by name.  Faith takes hold when we let go and listen to God speaking our name.

 

Easter is not about the past but about the future that God opens to each one of us.  The resurrection is light into our darkness, it is the light of Easter morning obliterating the darkness of Good Friday.  Resurrection opens up a future that is claimed by God and given to us, a future that allows us to rise above all that would hold us back.  The resurrection is hope for those who choose not to hold on to the past or some idea of truth that we construct. The Gospel, Easter, is not about looking back to some hope of proving, once and for all the event of the resurrection.  Easter is about hearing our name, called by one who loves us no matter what we are or have been.  Easter is about knowing that, no matter what the future holds, Jesus is with us.

 

Bishop Raymond Schultz, in his Easter message, speaks of two groups of people he knows.  He writes:

My office is located in the business wing of a shopping mall in downtown Winnipeg, where hundreds of young people come to hang out. Some dress in the clothes typical of the rap musicians they see on TV. Others emulate gang outfits. Some belong to gangs. None of them seem to have anything to do in the middle of the day. When the weather is warmer, they hang around the courtyard entrance and deal drugs.

 

As I sit and watch, I ponder about the seeming emptiness in the lives of these people. Their eyes are empty; their conversation is empty; their hopes are empty. Drugs and sex mask the void, but their relationships are casual and their ability to form community very limited. For some, committing petty crimes is as close as they come to purposeful activity.

 

In contrast, Sunday service in my home congregation is attended by a group of Africans who lived in a refugee camp for nine years. During that time they were so endangered by religious persecution that the Canadian government finally processed their applications as a group for their own safety. They have survived a Winnipeg winter and continue to struggle to make ends meet as they seek job training and employment. The informal leader of the group was an accountant back home, but his credentials are not recognized in Canada, so he is forced into the kind of work the unskilled do in our society. Nevertheless, he and his friends are looking to the future and are trying to build a new life for themselves.

 

I am struck by the contrast between the two kinds of people I have described. The refugees are, to me, Easter people. Their life in our society is not particularly happy or easy, but they are willing to take part in life rather than avoid it. They are not just killing time, waiting for some dead end. They are living toward a future. They do not grieve as those who have no hope; they anticipate. Those with no hope mourn; those with hope live for the future where the risen Lord Jesus Christ awaits us.

 

Our second lesson today said, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”  We celebrate a life beyond fear of death, made possible by Jesus’ resurrection.  We are freed for life that begins today.  We are freed for a life in service to the people that Jesus served.  We are given the opportunity of life that matters.  We are welcomed into a life as partners with God as Isaiah names it, “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.”  This is the resurrected life based not on sight, or what we can prove, but based upon the hope given to us as a movement into the future.

 

Freed from all that would pull us into darkness, we are freed to live in the light.  Easter is a time to look to the future sure of nothing other than Jesus walks ahead of us.  Listen, he is calling your name.

 

Christ is risen, he is risen indeed.