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Redford Aldersgate
United Methodist Church
Sermon
Close Encounters of the Risen Kind: Mary Magdalene
April 23, 2006
Introduction
Today we are beginning a series of sermons focusing on the encounters
people had with the risen Christ. We are calling it Close Encounters of
the Risen Kind.
I
f
you were here last Sunday, you know that Diana preached on Mark’s
version of the resurrection story. In that story, the women heard the
news that Jesus had risen, but they were so frightened that they left
the tomb in fear and trembling and they said nothing to anyone because
they were afraid. One of the conclusions Diana drew from that story was
that it takes more than an empty tomb and even more than words from an
angel to convince us that Jesus rose from the dead. It takes an
encounter with the risen Jesus. Of course there are many ways to
encounter the risen Jesus. It may be in a vision, it may be through
study, it may be through an inner assurance that you are loved and cared
for. Jesus continues to come to us in a variety of ways, even today. But
it is easy to miss the encounters, so for the next few weeks we are
going to be looking at the encounters Biblical people had with the risen
Jesus. It is our hope that as we look at these encounters, we will learn
some things that will help us to be more in tune with ways Jesus wants
to encounter us today.
The first person to encounter the risen Christ was Mary Magdalene. All
four Gospels mention her in their accounts of that first Easter morning.
For Mark says... and Luke ... and John ... and Matthew (read verse 1)
Each of their stories are there for you in the insert for you to read
and study later, but right now let’s listen to what Mary Magdalene might
have to say about the different stories that are told.
Mary Magdalene enters from the side door.
Good Morning! I’m so glad you are here! ... Especially after I heard
that Rev. Diana preached on Mark’s version of the resurrection story
last Sunday. That Mark, I could never figure out why he wanted to end
his Gospel that way... But, oh well, I’ve learned to let that go too.
It’s all a part of God’s mysterious ways! Oh, pardon me, let me
introduce myself, (shake hands with people) I am Mary, often times
called Mary Magdalene. That’s because I come from a town called Magdala.
I was sorta the lead female follower of Jesus. There were lots of us
women that followed Jesus and took care of the food and all the other
necessities the men had. We didn’t get nearly as much press as the men.
Only Luke mentioned that there were several of us women who “provided
for [Jesus and the disciples] out of our resources” (Lk 8:3) But that’s
O.K. ... we didn’t do it for the publicity or the honor. We did it
because we loved Jesus. Besides, all the Gospel writers did give us top
billing when it came to reporting the resurrection. But, like most
reporters, none of them really got the whole story. Each one reported
what they thought was the most important, but that’s led to some
confusion down through the ages. People have said, “Well, did it happen
the way Matthew said it did, or the way Mark or Luke or John said? Which
one is the truth? Well, I was there, so I’m here to tell you how it
really happened. Which one was right? Was it Matthew, Mark, Luke or
John?.... The answer is YES!.... Yes, they all got it right. And if you
put them all together, you get a more complete picture of what happened
that important morning. So let me tell you the story, (sit on stool)
then you can see how it all happened, plus, maybe you can even learn
some things that will help you out in your faith journey.
It all began like Mark said. Mary, the mother of James, and Salome and I
bought some spices after the sun went down on Saturday. We knew the body
of Jesus had been buried without the proper anointing. You see, the
Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday and goes through sundown on
Saturday. So since it got so dark so early on Friday, no one could do
the necessary work to anoint the body then. So, as soon as the sun went
down on Saturday, we began to get the spices ready. So very early on
Sunday morning we started out toward the tomb. But as we were going, it
suddenly dawned on us that we would need some big
men
in order to roll back that huge stone that they had put in front of the
tomb. We had watched as several men had strained to roll it in place on
Friday afternoon. It was really a big huge stone. (Gesture and then look
up at the screen) Woah,... just like that one there! How’d you do that?
I’ve heard about this new technology stuff, that’s amazing. That stone
looked just like that one there. Anyway, we were walking along, sorta
kicking ourselves saying, “Duh... what were we thinking, coming out here
by ourselves. Who will roll away the stone for us?” Then we looked up
and low and behold, the stone was rolled away (gesture again and see the
screen change to the picture of the open tomb)... Just like that! How’d
you do that? Who’s changing that picture? That’s the way the tomb looked
- wide open!
I don’t understand how that machine knows when to change the picture ...
of course, I couldn’t understand how that stone got rolled away either.
There is a lot in life I don’t understand. So, I’ve learned a lot since
that day I went to the tomb. I’ve learned that worrying is basically a
waste of time. We were worried about how to get that stone rolled away
and wa-la it was already rolled away! - a part of God’s mysterious ways!
