Easter Sunday 2024

Where is the hope

It would seem to me that very few people have hope these days.

For instance if I were to mention politics, I generally get a big groan, and regardless of whether you are on the more progressive side of politics, or the more conservative side, the thing that seems to unite everyone is the agreement that things are heading in a bad direction.

We look at the world around us, and there are so many problems that just don’t seem to have solutions. Last year, there was a referendum on the Aboriginal voice to parliament, and the only thing that seemed to be clear from that is that we don’t know how to move forward on this matter. The latest closing the gap report came out recently, and sadly the gap remains stubbornly the same. Is there any hope?

Or look at the issue of domestic violence. We can agree its abhorrent, but yet despite all of the resources put towards a zero tolerance, the problem remains as constant as ever.

Addictions such as drugs and gambling remain an ever present scourge on society.

Where can we find hope?

There are of course some glimpses of hope. We do see people carrying out acts of kindness. We do see some progress on some matters. But it all seems to little. Almost like throwing a bucket of water on a bush fire.

Is there any hope?

Today, on the day we remember the resurrection, I want to answer that most definitely there is hope, but it might take a bit of a paradigm shift in the way we think.

But let’s look at the events of this resurrection before we explore what that might mean...

The Resurrection

On Good Friday, we remembered the event of Jesus being hung on a cross.

His death meant that he took care of the thing that separated God and humanity.

It was traumatic, but it was life changing.

Following his death, he was taken off the cross and placed in a tomb.

Now it’s worth pointing a few things out here...

Firstly, the idea that Jesus wasn’t actually dead when they took him off the cross is just nonsense. The Romans were very competent at this process… they knew when someone was dead.

Secondly, the idea that his body was stolen from the tomb is also implausible. The tomb was being guarded, and besides, such a conspiracy would have been hard to hide when there was so much riding on it, and there is no evidence that such a belief was accepted by others at the time.

So we have a the dead body of Jesus securely in the tomb.

And thus starts a full day of anguish of the disciples of Jesus.

Now you might think at this point - why were they so worried… didn’t Jesus tell them that he would die and rise again on the third day?

He certainly did, and it’s easy for us knowing the end of the story to hear those earlier words of Jesus in the way they were intended.

For the disciples that heard Jesus say that he would die and rise again - it would have been hard for them to take in. You see, when someone says something, and it doesn’t quite add up in your head, it’s hard to know what to do with that information.

Generally speaking, we are usually pretty good at filtering out information that doesn’t make sense, and essentially just ignoring it. And this is what they did - because we’re told that it was only later, that the disciples remembered everything Jesus had said.

So, all that to say, these disciples would have been completely deflated knowing that the one they had put all of their hope was now lying dead in a grave.

For the entire Saturday nothing happens. This of course being the Sabbath day when no work was to be done. It would have been a Sabbath like no other for the few disciples that remained.

But as soon as the Sabbath was over, there were a few things to attend to.

You see, in the Jewish culture of the time, it was customary to put various spices on the body. You see, the type of tomb that Jesus was buried in was more of a cave, one that would more than likely eventually house a number of bodies, but we’re told that Jesus was the first one there.

The spices are essentially a way to ensure that the bodies don’t stink too much, and as they weren’t able to do the process on the Sabbath, some of the women were keen to get there as soon as possible.

Now in John’s Gospel that was read to us earlier, it is only mentioned that Mary Magdalene went however by synthesizing the other gospel accounts, we know that there were a few women who were with her.

That being said, I’m going to consider this as it’s written in John’s gospel.

So we have Mary Magdalene, a woman who had stayed close with Jesus for much of his ministry,and as she arrived at the tomb, all that deflated feelings she being feeling from Saturday, quickly turned to confusion, because the stone has been removed.

Her first assumption is not that Jesus had risen, but that his body had been taken. Now, I dismissed that idea a moment ago, but you can understand how that might have been the initial reaction for someone finding what appears to be obvious tampering.

So she runs to find Simon Peter and someone described as “the other disciple”, presumably John, the author of this gospel. These two were perhaps the closest to Jesus. They both run to the tomb, but find it empty.

Now as strange as it might seem to us, they still don’t understand that Jesus has risen - just look at verse 9.

So these men remain confused at this point.

Mary Magdalene on the other hand, well, she sticks around weeping outside the tomb.

Two angels appear asking her why she is crying?

She explains her reason, and I’m thinking she’s probably thinking - shouldn’t it be obvious. But then presumably she hears a noise behind her, so she turns around.

It another man. There’s something about him, but she can’t quite put her finger on it.

But then he asks the same question that the angels did: why are you crying?

She’s probably thinking that these men around here must be a bit slow on the uptake - shouldn’t it be obvious why she’s crying outside a tomb?

Mary however thinks that maybe he might actually be the reason the body is gone - maybe he’s the gardener and he’s taken the body of Jesus away.

But it’s at this point that something remarkable happens.

It might not seem remarkable at first glance, but it really is - this man, who of course as we well know is Jesus, says her name: “Mary”.

This man knew Mary.

With a name comes identity.

Mary is known.

With the use of her name, there is also acceptance. Mary is accepted for who she is. At this point it doesn’t matter what she has or hasn’t done in the past.

He might have only said one word, but it was a word with such deep meaning, that with it, every thing changes for Mary.

Over the last few days she would have felt sad, probably angry, deflated, confused, worried, I’m going to guess a bit irritated as well.

But with one word, her name, everything changes.

She goes from weeping out of sorrow, to weeping for joy.

A transformation occurs.

Now, don’t get me wrong, we’ve all experienced these moments of quick change in emotions. For example, when you think your child is lost and you fret and worry and worry some more - and then your child turns up. The quick change happens.

However, I’m going to argue that what we see with Mary is on a whole new level.

