20?Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2?So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, ?They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don?t know where they have put him!?

3?So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4?Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5?He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6?Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7?as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus? head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8?Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9?(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10?Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11?Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12?and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus? body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13?They asked her, ?Woman, why are you crying??

?They have taken my Lord away,? she said, ?and I don?t know where they have put him.? 14?At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15?He asked her, ?Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for??

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ?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 toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ?Rabboni!? (which means ?Teacher?).

17?Jesus said, ?Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ?I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.??

18?Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ?I have seen the Lord!? And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Christ is Risen! He has risen indeed! It is a blessing to be able to say these words this day. For God has conquered death and God is free and on the loose. We gather together our of obligation, wonder, doubt, confusion, conversation, questions, longing, and hope?hope that this time, it might be different and I might be changed again. We also gather out of a sense of longing, with a question deep within us ringing??is it true?? Asking the question ?is it true?? can push us to yes a hesitant yes or ask other questions. And other times it is like saying, I believe, help my unbelief. But we have had the opportunity to hear these stories of the resurrection year after year. Sometimes we choose to hear them, other times we choose not to hear them. Sometimes we continue to believe, decide to believe or long to believe. Yet for those who witnessed the resurrection, those first disciples, the ones who had spent 3 years following, learning from, wondering, and hoping Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus was ?it,? they were very confused. Those disciples would have been thinking through all the different teachings and experiences with Jesus, wondering what it all meant in relation to the tomb being empty. Because they truly encountered an experience and belief?meaning they didn?t truly have faith until they encountered Jesus after the resurrection. Everything started to make sense for the disciples once the resurrection happened. Life began with the resurrection. Life is made new because of the resurrection. Living in relationship with God and one another has taken on a new form and new reality because of the resurrection. Christ has risen, he has risen indeed! Let us pray.

I am going to tell you, I have never personally seen someone die and come back alive on the third day. Have you? But I have seen a lot of things surrounding death, but coming alive on the 3rd day, that hasn?t happened in my years as a pastor. Yet, even though I haven?t seen it happen, I still believe it happened all those years ago. I believe that God conquered death, that Jesus walked again with his disciples, and that he ascended to heaven after teaching the disciples more as they understood more. Since I wasn?t there, I just believe. I believe because of all the different witnesses in the Bible and of the stories that are told about the resurrection. I believe, and this is where live truly begins.

But understanding it, well, that?s a whole different story. To me, belief and faith are easy, but for others doubt and questions are easier. And if we think about it, many of us would probably say it is easier to ask questions, to have doubts, and to wonder about what it means before we believe. And, it took the resurrection, an empty tomb, conversations, being called by name, and more for the people who were closest to Jesus to believe and ?get it.? Yet, when the resurrection happened, those disciples believed. And in their belief, they proclaimed that message to the world. Belief happened, then being a witness to what they had experienced, and then the stories of the miracles, healings, and teachings of Jesus were shared. I wonder, what will it take for us to ?just believe? so we can then begin to grow even more in our faith?

As we go into this question and thoughts about ?just believing,? let?s look at the characters in our gospel lesson for the morning. We have John, the beloved disciple, Peter, Mary, and Jesus AKA the gardener. If we start with John, the beloved disciple, it is important to know that John stayed by Jesus? side as long as he could. He walked with Jesus and didn?t want to leave his side. So when John hears the news from Mary that the stone has been moved, he doesn?t want to miss this part either. So John jumps, he runs, he arrives; he arrives before his running partner Peter. Peter and John are like two school boys running to the goal in how they are competing with one another. But John saw the linen wrappings, yet won?t go into the tomb, waits until Peter walks in, and then follows and believes. The beloved disciple believes something and in someone without full comprehension or explanation. He had an unwavering trust and faith that God will work out something good, even out of the crucifixion.

Many of us know someone like the beloved disciple. They see hope in the ashes, possibility in broken equipment and run down buildings and neighborhoods, a future in a child when others have given up on them?their optimism beings us hope and belief.

Then there is Peter. The guy who just spent the last few days running from and denying Jesus. Now, because of Mary?s words, Peter is running towards Jesus. Have you ever wondered why Peter ran towards the tomb? Does he go out of curiosity? Jealousy? Wonder? Obligation? Guilt? Fear? Or to apologize and seek remorse? Either way, Peter runs in a race with John, the beloved disciple. He sees the empty tomb and is probably full of so many mixed emotions?and then he goes back.

We probably can all identify with Peter. We harbor jealousies, we are resentful, we have been threatened, and we fall back on our word. And maybe like Peter, we long and desire to get back into a right relationship with Jesus?where we hurry to confess our shortcomings and want to race to seek forgiveness.

And like Peter, we also run to see if something life-giving and remarkable could happen again. We wonder if new life is possible when we have messed up so many times. We hope that others will forgive us, but we wonder if God truly will forgive us and welcome us back home. We desire to be made whole so we can fully live life believing.

Then there is Mary. Mary goes to the tomb in darkness. She weeps for the one who is gone. She is so overcome with sorrow and grief that she can?t think straight. She isn?t able to connect that those in the tomb are angels, messengers from God; She thinks Jesus is the gardener. Have you been there? Mary is only able to think clearly and recognize who is standing in front of her because Jesus calls out her name. Jesus knows her by name?and he knows all of us by name. It took being called by her name to believe. Jesus tells her to go and tell the disciples?I know she wanted to stay with him longer and make sure he was okay. Yet Jesus says, don?t hang on to me Mary-go and tell the disciples what you have seen. So Mary leaves the garden, tells the disciples ?I have seen the Lord.?

Many of us have been in the shoes of Mary. Where we have lost a loved one, been so broken that we couldn?t see straight, stayed in a place of grief and sorrow. We have also been in the place where we want to hold on to our loved ones and never let them go. And many of us have also wanted to believe and share that with others. When Mary spoke these words, she gave all those around her a new voice to share in their belief. What many expected to be the end, Mary told us with assurance that it was just the beginning. It was the beginning of a new life, a new way of being, and new way of being with people.

Today, we can all find out place in the story. We have been the beloved disciple, Peter, or Mary. Even though we can see others and ourselves in the story; the most important part is believing in the resurrection. We don?t have to understand it?that can come later by being involved in community through worship, fellowship, bible study, service, and in meals together. Being in relationshipwith God and one another grows stronger when we believe the resurrection truly changed the lives of the first disciples and the resurrection still changes our lives today.

You know, I?m okay with not seeing someone be raised back to life on the third day. I don?t need to see it. I believe because of the testimonies and witness of Mary, Peter, John, Paul, James, and others who shared about the resurrection. I believe; and more people can believe by just believing?then the walk together will happen in a community that welcome, hope, acceptance, forgiveness, faith, and love are part of the everyday life?a community like this-where relationships with God and one another define believing in the resurrection. Because Jesus came for all, for you, me, and everyone else.? New life begins in belief and we need more people to believe and share that witness with those they meet. That is living a resurrection life and beginning something that is new because God has conquered death. Christ is risen, he is risen indeed. Believe and walk the journey to know Christ more. Amen.