WATCHWORD:
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:11-18
Meditation:
I Have Seen the Lord!
Can you imagine how Mary Magdalene was feeling on that morning, Easter morning? She went from desperation to elation in a heartbeat. There stood the risen Christ. She is amazed, cannot believe her eyes. She moves to embrace Him, and He cautions her not to. She had seen the whole tragic drama play out there on Calvary. The grief and sadness that she had experienced since Calvary, was shed from her like an old cloak. She goes to his disciples, as Jesus instructed her. But imagine how the disciples took that news. John has told them in detail what has happened to Jesus, how he died and was buried. And, now, she’s telling them that she has seen the Lord. What?!
That’s the Easter message. We prefer the modern version: ‘He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!’ Some might say it’s the same message, but I would beg to differ. For Mary, her sight and His voice has told her all she needed to know…My Lord lives! A fact that would shape her life.
Doubt flourished, and then was defeated listen morning, that blessed morning on the road to Emmaus, for Cleopas and another disciple. Then three days later, on a hillside outside of Capernaum, when Jesus appeared to five disciples, and spoke to them, forgiving Peter. Then, days later, in Jerusalem, he appeared to all the disciples and followers, and showed them his hands and his feet, and asked them to no longer doubt.
Mary said, “I have seen the Lord!” a five-word sermon that some might say is the truest sermon ever peached! She didn’t go to the disciples, saying, “Christ is risen, he is risen indeed,” but made a first-person testimony: “I have seen the Lord.”
How how do we view this new life, this resurrection, given to us?
Can we say that we have seen the Lord? Have we experienced a first-person encounter with the Risen Lord? Can we sense His presence in our everyday lives? Can we hear his Spirit speaking to us from within? When you pray are you talking, with conviction, to the “real” Lord or just a thought, you know, maybe he will hear my prayer?
I believe and I’ve often expressed that the resurrection is the foundation of my faith. That’s true, but that is not the whole story. Resurrection is not only the promise of life after death, which, after all, would be enough, but also the assurance that the life-giving love of God will always move the stones away from the tombs we create for ourselves.
To believe in the resurrection is to say “I have seen the Lord”, and to point out new life when all that seems visible is death; love in the face of hate; decency and goodness when all that is vile and vicious finds only more and more followers. “I have seen the Lord” puts us on a different plain where Jesus tells us, “Peace be with you.”
Pastor Karoline Lewis tells us, “The promise of the resurrection is not only secure because God made it so by raising Jesus from the dead. The promise of the resurrection is certain when we speak into our own lives “I have seen the Lord!” — words which roll back the stones that confine and constrain in order that all life might be free to know dignity and regard and respect. “I have seen the Lord” insists that the ways of love will win over the ways of hate.” Oh, and yes, “He is Risen indeed!” Amen.
An Easter Truth:
A price paid by Jesus, there on the cross. A gift given by God in the Resurrection. A new life in Christ? That is one gift we have to literarily pick up to receive, then to actively live. Amen?
Closing Prayer:
Lord, help us to live in the gladness and grace of Easter Sunday, every day. Let us have hearts of thankfulness for your sacrifice. Let us have eyes that look upon Your grace and rejoice in our salvation. Help us to walk in that mighty grace and tell Your good news to the world.