This is not just a friend she’s found.

This is the Messiah. The Christ. The anointed one. God’s own son. Placed here on earth to bring about a new kingdom like no other.

Yes, Mary’s emotions change - but it’s the realisation of something so much better.

She had been in a world with no hope. Now suddenly there was hope

Hope

But let’s think about this hope for a moment, because there are a few different aspects about it that we need to consider.

First of all, it was not a hope that all of the immediate problems that she faced as an individual, or all of the problems that society around her would somehow cease automatically.

You see, at this particular time, the Romans occupied the land of Judea, and they were generally unfriendly to the Jews.

As much as the Jews had longed for a Messiah that would change this, the hope that Mary now had, was not about this. And we know from history that the Jews did not regain any resemblance of control, that is, until 1948 - but that introduces a whole new topic.

This should be understood for us when I make the suggestion that with Christianity, there is hope. You see, I’m not saying that we can have hope that all those politicians down in Canberra start making sense and working together.

I’m not saying that suddenly all of the drug addicts or other type of addicts are going to stop. Or that the abusers are going to stop abusing.

I really wish I could make those statements, but the reality is that we are going to wake up tomorrow morning, and those problems are all going to persist.

But let’s go back to Mary and think about her hope for a moment.

You see, I want to suggest that her hope is based on the fact that despite the knowledge that the bad things of this earth will persist, there is a God who has just demonstrated his power over death, and he personally knows her.

If death can’t keep him down, then nothing is too much for him. She is personally known by the one who has control over all things.

Think of a small child, let’s say, a toddler. Imagine they get themselves in an unfamiliar place without their parents, where things are moving quickly and things just don’t feel right for them. They’re going to feel scared. It’s all too much. Quite likely they’ll start crying.

Now imagine one of their parent, a parent that they love and completely trust, gets down at their level, says everything is going to be alright, then picks them up and gives them a huge hug.

At that point in time, the scary place around them continues to exists. The people who are strangers to that child continue to brush past them. But it doesn’t matter. Because this child is comforted by his parent.

And so, this is the first aspect of the hope that I want to describe to you today. A hope that says, no matter what rubbish the world throws at you tomorrow, you can be held tight by the one who actually can make a difference.

You see, Jesus knew the name of Mary. He also knows your name. He knows you personally. He knows your past, and he still loves you.

If you come to him when he calls your name, you can know this comfort.

Change is possible

But there is more to the hope then this.

And that is, change is possible.

While still recognising that the world is still pretty messed up, I want to argue that the power of this resurrection still has a positive impact in the world around us.

Miracles happen. Lives are transformed.

I’ve seen it myself. Drug addicts win the battle. Alcoholics stay sober. People who are full of hate learn to love.

And it’s not just individuals. Societal change happens and though it might seem a stretch to link this with the resurrection, I’m going to try and make the case that the link is justified.

You see, as you look through the history of the world since the time of the cross, the concept of universal health has been introduced, education for all, the end of slavery and much more. For each of these things, Christianity is at the heart of the change. The people driving this change did so because they knew Jesus who has power over death, who knew them by name, and loved all of humanity in a way the world has never known before. It was the resurrection which demonstrated this.

Because Jesus rose again, there is hope that change is possible.

I don’t want to sound like I’m contradicting myself here - I know I said the mess will continue, and it will, but when you stay close to Jesus, you better start expecting the unexpected.

Our resurrection

But there is one further aspect to this hope that I want to briefly explore.

You see, I’ve explored firstly, that there is hope in just being known and loved by the creator of this universe. That just being in his presence is hope enough.

Secondly, that there is hope because change is possible, and more than just possible, it can be expected from a God who both loves us and has power to change.

But the final aspect is what we might think of as our ultimate hope.

You see, central to the teaching of Christianity is that Jesus will come again one day. When Jesus returns, there will be a new heaven and a new earth.

At this point all of the wrongs will be made right.

I might have earlier said that the mess of this world will remain - however, the caveat to that comment is that that will only be the case until Jesus returns.

There is a bigger hope in that we know what we have before us is only temporary.

How can we have confidence of this?

Well, the resurrection of Jesus is the basis of this confidence. Because Jesus is the one who has told us this will happen, and we have confidence that he knows what he’s talking about because he’s already demonstrated his power over death.

I want to take you back briefly to the narrative that was read out to us earlier.

You see, we’ve looked at this little interaction, where Mary mistook Jesus as the gardener, but when he called her name, she recognised him for who he is.

Well, Jesus then goes on to tell her in verse 17 to not hold on to him because he is going to ascend to the Father.

She being reminded at this point that there is something bigger at play in all of this. Jesus is up to something much bigger.

We have hope, because we know that Jesus has not finished yet.

Conclusion

In a world that seems so lacking in hope, I want to tell you this morning that you can have hope.

You can have hope knowing that you can know the comfort and love of Jesus right now.

You can have hope knowing that Jesus has the power to change things today.

But you can also have hope in knowing that a day in coming when Jesus will make all things right.

This all being said, it’s important to recognise that while Jesus is calling out to you, you need to accept him.

You see, just as Jesus knows your name, he is making himself known, but you have to choose to know him.

All of this hope I’m talking about is actually all a bit empty if we don’t choose him.

If you don’t choose to accept him, you want know the comfort of his love. You won’t be a part of the big changes we see in the lives of individuals and the change in society.

But perhaps most importantly, if you don’t accept him, you won’t be part of the resurrection of our own bodies into the new heavens and the new earth.

Easter provides hope, but Easter is also about a choice for us. You can choose to accept Jesus, and then you too can have the hope that comes with the resurrection of Jesus.

And if this is something you’ve never thought through before, I’d love to discuss it with you after the service.

Let me pray...