Easter
April 11, 2004
THE SONG OF THE EASTER BIRD
by John Christianson
John 20:1-18
1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary
Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the
tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple,
the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out
of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." 3 Then
Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The
two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the
tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings
lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came,
following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7
and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen
wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other
disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9
for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from
the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.
11 But Mary stood weeping
outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 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. 13 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." 14 When
she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did
not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why
are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be 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." 16 Jesus
said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew,
"Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her,
"Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But
go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your
Father, to my God and your God.' " 18 Mary Magdalene went and
announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them
that he had said these things to her.
1.
The Tasmanian Lyrebird
I will tell you of a far-away and very different
place. About one hundred and fifty
miles south of the southeast tip of Australia, lies the island of
Tasmania. It is a large island, about
half the size of Wisconsin. There are
probably many interesting things that could be said about Tasmania, but what
interests me the most is the report of the brilliant songs of birds in the rain
forest of Southern Tasmania. From
sunrise until sunset, you can hear the beautiful songs of scores of species of
the best, feathered singers that our God created. Curiously, the songs come, not from the treetops, but from the
underbrush. They include the songs of many species of birds who dont live in
Tasmania who have NEVER lived in Tasmania but the songs are there
nonetheless courtesy of a bird, about the size of a pheasant. The male bird has two fascinating
characteristics. One is a big beautiful
tail that it spreads like a peacock.
When spread, it looks remarkably like the ancient harp-like musical
instrument that the Greeks called a lyre.
From this, the bird is called a lyrebird. The other characteristic is the lyrebirds song. The lyrebird is probably a singer without
equal on earth. You see, it doesnt
just sing the song that God gave it to attract a mate. It also listens carefully to the other birds
in the forest and perfectly imitates any songs that it enjoys. I read
that the lyrebird spends the first two hours of every day singing its
own special song, and then spends the rest of the day singing songs of other
birds.
It is interesting that the lyrebird is not native to
Tasmania. It used to be found only on
the mainland of Australia. But about
seventy years ago, a colony of lyrebirds were carried across the ocean water to
Tasmania. They thrived. They learned the songs of the native birds
of their new home, but they also remembered the songs they had learned from
other birds that continued to live only in Australia. Those songs also have been passed down from generation to
generation, until, today, the rainforests of Tasmania continue to echo with
songs that were carried over by their forefathers. I can only say, Sing, lyrebird!
Sing the most beautiful music you can find, even if you didnt write the
song yourself.
2.
Mary Magdalene and John
Music begins early in the Tasmanian rain forest, but
not in the Garden of Gethsemane. Mary
Magadalene rose before the birds and came to the garden, but there was no song
in her heart. In her heart was the
awful silence of Execution Day; it had not yet become Good Friday. She came in silence to finish the hasty
preparation of Jesus body for burial.
Instead, she found an empty tomb.
She ran to the upper room where the disciples were staying, but she
still didnt have a song. Just a cry of
despair: They have taken the Lord out
of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.
Peter and John ran to the tomb. It says that John saw and believed. There must have been just the start of a
song in Johns heart, but he didnt sing it.
Instead, he went home. Mary came back to the tomb. She saw Jesus. He ordained her as the apostle to the apostles, and now she had a
song. She came back to the disciples,
and she sang her poor heart out. She
sang, I have seen the Lord. Have you
heard that song?
And John, did he finally find his song? You bet your life he did! He sang the whole story! In his song, he sang of Jesus and Mary
Magdalene and all the other followers all except himself, that is. Johns name never appears in his song. What a humble singer! He sings, instead, about the disciple Jesus
loved. Our text is from the 20th
chapter of his song.
3.
The Easter Songbird Today
Eventually, Mary Magdalene died. So did John an old, old man, they
say. But that doesnt mean their song
cant be heard any more. On the
contrary, their songs have been passed down from generation to generation and
carried across ocean water. Theres not
a country in the world where their songs will not have been heard this
morning. Those songs have been written
in the hearts of a billion people. We
sing them, down through the ages, in millions of forests and churches and
homes. God bless us through Mary
Magdalene and that disciple that Jesus loved!
I have tried for forty years to sing their song, as best I could, from
under a collar. And Im not going to
stop on June 30th. Its the
one song that must be heard.
If we could only be like those Tasmanian
Lyrebirds! If we could sing OUR song two hours a day and then, the
rest of the time, fill the forest with the songs weve received.
Johns song is very complex. It has many verses. One verse starts out, In the beginning was the Word another For God so loved the world . . . Many of the verses of his song he got directly from the Lord, I am the Bread of Life I am the Light of the World I am the Good Shepherd I am the Resurrection and the Life Some, he said, came in visions: Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns. So many other verses youll never sing them all.
Marys
song is much simpler. I have seen the
Lord. So you disciples whom Jesus loved. Sing!
Never stop singing. Sing the
song of John! Sing the song of Mary! Sing the song of the Easter Songbird! Amen
(Comments to John at john.christianson@comcast.net )
Lyndale Lutheran.