Is there anything you are worried about right now? Worried about what to
have for dinner? Worried about your job... your kids .... your health? I
know it’s our nature to worry. But Jesus told us not to worry ... and
over the years, I’ve begun to realize he was right. If you are busy
doing what you feel God wants you to do... then, it will all work out.
It may not be the way you expected, but it will work out God’s way. So
DON’T WORRY,
whatever
the situation is, just do your best... do what you feel God wants you to
do ... and whatever stone is blocking your way will be rolled back, just
like this one was. (Point to the screen ... see the words Don’t worry)
Don’t worry?.... Hey that’s neat ... now you will remember it, yes?
Don’t worry. I like that.
But back to my story. Don’t worry, I’m going to finish the story.
Anyway, when we saw that the door was open, we went in. I guess I was
thinking that probably some of the disciples had snuck out before we did
and gotten there first. So I was expecting to see them, but instead,
there was a young man sitting there on the right side. He had on a
really bright white robe. It was so bright it almost blinded you. Then
he spoke and his voice was like no other voice I’d ever heard. It filled
the room with vibration. He said, “Don’t be afraid.” Yea, right, like we
weren’t going to be afraid when some guy we’d never seen before in a
bright shining robe started talking in a weird voice. We all jumped 10
feet in the air... O.K. so that’s an exaggeration. The tomb’s ceiling
wasn’t that tall, but we were startled when he started to speak. He
said, “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has
been raised. He’s not here.” We looked around at where he pointed,
showing us where they had laid him. He was right, There was no body
there! Then he told us to go tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus was
going ahead of us to Galilee where we would see him. Well, we fell all
over each other trying to get out of there as fast as we could! We ran
straight for home with out saying a word. When we got to the place where
we had been staying, we sat down, exhausted from our run, under a fig
tree. At first, we just looked at each other, then we all said at the
same time, “Did you see what I saw?” Then we talked about what we
thought we had seen. It just didn’t seem possible. By that time, some
others were beginning to stir in the house. We decided we wouldn’t say
anything to anyone just yet. No one would believe us. So Mark was right.
We said nothing to anyone ... for at least a half hour!
Then Joanna suggested that we go to the tomb and take the spices we had
bought the night before. Mary the Mother of James and Salome and I just
looked at one another, what should we do? Then, we all said, O.K. let’s
go. So we started out again. I was saying to myself: Don’t worry. You
know the stone is rolled away. Try going in again. See if that young man
is still there. He really didn’t seem like he wanted to harm you. Don’t
worry. Well, when we got there, the stone was rolled back like it had
been, so we went in. The tomb was empty and we were all sorta standing
there trying to figure things out. Then suddenly TWO men in bright
shining robes appeared before us. Their robes seemed even brighter than
the one before. It was almost like lightening. Just like Luke described
in his gospel. It was startling and awesome. We bowed down to the ground
as they said: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not
here he has risen!” He is not here. He is risen. That was the second
time, I’d heard that message. Then the angels began to remind us about
how Jesus had said that he would be delivered into the hands of sinners,
be crucified and on the third day, rise. I remembered that he had said
something similar to that several times, but we never paid much
attention to it. But we began to remember. After we left the tomb that
time, we decided we had to tell the disciples about it. So, we tried to
be as rational as possible, but we were so excited that I guess, our
words sounded crazy to them. They said it was nonsense. One of them even
talked about it being another idle woman’s tale. Men! I tell you. They
can be arrogant sometimes. But not Luke, he told that part of our story.
The other women then got busy getting everyone’s breakfast, but I just
couldn’t do that, so I turned around and went back to the tomb. When I
got there again, That stone was still rolled away and the tomb wide
open. But instead of going back into the tomb, I ran back to the house
and told Peter and John that someone had stolen the body. I figured I’d
skip the angel part and the risen part. If they thought that someone had
stolen the body, they’d come. And it worked! Peter and John, both rushed
to the tomb. John ran faster and got there first, just like he described
in his gospel. But he hesitated at the entrance. So it was Peter who
rushed into the tomb. There wasn’t a body there... but there weren’t any
angels in there either. I was disappointed at that. They saw the linen
cloths rolled up and over to the side. It seemed to me that John was
beginning to get the idea, but he didn’t really say anything. They were
both perplexed and turned around and went on back to the house.
But I couldn’t leave. By this time, all I could do is cry. As I was
weeping, I stooped and looked into the tomb, and there were two angels
in there again. Why they weren’t there when Peter and John were in
there, I’ll never know. It’s God’s mysterious, surprising ways again.
