Hallelujah!

John 20:1-9

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’ So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

Food for thought on Easter! DID HE OR NOT RISE FROM THE DEAD?

What do you think? Did Jesus rise or not from the dead? Well, let's look at the gospel reading of this Sunday. Mary comes to the tomb a good while before daylight. When she arrives, she finds the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. Immediately, she runs to find the disciples of Jesus and she tells them that the body of their Lord is missing from the tomb. When they hear this news, Peter and John runs to the tomb to see what has happened. When they arrive, they both see that linen clothes are lying there undisturbed and the napkin that had been around His face lying folded, in a place by itself.

What do the grave clothes tell us about the resurrection of Jesus? First, I believe that Jesus left His grave clothes behind for a reason. He left them behind so that they could preach a message to all those who saw them early on that Sunday morning. The gospel says that the linen clothes were lying still in their folds. This means that they looked exactly like they were still around the body of Jesus. You see, the burial spices would have hardened the cloths around the body and would have formed a cocoon; the cloths still resembled the shape of the body of Jesus.

Another truth to note is that the scene is very orderly and undisturbed. Had the body been taken by grave robbers, the wrappings around the body would not have been removed, and if they had been removed, they would not have been left in such an orderly fashion. Then, there is the matter of the napkin, which had covered the head of Jesus. Had the body been removed by others, the napkin would merely have lain where it had fallen. Instead, it had been folded and laid in a place by itself. Everything speaks of calmness and order in the empty tomb of Jesus!

The only logical conclusion to the matter is that the tomb was a scene of order and calm because Jesus had merely passed through His grave clothes; he simply evaporated. He then must have folded His own napkin and laid it aside. He left behind a scene of peace and order so that all those who look in would believe. And they did. At least John did. The gospel says that he saw the grave clothes and believed that Jesus had risen from the dead. That's is the truth.

And talking of truth. The story of the resurrection of Jesus is the story of the triumph of falsity over truth, of injustice over justice, of evil over goodness. Jesus was falsely charged of crimes he did not commit, and unjustly sentenced to a death he did not deserve. His good friend betrayed him, his trusted companions deserted him and his number one man denied him. The people he loved demanded his crucifixion and chose to have the bandit Barabbas released in his place. It is a story of betrayal and lies, dishonesty and meanness, unfaithfulness and wicked violence directed against an innocent and apparently helpless victim. All this comes to a head on Good Friday when we see Jesus scourged, mocked, led on the death march, nailed to the cross where he dies after a few hours and hastily buried in a tomb.

It is good news to know that truth is immortal. We can suppress Truth, accuse it of being a lie, condemn it, torture it, kill it, bury it in the grave but on the third day Truth will rise again. Remember this and do not give up on Truth even when everybody seems to give up on it. Do not give up on Truth; do not give up on Justice. Do not give up on doing what is right. Truth will always be true. Justice will always be just. Right will always be right even when the world around us would have it otherwise. We must learn to believe in the sun even when it is not shining, knowing that it will shine again.

It is the end of the story that counts. That is why today we rejoice and are glad. Even when we are going through very difficult times: through betrayal, unjust discrimination, lies, misrepresentations; even when the enemy seems to be winning the battle in our lives; yes, even when those we know speak evil against us, and give us in to our enemies. Don't give in to lies. Be truthful. Be good to the end. Today Christ has shown us that being and doing good is good. To him be praise and honour and power and glory. Amen. Hallelujah!