Easter Sunday: Alive, at the Garden

Peter Fitch, St. Croix VineyardSunday, March 31, 2013

John 19:41-42

41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

John 20:1-2

1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

John 20:11-18

11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

John 20:11-18

14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” 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.”

John 20:11-18

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”

John 20:11-18

18 Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.

Strange irony . . .

• recalls a scene in a different garden (‘Adam, where are you?’); now it’s a woman whose name means ‘bitter’ crying ‘where is My Lord?’

• like a dance of people just missing each other, reminiscent of Song of Solomon where lovers meet and then fail to connect, and then meet with surprise in a great celebration.

Last Night in TO

Facebook Comments

• This delightful picture of the very best people makes my heart hurt. Why can't we all live in a hippie commune in rural Manitoba? Why?!

Allieren Ward• or rural NB???

Mary Ellen Fitch

• In fact, so much of history is about failed attempts to regain ‘the garden’ (Joni Mitchell song)

• Think about some of your own attempts while you listen to her

• Jesus is not entirely absent, but neither is He clearly evident, in Marxism or Capitalism or Revolutions or Liberalism or Conservatism

• Jesus is rarely seen in the realm of technology or science, and yet, if the Scripture is true, He made them possible and holds the very principles that make them work in His care

• Jesus is not entirely absent, but neither is He clearly evident in many expressions of His Church throughout the ages

• Jesus is rarely seen in the Church as Institution but He is seen in the lips of a rich man who turns away from wealth to kiss lepers and serve them, and He is seen in the lips of a pope who kisses the feet of a Muslim woman in her prison

• Jesus is rarely seen in the parts of His Church that are always telling others how to live, but He is seen in the hands and hearts of those who help others in need

• Jesus is rarely seen in the circumstances of life unless we invite His Presence and then He often surprises us with a richness we could not have asked for

• The missing Jesus is still as close as He was to Mary who could not see Him; all it takes is a change of eyes and a change of heart

• Adam, where are you?• Where have they taken My Lord?• Behold I see a new heavens and a new earth

Revelation 211 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Revelation 221 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.