09 Apr EASTER – SUNDAY, APRIL 9, 2023

Just for fun, let’s see how Matthew’s account differs with the alternative gospel reading from John. In John, chapter 20, “After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.” 

Because the stone is already rolled away, Mary M. runs to get help and assumes foul play. To her, finding the stone moved away from the entrance was like returning home to find the front door standing ajar or fully open when you know you for a fact, as you left you locked the dead bolt and engaged the alarm. 

Matthew offers an explanation of what happened up front. “And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.” An initial mystery is solved immediately so all attention can focus on the greater mystery that follows: the disappearance of Jesus’ body. 

Even when plausible explanations are offered, some scenes are still scary. Matthew states, “For fear of the angel’s appearance and strength the guards shook and became like dead men.” Fear, uncertainty, and anxious thoughts are normalized when circumstances appear differently than expected. 

In the gospel of John, Peter and another disciple arrive on scene. Both disciples look in from a distance. Only Peter initially steps inside. After a moment goes by, both observe linen wrappings lying on the slab with Jesus’ head wrap rolled up nearby. By all accounts, we see how God honors individual ways of dealing with the unknown. Initially, we observe from a distance, then some folks decide to rush in, while others take their time. During times of uncertainty, some lead, some follow; others are so caught up in what’s happened, they simply can’t move.  

In Matthew the angel addresses the women saying, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.” In John, it says, “The disciples saw and believed but did not as yet understand scripture, that Jesus must rise from the dead. So they went home.”

In Matthew, the angel works like Google maps, intuitively knowing what Mary and the other Mary search for, suggesting next steps and the quickest route to avoid tolls and detours to arrive at the desired destination. “Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 

In the Bible, angels often work like phone apps. They conveniently provide information and make transactions quick and easy, lol. “So, the two Marys left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, then ran to tell the other disciples.” 

How do we, as disciples, rate our satisfaction with the varying accounts of Matthew and John? As navigation tools, each gospel offers a slightly different take on Easter morning. For instance, in John, the fact that Mary remains after other disciples leave is rewarded. Only by hanging around weeping outside the tomb, then bending over to look inside, does she alone see two angels sitting where the body of Jesus had lain. 

She’s afforded a 1:1 encounter with agents of God. The angels console her by asking, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for,” as if they didn’t know. Don’t we sometimes pretend not to know how someone feels sensing they need an opportunity to tell us? 

Once again, the angels provide pertinent info and give Mary a place to enter her thoughts and feelings. Without a glimpse of modern technology on the horizon, back then, God was managing quite the system of wireless metadata. 

Here were angels delivering notifications with God’s permission. When needed they could describe and provide info about other data. God is pretty awesome at realizing what people need. He knows every individual by heart. 

According to John, after denying he even knew Jesus three times, Peter gains admittance to Jesus’ inner circle and is front and center, once again. He’s allowed to waltz right into Jesus’ tomb first. I think this demonstrates that God does not punish us for being unsure and afraid when threatened or things don’t go as planned or hoped for. I think it proves that we all experience anxiety when things are unknown or uncertain. 

…God does not punish us for being unsure and afraid…

The Easter story tells us that it’s important to notice what we feel, to sit with our feelings awhile, and then gain perspective. It’s a story of discovery and therapy for our hearts, minds and souls. 

Perhaps Matthew relieves Mary and the other Mary’s concerns too soon by providing quick answers. Perhaps John was wise to share how upset and shaken Jesus’ followers were by feeling panic, confusion and grief. 

In John, as soon as Mary says, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him,” Jesus appears. In Matthew, under similar feelings of fear and great joy, Jesus suddenly meets and greets them. They come to him, take hold of his feet and worship him. 

Then Jesus himself reassures them saying,  “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” John concludes his account by making a theological assertion: Jesus cannot be held by Mary in what is now his immortal form. He has to ascend to who Jesus describes as “my Father, your Father, to my God and your God.” 

If we seek the Lord, we, like the other disciples, will receive instruction on where and how to go. What we’ve seen or been told will be validated or clarified so that what we share with others is actually the truth and not something skewed by our personal experience. Having been registered as both a democrat and republican, I am frequently solicited by both parties. I am more than weary of both sides painting pictures skewed by personal viewpoints. 

What’s clear in politics, is also what’s abundantly clear in both gospel accounts by Matthew and John. There’s been enough confusion and suffering already. It’s time for validation of what’s happened, clarification of what’s actually true, and then what needs to happen next. 

Jesus wants his followers to realize that any good that could have come from confusion and suffering has already taken place and been accomplished. It’s time for every disciple’s perspective to change so that everyone can work together for the sake of establishing God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Isn’t that what we pray for every week? The words have meaning not only on Easter, but everyday.

Confusion and suffering continue to happen, but God continues to intervene. Angels appear and show themselves, (or at least we see the effect of their presence and strength). What’s ours to do is to follow the pattern of Easter morning. 

Whenever we are beset: persistently plagued, bedeviled, attacked, afflicted, or tormented by loss, grief, confusion, trouble or suffering, what’s ours to do is to observe how God responded on Easter morning. 

After Jesus’ death, the whereabouts of his tomb was not a mystery. There was a place his disciples could go. There they could discover where not to place their energy…not on the past and what had happened, but in the present toward what could happen in the future. 

The journey of life always involves growing pains, growing past pain, and becoming stronger in faith. When our hopes get dashed, they have to shift. As it was for Mary, the other Mary, Peter, and the disciples who ran to the grave with him, our vision of how life should unfold or how stories should end is based on limited knowledge until Jesus himself reveals God’s much broader, inclusive, deeper plan.

I’m asking myself and also you to honestly answer these questions asked by the angels. “What or whom do you seek? What has brought you to the place you’re in?” Openly share your thoughts and feelings with the Lord. Expect compassion, understanding, and a personal response, instruction, comfort, guidance and direction. 

Finally, on every journey, it’s nice to travel with companions. But no matter where you go, feel free to be yourself. Grab hold of the risen Christ, bow down and worship him, if that’s your style. And if you haven’t been able to go to him, know that he’s coming to you. Today, again, in the form of bread and wine. 

When you accept the body and blood of the risen Christ given and shed for you, hear the words, “ For you.” Earth is personal. Heaven is personal. Jesus made God personal. 

We are here together celebrating the fact that we are persons loved, cherished and chosen by God to be heard, who are capable of listening, whose search and life experience may have yet to be validated or understood.

But that’s the goal of Easter morning: In every moment of confusion and suffering there is truth to be discovered. Sometimes we’ll experience that moment alone and sometimes we’ll be with a friend. Either way, Jesus is aware, ready to reveal himself and God’s plan. 

Let us pray. Lord, as we seek to find or follow, help us see and hear from your agents, other children of yours, and you, yourself. Through the sacrament of Holy Communion today, heal everything that ails us, everything that separates us from you and each other, so that the celebration of your victory over death is ongoing and we remember your triumph over all separation, sin, and evil, once for all. May we live into the reality of your eternal vision. In Your Holy Name we pray, Amen.