“’Why are you crying?’”

(John 20:15)

In his book The Moment of Truth author Samuel Wells observes, “Easter’s drenched in tears.” This is hardly newsworthy. We have spent a lifetime hearing the Easter story unfold from John’s gospel. We already know what is follow the words, “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance” (John 20:1). We anticipate our heartbeat quicken with every stride, as Mary alerts Simon Peter and the unnamed disciple. Mary struggles to catch her breath gasping for air in between a run of words, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him” (v.3)!

          John describes what Simon Peter and the unnamed disciples see when they investigate Mary’s report and the mostly empty tomb (only the wrappings remain). For a culture that is fascinated and appalled by death, many abandon the Easter story by the time we finish reading John’s editorial comment, “They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead” (v.9). The two disciples exit the scene as “Mary stood outside the tomb crying” (v.11).

          The waterworks flow. Of course, Mary weeps. We’ve leaned into the casket to kiss a loved one on the forehead. Dressed in black, we have shed tears as body is lowered into the opened earth. What I have not noticed before is the way John emphasizes Mary’s tears. It’s strange with so much hanging on the resurrection, John would zero in on Mary’s eyes. (e.g., “wept” (v.11), “crying” (v.12), “crying” v. 15, “cried” (v.16).

Mary is asked, “’Why are you crying’” (vv.13, 15)? Such a question is threatening and likely to cause the eyes to flood with tears all the more, because if she could give a satisfactory answer, Mary wouldn’t be weeping. Imaginatively Wells ponders Mary’s response, “I’m crying because I’m experiencing horrifying loss, aching grief and a huge hole where the love and hope and trust and joy of my life used to be.” Do Mary’s tears flow haunted by the sights and sounds of Jesus’ still-recent crucifixion? Does she cry feeling powerless, fragile, and alone in front of the tomb? No one tells Mary not to cry, but merely asks why.

Perhaps before the sun rises on Easter morning, John would invite us to fight the urge not to ask ourselves, “’Why are you crying’” (vv.13-15)? We know all the tactics to resist answering the question. We build walls to protect our privacy, we pull the curtain of self-sufficiency; we’ve finetuned a demeanor of emotional steadiness. Then we see Mary, who has the courage to stare into the tomb, and we begin to feel our lips quiver and our eyes moisten. We can no longer dodge Easter’s first question, “’Why are you crying’” (v.15)?

Easter’s second question is far better. The risen Christ, unrecognized by Mary asks, “Who is it you are looking for” (v.15)? Mary obviously seeks Jesus. She blurts out, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will get him’” (v.15). While it may seem elementary to ask, “Who is Jesus?” it is helpful to remember why Mary cries. To borrow the words of Wells, “Jesus is the one who overcomes death and transforms the fragile, the weak, the lonely and the powerless…He’s the one who dismantles sin, deflates, enmity, heals cruelty, absorbs malice, forgives treachery…He’s the one who reunites us with God.” When Mary stares into the tomb, she is looking for Jesus.

There is a profound shift after Jesus calls Mary by name. John indicates that Mary “turned toward [Jesus] and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’” (v.16). Samuel Wells has helped me to understand a new “Easter’s drenched in tears.” Can you picture Mary weeping as she tells the disciples, “I have seen the Lord” (v.18)? Her heart full of elation and gladness, causes her eyes to well up with tears. Mary’s soul spills over with an abundance of joy, and the joy can be detected in her tears. Amid her tears we can hear Mary preparing us for Easter morning as she sings, “He lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives today!”

                                                                                            In Christ,

                                                                                

                                                            Nicholas Perry, Pastor

 

Holy Thursday Service (March 28) – Combined Service at 7pm at Mayville UMC

 

Easter Morning Services (March 31):

8 am -combined communion service with Brocton & Mayville at FUMC Westfield.

Light refreshments to follow

 

10 am Service in Sanctuary (FUMC Westfield)