Reflection by The Rev'd Dr Deborah Broome

The day that changes everything

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’s head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed, for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not touch me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and she told them that he had said these things to her.                                John 20:1-18

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! Easter is a new day, a day that challenges everything we thought we knew, a day that gives to us new hope and new life.  Because of Easter, our lives can be different. Easter is the day that changes everything. 

Jesus’ self-giving love, his death on the cross, didn’t result in defeat, but in his being raised to glorious, unstoppable new life. The cross looked like the end of everything, but it shows us that God’s love is stronger than violence, than worldly power, even stronger than death itself. In Jesus’ resurrection God said Yes to life, to hope, to new beginnings, and No to hopelessness, despair and evil. 

But some things begin in chaos and uncertainty. Before we meet the risen Christ, we have the darkness of early morning, a lot of running back and forth, and an empty space that feels like a new loss. Summoned to the tomb by the grieving Mary Magdalene, the Beloved Disciple – the one “whom Jesus loved” – runs and reaches the tomb first. He sees the linen cloths, he realises something has happened, but he’s not exactly sure what. It’s comforting to know that faith often begins with fuzziness not certainty. Sometimes resurrection nudges its way into our lives quietly.

Peter also rushes in: confused and impulsive. He enters the tomb but doesn’t really get it. Very probably he’s remembering how only two days before he denied even knowing Jesus. It’s comforting to know that Easter is also for disciples who don’t have it all worked out. That resurrection is big enough for the hesitant, the uncertain, the ones who don’t understand, and the ones who think they’ve made a mess of everything. 

Mary came to the empty tomb in grief and love. In the early morning light she sees someone she thinks is the gardener, someone who might know where Jesus’ body is. And then he calls her by name, and everything changes. Resurrection dawns with recognition – she hears her name and knows it’s Jesus, no longer dead, but gloriously alive. For Mary, and for all of us, Easter faith is grounded in relationship. Mary is known, called, and loved – and that changes her. 

For Mary and for us, God’s love changes how we see ourselves. It changes what we think is possible. Love breaks through darkness and despair and calls us into a new story. Easter doesn’t just bring Jesus from death to life – it changes us too, and opens to us a new sort of life. This Easter, let the resurrecting love of God touch your heart, and let it change you.  Alleluia, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia.