!1 The First Day John 20:1-18 Charleston Ecumenical Sunrise Worship EASTER (April 1) 2018 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away 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 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' [a] head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had 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 went back to their homes. 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one 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 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? 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 Aramaic, [b] Rabboni! (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for 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 that he had said these things to her.!2 Earlier this morning we heard: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
!3 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 1:1-5; 2:1-3) And so the Sabbath was in the beginning, and evermore shall be UNTIL UNTIL Early on the first morning 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. And then the seventh day became the first day, and it became hallowed, because this time on this day, God did not rest from all the work that He had done in creation, BUT MADE ALL THINGS NEW. And so now, instead of it being the 7 th day, EASTER IS THE FIRST DAY. Not just on the first day when it was still dark and Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. It is the FIRST DAY TODAY.
IF EASTER REMAINS ONLY AN HISTORICAL EVENT THAT WE REMEMBER, THEN WE ARE SURELY THE SADDEST OF PEOPLE. Jesus said to Mary, Do not hold onto me. Nor can we hold onto what is past remember and be thankful Oh Yes, surely. But we cannot hold onto it. We cannot even hold onto OLD Easter. Because TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY. God is doing something new. I knew a woman once, who was surely one of the unhappiest people I have ever known. She dwelled entirely in the past focusing all of her attention on the good old glory days when she believed that she was somebody important when she met lots of celebrities when she was young and able to do many more activities the day when she met John Kennedy and got to introduce him to her co-workers,!4
And she was not LIVING when I came to know her because you can only LIVE IN THE PRESENT. She was not living only DWELLING IN PAST MEMORIES. We ve all had occasions in our life, when we brushed greatness. I remember one time when I came to Marshall University to visit my wife-to-be, Jane, and went to hear one of the two Presidential nominees speak. I was on the front row. As soon as he finished speaking, and left with his entourage of Secret Service agents, I rushed up to the lectern and stole the water glass that he had used. I used it as my water glass in every college debate tournament after that. I was going to bring it and show it to you this morning, but I could not find it. Those days are gone. I remember the event. I still occasionally tell the story. But it did not change my life. It did not become my life. On the first day of the week, when it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.!5
THAT morning changed her life and the Resurrection Power that made it happen continues to change people s lives and to become the most meaningful part of their lives making light and glory where once there had only been darkness and chaos. I know another woman who told me the story of her dreams. I share it with you, only with her permission. She had been having dreams after the death of her mother dreams in which her mother came to her in the night, and left her either frightened or very sad. Then, in one dream, she witnessed a terrible catastrophe in which it seemed like so much of her town was being destroyed. She managed to get to a telephone and call her mother, who had died. But then a man came up to her. He was a bald man. He was a very strong man. And he placed a hand on her shoulder and told her that the worst was over. End of dream. Now, I m no expert in dream interpretation, and I don t try to interpret dreams for people. But as we shared conversation about that dream, the one who had dreamed it came to see that the strong man who touched her and!6
who told her that the worst was over was an appearance by Jesus. (I know. I know. You are going to say that Jesus was not a bald man. That threw me, too at first. Until I realized that my image of Jesus was shaped more by Michelangelo than by the Bible, which doesn t tell me if Jesus had lots of hair, or was bald. It just doesn t matter unless, of course, you are bald, in which case, you will probably like this true story.) Since that time, I asked her later, she has had no more dreams with her loved one making an appearance. The worst was over. She had been touched by Jesus. That was the first day for her.!7 To d a y i s T H E F I R S T D AY. RESURRECTION! T O D AY I S Just like Mary we need to hear Jesus tell us that we can t hold on We can t hold on to any of the preconceived notions
We can t hold on to any of the grief and pain that have become our daily bread We can t hold on to the fears that have haunt us We can t hold on to the labels and limitations that have held us back or kept us down We can t hold on to the grand old glory days that used to be We can t even hold on TO EVEN JUST that first Easter any more than Mary could hold on to the days when Jesus and she walked and talked, or to the days when she cried her eyes out because He had been crucified.!8 To d a y i s T H E F I R S T D AY. RESURRECTION! T O D AY I S What has happened is over. Now, it s time to allow Jesus to come into our lives in new and even surprising ways. Once upon a time, there were these two tough little kids, who always wanted to somehow get over on the WISE
OLD MAN that lived in their neighborhood. always too smart for them.!9 But he was One day they came up with a new fool-proof plan. They captured a bird, and one of the boys held it tightly in his hands, behind his back. They came across the wise old man and told him they had two questions for him. The first one: Do you know what Johnny has in his hands behind his back? They figured that the wise old man would know the answer to that, so the second questions would be: Is the bird alive or dead? Then, if he said, Dead, Johnny would release the bird to fly away. If he said, Alive, then Johnny would crush the life out of the bird and drop the dead bird on the ground in front of him. Sure enough, the wise old man answered the first question. Then, as to the second, he said: Well, Johnny. You hold the answer to that question in your hand. And then he walked away.
So is Easter for us. But whether this will be just a happy remembering of something that happened long ago, or whether it will be THE FIRST DAY TODAY! -- IS IN YOUR HANDS. Whenever the Priests-and-Saduccees-of-today gather around today s-caiaphases and smile smugly at their success, Jesus still pops up like a great jack-in-the-box and has the last laugh. Today is THE FIRST DAY. TODAY IS RESURRECTION! Alleluia. AMEN!10