Finders Keepers

This homily was delivered at the Berryville Alliance of Churches annual Easter Morning Celebration at 8:00 AM on Easter Sunday. This service is usually held in Pioneer Park in Berryville, Arkansas but because of the weather this year it was held in the First Presbyterian Church.

Acts 10:34:43
John 20:1-18

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

It’s early on the first day of the week. The sun has just begun to come up so it is still dark. This is as early as Mary dares leave, any sooner she will violate the Sabbath. So literally at the crack of dawn, she leaves the house and goes to the tomb. When she arrives she sees that the stone that had been placed over its mouth has been removed. I suspect she looked into the open tomb, for just a moment. Maybe she didn’t look in, but instead had a sinking feeling in her heart. Either way, she had come to the correct conclusion. Jesus’ body was not there.

Mary sees the open tomb, overwhelmed by grief, or maybe by panic. The Lord is not there, how can this be? Mary runs to Simon Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved to tell them. He has been taken from the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him.

Mary’s panic is shared by the two disciples. They run together, Peter falling behind as they race to the tomb. The other disciple arrives first, looking in he sees only the linen that had been wrapped around Jesus. Peter arrives on his heels and we read that he is the first who dares to enter. Peter too sees the cloths that had been wrapped around his body and set aside by itself the wrapping that had covered his head and face.

After the other entered the tomb, they saw and they believed. They believed that he was gone. Simon Peter, the rock upon which the church would be built, and the disciple who Jesus loved; they had entered the tomb of their Lord and Master, and his body was gone. Scripture is silent, but would I be wrong to think they were devastated? He is taken, he is tried, he is crucified, and now he is gone.

Peter had cut off the ear of the High Priest’s slave Malchus. The other disciple was the one Jesus loved. If Jesus’ body was missing, logic says it was taken. If the authorities thought that they had done this, if they thought these two disciples had taken this rabble rouser’s body to cause more religious unrest, then they would be next on the Pharisees’ and Pilate’s list of political enemies.

They did not understand what had happened. They did not understand the scripture. So they did what seemed sensible. They needed to sort out what was happening. They needed to mourn. They may have needed to hide. So they went home.

Mary remains weeping at the tomb. Her Lord is dead and missing. The two people she shares her worries with have abandoned her. She is alone again. She is lost. She is distraught. She weeps and she looks into the tomb. What else can she do?

Suddenly she is found by two angels who ask why she is crying. She repeats her lament, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Can you hear her heart breaking? Flowery speeches are unnecessary. “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Then, just as suddenly she turns and sees another man standing before her. Who is this man? Did he take the body of the Lord?

He breaks the momentary silence repeating the question of the men in the tomb, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Scripture tells us Mary supposed he was the gardener. But she may have also thought he was a thief or a fool.

Only a fool wouldn’t know what had been going on in Jerusalem over the past week. The Passover was only a part of what was happening now. The Nazarene, Jesus came into Jerusalem triumphantly on the back of a colt. Later, he was tried as an enemy of the state or of the church depending on the accuser. Then he was crucified with two criminals. This was his crypt, and if this man was the gardener either he was oblivious to the events of the last week and the responsibilities of his job or he was the one who moved the body.

She answers his question without contempt toward its foolishness, but she is not above suspecting this gardener of taking Jesus. “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away.” How Mary is going to carry the dead weight of a man is irrelevant. If this gardener knows where the body is, she will retrieve it and return it to its proper resting place.

It’s the least she can do. The Lord has delivered Mary from her life in the world to life with him. The gospels tell different stories about Mary and her history, but there is one thing that is certain. Jesus finds Mary and then she becomes actively useful to the ministry of the Lord. Carrying him to his final resting place is the least she can do.

Her world is shattered. Being useful in this small way is all she can think to do. It is all she dares to believe she can do. What else is there?

Jesus then calls her by name. “Mary!” Recognizing him, she turns and calls out to him “Rabboni.” She is flooded with emotion. The warmth must be amazing. Her tears of sorrow and anxiety and fear become tears of joy and relief. The Lord reveals himself to her again. She has found him and the world is turning anew. She rushes to him, she clings to him. Jesus tells her this is not the time, she is to go and tell the brothers what was happening, and what would happen. Jesus tells Mary “I am ascending to my Father.”

Mary does as she is told. She goes to the disciples. Such a difference a moment makes in our lives. Her world has been turned over three times in the last three days, the twice within the last hour or so. If she is running she is skipping. If she is walking she is walking on sunshine. Life is never going to be the same. Her Lord lives. And she is trusted to take these things to the others. “I have seen the Lord,” and life, which had all ready been turned on its ear, is turning again and again. “I have seen the Lord.”

We all remember the childhood taunt, “finders keepers losers weepers.” What’s even stranger is that this edict comes from Scottish law meaning just what it says. It is also maritime common law, when a shipwreck reaches a certain age, the original owner of the cargo no longer has claim over it. Anyone who finds the wreck can file a salvage claim, place a lien on the vessel, and mount a salvage operation.[1] It can be said that Mary had lost Jesus and wept. Then Jesus was found and she rejoiced. But this would not be entirely true.

This summer, the sequel to the 2003 movie “Bruce Almighty” is being released. Titled “Evan Almighty,” Steve Carell reprises his role as Evan Baxter. Where Evan was Bruce’s foil in the first movie, this time it is Evan who hears the voice of the Lord. The movie trailer begins like this:

“Through history, the Almighty has appeared unto a very few: Moses, Abraham, Joan of Arc, Bruce. [This] summer he will choose a new prophet to bring his message to the world.” This is where the trailer cuts to the “Evan talking gibberish” scene from the movie “Bruce Almighty.” Back to the trailer, “But God only knows why He chose Evan.”[2]

This actually shows us something important. We don’t find God, God finds us. Jesus, God incarnate, God crucified, God resurrected, finds us, and like with Mary, he finds us where we are. He finds us when we are useless to him and to the world and makes us useful. He finds us when we are our most vulnerable and shows us his presence. He takes us, melds us, molds us, and makes us the people we are called to be.

Today as we cry the words of the ancient liturgy, “He is risen, He is risen indeed!” we cry that he lives and continues to live in his world and in our lives. Jesus finds us and keeps us. None are lost to the Lord; in him there is no reason to weep. Mary took this news and shared it with the disciples. They took this news and shared it with the world. Take it, and share it with the world. He is risen, He is risen indeed!

[1] “Finders Keepers,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finders_keepers, accessed April 7, 2007.
[2] “Evan Almighty” trailer, http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mid=23571&mode=0&pmmsid=1755739 accessed April 7, 2007.