Easter Sunrise 2024

Good morning! It is so good to be gathered here with you on this Easter morning. Easter Sunrise has become one of my favorite services of the whole year because it is a time for us to simply be in the presence of our risen Lord- before all of the busyness that comes with the rest of this holiday. On Easter, we sing hymns, see friends and family that we haven’t seen in a while, eat big meals, get dressed in the best that our wardrobe has to offer us, and work to make this the most picture-perfect day of the year. In the sunrise, I am always reminded of Mary Magdalene and the story of her being the first one to come to the tomb and discover that Jesus wasn’t there. Let's read together John 20: 1-18.

Scripture: Early in the morning of the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 She ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him.” 3 Peter and the other disciple left to go to the tomb. 4 They were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and was the first to arrive at the tomb. 5 Bending down to take a look, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Following him, Simon Peter entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. 7 He also saw the face cloth that had been on Jesus’ head. It wasn’t with the other clothes but was folded up in its own place. 8 Then the other disciple, the one who arrived at the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 They didn’t yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying.

11 Mary stood outside near the tomb, crying. As she cried, she bent down to look into the tomb. 12 She saw two angels dressed in white, seated where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and one at the foot. 13 The angels asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

She replied, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” 14 As soon as she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn’t know it was Jesus.

15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she replied, “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 and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabbouni” (which means Teacher).

17 Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold on to me, for I haven’t yet gone up to my Father. Go to my brothers and sisters and tell them, ‘I’m going up to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene left and announced to the disciples, “I’ve seen the Lord.” Then she told them what he said to her.

When I read this story, my mind is filled with so much imagery of this scene. Picture Mary, walking to Jesus' tomb just to pay her respects and make sure there has been a proper burial. I like to picture Mary, up before dawn (like us this morning) walking slowly, with a sadness having taken over her whole being. Mary had just a couple of days before witnessed her teacher, her example, and her hope, Jesus be crucified and killed in a brutal way. We know from the gospels that Mary came to know Jesus and have faith after he cast out 7 demons from her. She then began to support Jesus’ ministry financially and became close to Jesus and the disciples. She was one of the women standing with Jesus’ mother, Mary at the foot of the cross on Good Friday. She also followed Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus to the tomb with plans to return on Sunday morning to finish preparing Jesus for permanent burial. From this, we know that Mary loved Jesus and wholeheartedly believed in his ministry. But what is she supposed to do now? Her beloved friend and teacher had been killed by the authorities, and to her knowledge, the ministry of Jesus was permanently over. So when this scene begins, we can begin to understand just how distressed and troubled Mary must be.

When she sees the stone rolled away and the tomb empty, she assumes that Jesus has been stolen from the tomb and put somewhere else- and how can we blame her for making this assumption? The past couple of days have been a nightmare for Mary and those who followed Jesus, and it is fair for her to assume that things could keep getting worse.

Maybe we can relate sometimes to how Mary is feeling on this early morning before the glory of the resurrected Christ appears here. She has experienced the lowest of lows and is just trying to keep going, to figure out how to live her life without Jesus. Maybe different times in our lives come up when we think about this experience. There are times when we don’t know and can’t understand how life can ever come out of the death that fills our world or the situations we are facing. Maybe for us, it’s a diagnosis, a death, a rejection, or something else that fills our hearts with this sorrow.

But the story of Mary on Easter morning shows us that in times when death and sorrow fill us, like they did Mary this morning, that is when Jesus comes to meet us. When the two angels ask Mary why she is weeping, the tone of this story starts to change. I’m sure Mary was probably frustrated by the question- “What do you mean, why am I weeping? Jesus is dead and gone!” But the angels knew something that Mary didn’t know yet. The angels knew that death and the tomb could not hold Jesus. They knew that this dark and weary morning for Mary would go on to be the most important day in history- the day that Jesus is resurrected. Mary still doesn’t get it. So then the resurrected Christ comes up to her personally and asks her “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” When she still can’t recognize that it’s Jesus, he says her name. “Mary.” This word “Mary,” spoken by Jesus shows us what the resurrection means. In this one word, Mary’s life is forever changed. She is full of shock and relief as her grief and sorrow turn into joy. Picture being there at the empty tomb with all of your built-up sorrow, grief, and anxiety. And then listen for Jesus saying your name, just as he did for Mary. Listen for the calming, assuring voice of Jesus calling you to know that he is risen from the dead and is with you. Once Mary heard Jesus call her by name, she couldn’t help herself from clinging onto him, maybe to try to keep him from going away again. But Jesus challenged her to go share the good news with the disciples: that Jesus had risen from the dead and was going soon to be with the Father. Mary went to the disciples and told them “I’ve seen the Lord!” She was running now, not slowly walking as she was in the beginning of this passage before she knew Jesus was resurrected. Because Mary knew that she would never go anywhere alone anymore. Jesus would be right by her side saying “Mary.” Reminding her of the presence of God in her life and in our lives. This Easter morning will take us right back into our real lives soon enough- to our jobs and friends, to familiar places and scary places. But we never go alone. The resurrected Christ is always with us, making us new, and speaking our names to remind us of his presence. Listen for Jesus voice- saying your name and giving you the strength and confidence you need to tell others about this life, about this life, and about this resurrection.

The tomb is empty. Christ is risen. Amen.