Anyway, the angel said, “Why are you weeping?” I know they had told me
before that Jesus had risen, but I just couldn’t believe that. I had
talked myself into thinking that the body had been stolen. So I said,
“They’ve taken away the body of my Lord and I don’t know where they have
put him.” Then I turned around and I saw a man standing there in front
of me. The rising sun was behind him, so all I could see was an outline
of his frame. I thought he was probably the gardener so when he said,
“Woman, why are you weeping, whom do you seek?” I said, “Sir, if you
have taken him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take
care of him.” Then he said, “Mary.” I knew in a flash it was Jesus! No
one says my name like that! I felt a charge surge through my body. It
was Jesus! I cried out, “Rabboni” which means teacher and I hugged him,
then fell to his feet, kissing his feet. But he said, “Do not hold on to
me, for I have not yet returned to the Father.” Then he told me to go
and tell the others about him. All I wanted to do was stay there with
him. I didn’t want to leave him.
That song that you sang a few minutes ago about Being In The Garden
is about me. The composer was thinking about me when he wrote it. He
knew I wanted to stay there in the garden and walk and talk with Jesus.
What joy we shared in those few moments. I did not want to leave. But
that brings me to the second important thing I hope you’ll learn from me
and that is we can’t be possessive with Jesus. As much as we would like
to stay in the garden and share intimate moments with him and do nothing
else, that’s not what a relationship with Jesus is all about. There are
lots of good Christians that think the most important thing is spending
time in prayer and Bible reading. That is important, don’t get me wrong.
It’s important and necessary, but the more you encounter Jesus, the more
you
realize that he is saying get out there and tell others about me and
share my love with them. Don’t be possessive. Learn from me... Go tell
others. This time when I told, they seemed more ready to listen. I think
it was because I had actually encountered Jesus.
Then, Mary, the Mother of James wanted to go to the tomb again, so again
we went. This made my 5th time that morning. This time there was a
violent earthquake as the angel of the Lord came down and sat on the
large stone that had been rolled back. Matthew likes dramatic things
like earthquakes, so this is the trip he told about in his gospel. He
also mentioned that this time there were some guards there that
witnessed the whole thing. They shook with fear at the earthquake and
the sight of the angel. Then they froze, looking like dead men. Again
the angel told us to not be afraid. Again he showed us where the body
had laid and then told us to go tell the others. This time though as we
were going, Jesus appeared to us on the road. We were so excited and
clasped his feet and worshiped him. He stayed with us for a little while
and then told us to go tell the others. By this time, I really
understood that my task was to go and tell. The angels told us, and
Jesus himself told us. So I’m passing it along to you. You have to go
tell others about Jesus. It’s just part of the mysterious way God works.
As we tell others, somehow our own faith grows. I know because I’ve been
telling others for centuries now. I know they won’t always believe you.
They didn’t believe me. They even made fun of me and laughed, but ... oh
well... that’s just the way it is. Besides I couldn’t be too hard on
them, because I didn’t believe the first time either. I had to go back
to that tomb over and over again. The same thing may be true for you
too.
Well, there you have it. The story of my close encounters of the Risen
Kind. It took a bunch of trips to the tomb. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
all got it right. It all happened just as they said. It was just that
none of them got the whole story. I just keep going back to the tomb and
going back until I finally began to understand what was happening. I
went first like Mark said, then like Luke said, then two more times like
John said, and last of all like Matthew said.
So the last thing I hope you will learn from me is that you need to Keep
on Looking ... keep on looking for those close encounters of the risen
kind. Maybe you won’t get a really wonderful close encounter with Jesus
the first time you go to church, just like I didn’t when I first went to
the tomb. Maybe it will seem strange and scary, but ... try again. Keep
on looking. Look for the risen Jesus in your ordinary activities. Look
for the risen Jesus as you study and pray. Look for the risen Jesus as
you go places with your friends. Look for the risen Jesus as you are
working in the garden ... you can never tell where he will show up.
Don’t worry ... Don’t be possessive, tell others ... and keep on
looking... Those are some really good things to learn today. I was
rather slow learning them, but maybe you can learn faster, after all you
have them written down for you by some mysterious force too complicated
for me to understand. Actually, the whole deal is too complicated to
understand. It’s surprising. It’s mysterious. But it’s too wonderful not
to be open to experience it. So take it from me, Christ is risen! Christ
is Alive! It’s wonderful news! Don’t worry any longer! Go tell others!
And keep looking, that close encounter with the risen Christ is just
around the corner for you! Alleluia! Christ is risen!
.