Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on Easter Sunday. Today we have just one service, a Parish Eucharist at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, led by Bishop Mark.
If you are unable to be with us in person, you can find today's Gospel, a reflection and prayers below, along with a couple of hymns.
Our first hymn this morning is "Jesus Christ is Risen Today"
Today's Gospel
John 20:1-18The Empty Tomb
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. 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.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 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. 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.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 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.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 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.’” 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.
Reflection
“Woman, why are you weeping?”
Mary is asked this twice in close succession.
I wonder what I might have replied in Mary’s place. Think about the emotions that Mary must have experienced in the last few days. From the ups and downs at the trial of Jesus, with Pilate wanting to release Jesus but then the crowds and Pharisees insisting that He be put to death.
Then the anguish and trauma of His death. Not any execution but the harrowing and undignified suffering of being publicly tortured and killed by crucifixion.
Then, the realisation that Jesus is dead. Jesus the one she and so many others had believed was the Messiah, come to save the world.
They didn’t even have time to bury Him properly and placed His body temporarily in a tomb. So here is Mary, at the crack of dawn, filled with despair and feeling racked with remorse and ‘hopelessness’, coming to finish embalming the body of her Lord.
Next, to make matters worse, she arrives at the tomb and the body of her beloved Jesus is gone. Perhaps it’s grave robbers, come to steal the expensive spices and linen that the body was wrapped in? But wait, this doesn’t make any sense, all those things are still here, only the body is gone. Perhaps some of those nasty leaders from the temple have stolen and disposed of the body. This is just awful, what on earth will happen next?
No wonder Mary is crying her eyes out. She feels things are well and truly hopeless. She must have been in a place where all her hopes and expectations have been destroyed. Because that’s what the meaning of hopeless really means, devoid of hope.
Everything she had ‘hoped’ for was now gone and now even Jesus’ body was gone too. Her whole life has been turned upside down. The only small piece of hope that she had was that someone might tell her where the body was so that she could finish tending to the corpse and give Jesus a proper and dignified burial. It’s no wonder Mary was a mess that morning.
Then here is Jesus, asking, “Woman, why are you weeping?” In my imagination these words are said with total love and compassion. This was the same Jesus who had recently wept when he saw the grief of Lazarus’ family. This is the Jesus that knows what is in all our hearts. Gentle and merciful Jesus, full of empathy.
Part of the mystery of this encounter is that Mary has no idea that it is Jesus. Some people think it is because it was not yet daylight, whilst others suggest it is because Mary’s eyes are obscured by endless crying. Many believe that Jesus blocked her eyes similar to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. We only know that she did not recognise Jesus until her spoke her name, ‘Mary’.
Then just like Jesus does, he turns everything back upside down. In that instant Mary’s whole world was changed; all the despair and heartache was turned into insurmountable joy as she recognised the miracle of the risen saviour. The wonder that God has raised Jesus from the dead and her eyes were truly opened to see His power and glory. The Son of God who was fulfilling His promise to save her from her sins.
But it doesn’t end there, because the most glorious news is that Jesus died and was raised again to redeem the whole world for all of time. He is alive and willing to be with us when our lives feel like a mess and we too feel ‘hopeless’. So when things seem bad, remember Jesus will be there with you in his understated way, and He will whisper and call you by your name. He wants to ask you "why are you weeping?"
Like Mary and disciples on the road to Emmaus, listen and feel the presence of the risen Lord when you need Him most. Let Jesus reassure us that he is alive and with us for eternity.
