“Today the World is Different” 

John 20:1-18 

Do you believe? That's what I asked myself as I stood there, at the top of that huge, dangerous, life threatening run called “Little Beaver.” As I stood at the top of the

precipice (or should I say, after I managed to stay standing with this large, unnatural thing strapped to my feet), I had to decide whether I was actually going to take the plunge. “Do you believe?” I asked myself. 

I was already covered with snow having fallen a few times, the last coming off of the lift, but the moment of decision could no longer be delayed. With Nathan waiting for me, I had to decide between finding some way of gracefully finding another way down (while maintaining a shred of dignity), and just taking the plunge. 

By the way, I got the feeling, when I mentioned in church that day that I was going snowboarding, that you didn't have a whole lot of confidence in me! You thought I was going to hurt myself, didn't you? Well, standing up on the precipice, so did I. 

Well, this morning we stand again on precipice of sorts. This morning we

encounter the story of resurrection once more. This encounter with resurrection brings us to the edge of faith and asks us, “Do you believe?” 

Do you believe in resurrection? 

One way to approach resurrection is as an intellectual puzzle. We can examine the evidence, weigh the pros and cons, and come to a reasonable, rational conclusion.

Christians often try to take this route, attempting to “prove” the reasonableness of resurrection, attempting to make it sound plausible, believable. But something tells me that this is not what “believing” the good news is about. Something tells me that believing is something much more profound than 'reasonable' or 'plausible'. 

The good news of Easter has the audacity to proclaim to all us, “Today, the world is different.” Do you believe that? 

Can we chew on the story together, before we take the plunge? 

This morning's story, from John's account of the resurrection, has many unique elements in it when compared to the other gospels. More than any of the other accounts, it focuses on Mary Magdalene and her experience of Easter. In the first part of our reading, Mary makes her way down the dusty path in the darkness before the dawn toward the tomb where she thought the body of her loved one lay. She isn't expecting anything new, anything out of the ordinary, just some time alone, her and her grief, alone together by the tomb. The world looked pretty bleak, pretty dark, but, at the same time, familiar. 

The world looked pretty much the way it always had, ever since she could remember. When you were hungry, you had to get out the pita bread and the olive oil and hope that the previous nights fishing trip was successful. When you were thirsty, you had to go to the well and lower a bucket to get a drink. When you were in trouble, the stronger or richer you were, or the higher your status, the better off you would be (in Mary's case, she was usually on the losing side of that equation). And as it always had been, when you lost a loved one, there was a hole in your life, a vacuum, an ache. As she made her way to Jesus' tomb, things seemed just the same. 

It is true that this way of the world began to look different when she met Jesus. For a brief while, things were not so dark. Hope was not so distant. But then on that fateful Friday, with her teacher and master on the cross, the old world once again seemed to assert that things were not so different after all. 

What Mary did not yet understand, however, was that Friday was over. Now it was Sunday, and this Sunday was a different day. 

Today the world is different. That's what the story says. 

“Go and tell them, Mary, that things are not the way they always were. Go and tell them!” 

You know, too often we are like Mary in this story. We come to church on Easter morning. The stone has already been rolled away. The tomb has already been found empty. Others have gone inside and seen for themselves. Some have believed, other not. There have even been messengers to help us. But still we sit outside the tomb, weeping, not knowing where Jesus is. 

The biblical story tells us that Easter is a cosmic event. It tells us that God is bringing the entire creation along the path to wholeness & shalom. The biblical story tells us that in Christ, peace and justice ultimately will triumph. All of creation is longing, aching for that day when all tears will be wiped away, every injustice will be set right, peace shall reign, light and warmth, intimacy and deep relationship with God shall be the order of the day. Even death will no longer shroud human experience. It is all part of God's ultimate, cosmic plan. 

But sometimes that's just too much for us to grasp. Sometimes it's too much for us to comprehend. 

Perhaps John, with his emphasis upon this personal encounter between Mary and Jesus, is inviting us to break God's master plan of resurrection down into smaller chunks. Perhaps John's telling is a reminder that, yes, God has a comprehensive plan of resurrection that includes all of creation, but a critical part of that plan is you. 

This morning's Word invites us into a fresh encounter with the Living word. It invites us take the plunge and believe that today the world is different. Today, it is different for me and for you. 

When we encounter this story this morning, Jesus is not only making some grand proclamation to all of humanity, he his calling out to me and to you. Paul! Mary! 

We can easily be overwhelmed by circumstances in the world. Peace in the Middle East? A way out after five years of war in Iraq? Global Warming? 

Even our personal circumstances can seem to require more strength, more

wisdom, more courage than we can muster. 

What can I do? we ask. The gardener calls to us in our weeping. 

Today the world is different. Today, in the midst of your present circumstances, the gardener you see standing there is Jesus. He is no longer limited by the ways of the world. Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't fret about the grand scheme of things. Don't despair at the great problems of the world. Today, you can make your decisions, today you can set your values, today you can make another step forward towards new life.

God has a plan for this moment, for this day. 

The world is different for you today because of the hope you encounter in this story. Glimpse the resurrection. Take the plunge. 

And with your life, and the way you live it, you can be part of God's plan of proclaiming hope, nurturing resurrection for someone else. And so the good news spreads and grows. 

I have to apologize, my friends, but I don't have an ending for today's sermon. You are the ending. When you leave this sanctuary, when you go out into the world and live your life, you write the ending to this sermon. When we allow God to change our present moment, when we receive the strength that God offers to take that one step forward, when we discover glimpses of grace, peace, and hope, when we take the plunge and believe with our lives, our values, our money, our time, our talents, even if just for a moment, God takes our today and transforms tomorrow. 

Amen.

      March 23, 2008

Rev. Paul Heins

First Presbyterian Church

Logan, Utah