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Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb . . . . John 20:1
There’s a saying, “You go back precisely because you do not know how to go forward.” That is true about many things in life especially when someone you love dies. You go back through the pictures, you tell stories, you share memories. You go back because you do not know how to go forward.
Mary went back to the tomb, to the one Joseph of Arimathea, a secret follower of Jesus, provided. Along with Nicodemus, another secret follower, they took the body, wrapped it with spices in a linen cloth and placed it in the tomb. I wonder if anything would have been different if these two leaders were “out” in their following of Jesus, if they had enough respect and clout in the community to have prevented the whole bloody mess. When they finally came through it seemed to be too little, too late.
That’s why Mary was there on that first day of the week, because she didn’t know how to go forward, so she went back to the tomb. In the same way the day after my mother was buried, I went back to her grave. My Father, went back to it just about every day for a year, rising while it was still dark, walking to the cemetery, being where she was, walking home, praying to get through another day without her. I’ve seen loved ones coming back to our garden columbarium, putting their hand on the plaque, tracing their beloved one’s names with their fingers, sometimes leaving a flower taped to the wall. We go back because we do not know how to go forward.
One of the tragedies of the COVID-19 pandemic is that for so many families there is nothing to go back to. Funerals, if any, are at the graveside with everyone practicing correct social distance. No pictures, no hugs, no memories shared, no stories told, just grief.
Mary goes back to the tomb and discovers the stone was rolled away. She runs to tell Peter and another disciple, that someone, “they”, she says, “they have taken away the body,” as if it wasn’t enough to take away his life. The two disciples run to the tomb, check it out, see the grave clothes laying where the body once did, yes, the tomb is empty. One believes. One, not yet. And for some reason, they leave Mary standing there weeping all by herself. So, they miss the angels and they miss a man, a living, breathing man, dressed as a gardener. But Mary does not.
Before continuing with Mary, let’s take a moment to consider this gardener. He follows in the footsteps of Adam, the first gardener in Eden. But there is also something else going on. Jesus has a wardrobe problem. When he’s buried in the tomb, he’s wrapped in linen cloths as was the custom. And now in the empty tomb those linen cloths are lying about with the one that covered his head carefully folded up. Put two and two together, and we have a naked Jesus, newly risen from the dead, in need of clothes. So, he wanders around the garden, finds a shed, looks inside and there are a pair of britches, a cloak and a hat. Albrecht Durer’s woodcut of this scene is my favorite Easter picture. I especially love the hat and the shovel. This Risen Gardener is ready to raise the dead, to bring forth new life, to show us how to go forward.
Through her tears, Mary sees him and asks him where the dead body is so she can take it away. The Gardener responds by calling her name, “Mary.” It’s a voice she thought she’d never hear again. “Mary” and he is alive, Jesus is alive, and so is she, in a new unexpected way, “Mary!” Perhaps something like this has happened to you…there’s a phone call from an unknown number and instead of instead of ignoring it as spam, you answer and the person on the other end says your name, John, Jen, Dale, Bill, Tom and suddenly that person and your relationship with them is newly alive as an unexpected gift. It can happen in prayer, you pour out your heart, and then in a pause, there is something, a deeper silence, a presence, God, and what was dead in you comes alive. The Gardener raises the dead, often using stuff we’ve discarded — broken relationships, failed efforts, even guilt, and by the grace of forgiveness transforms our garbage into a rich compost and then dares to plant seeds of hope.
Of course, Mary wants to hang on to him for he is her Rabbouni, her teacher. She will never let him go. But this Gardener insists that she practice social distance. He needs space to fulfill his mission of bringing forth new life. And while she doesn’t yet realize it, she needs space too. for Mary is called to share God’s love in ways that are uniquely her own. Her first assignment is challenging. Jesus send to go tell his remaining disciples that he is risen. “I have seen the Lord!” she says. A woman is the first to proclaim the resurrection! Tradition holds that Mary Magdalene became a missionary and a leader of a congregation. Called by Jesus to share the good news that she had seen the Lord, Mary found a way to move forward.
What about us – you and me? How do we in this time of a pandemic, when fear threatens to overwhelm faith, find our way to move forward. Where have we seen the Lord? For me it was last week in Wegmans. I had my mask and gloves on. And there was man wearing a colorful mask in a wheelchair patiently waiting for me to get a half gallon of milk from the wall freezer. I asked if I could help him reach the milk and did so. He thanked me and then looked around and said, “It does my heart good to see everyone wearing masks.” In that comment, a seed of faith was planted.
Wearing masks, practicing social distance, washing hands, staying home – these are all acts of resurrection, of hope in the face of death, of going forward into life, now and forever. Amen.