VIDEO LINK
(Sermon starts at about 33:30 with the Scripture)
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’ 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 hold on to 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)
(Sermon starts at about 33:30 with the Scripture)
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’ 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 hold on to 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)
It wasn’t until the year 1697 that Europeans saw a black swan. Although they had been talked about for centuries, until that time they had been the stuff of legend - presumed to be mythical creatures. About 150 years after the resurrection of Jesus, the Roman poet Juvenal started using black swans as a way of saying that something was impossible - a loose translation of his Latin words would be that something was “as likely as the appearance of a black swan” - which meant that it was impossible; it couldn’t happen. “As likely as a black swan” entered the English language as a way of saying that something couldn’t happen. Sometimes, it’s used to say that because we haven’t seen something happen, it can’t happen - so it’s the problem of inductive reasoning - “all the swans we have seen are white; therefore all swans must be white; therefore there are no black swans.” But in 1697 black swans were actually discovered in Australia. After that, Juvenal’s words had to be altered, so that the “old” saying actually became a “new” way of saying that things that seemed impossible weren’t necessarily impossible - they were just unexpected.
The “Black Swan Theory” - as it’s come to be known - reminds us to always expect the unexpected. Let’s face it: not everything always turns out the way we expect it will. How many of us have awakened in the morning with certain expectations of how the day is going to go, but by the end of the day it seems as if nothing has gone the way we expected it to go? Things have a way of happening; the unexpected has a way of inserting itself into our lives and shaking up what we thought would be our routine existence. Always expect the unexpected. It’s a good philosophy to live by!
Yesterday was Holy Saturday - the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday; the day between the crucifixion and the resurrection. The day, in other words, that Jesus was absent. For me, Holy Saturday has always been a very meaningful day. I take a lot of time pondering on Holy Saturday what it must have been like for the first disciples of Jesus. Three years ago, in my blog, I wrote a bit about Holy Saturday:
The sombreness of Good Friday is over, but you can't move to the celebration of Easter. Holy Saturday is about waiting. And trusting. And believing. It's about knowing that the way from darkness to light, or defeat to victory, or sorrow to joy, or tears to laughter, is a journey. It doesn't happen all at once. But it does happen. Easter comes. It always does. We just have to wait.
That’s for us. “Easter comes. It always does.” We leave the Good Friday service perhaps feeling sombre, but knowing that joy is on the horizon. But what about those first disciples? It wasn’t as easy for them. They were faced with the stark reality that Jesus was dead. And the dead don’t come back. Those very first disciples were suddenly lost, frightened, uncertain and leaderless. They were grief-stricken. They had closeted themselves away. And while we often give credit to the women for being bold enough to go to the tomb while the men hid themselves - and we should give the women credit for that courage - let’s not misunderstand why they went to the tomb. It wasn’t to find a resurrected Jesus; it was to anoint a dead body. They had no more belief in the possibility of resurrection than anyone else. If anyone had said to them that Jesus was alive after what they had witnessed the day before they would have been in sympathy with what Juvenal would write decades later: “that’s as likely as the appearance of a black swan.” And at first, as we read, even when Mary Magdalene was confronted by the risen Jesus - she couldn’t believe her eyes. Jesus was dead, after all. It had to be someone else standing before her. To the risen Jesus, she could only say, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” No. Resurrection was a black swan. Even on Easter morning, there was no hope. There were only tears.
But black swans are real. And so is resurrection. I don’t fully understand it. I stand with Paul, who wrote, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.” I want to. But we don’t really know much about the resurrection. Even the first disciples didn’t understand it. Mary Magdalene didn’t recognize Jesus at first. Peter and John ran to the empty tomb. The passage tells us that they saw it and they believed - but they didn’t understand. The Gospels don’t tell us anything about the actual resurrection - only that the resurrected Jesus was seen and that he interacted with his disciples and that he turned fear and doubt into faith. “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection” but can I believe without knowing? Yes, I can, because, like Mary Magdalene and like the disciples and like Paul, in my own way I have encountered Christ; I have been touched by Christ; I have heard his voice and I have been changed by him. Not changed enough, I confess. I still have a long way to go before I can claim to be what Christ would want me to be. But I do know he’s with me. I do know he’s here.
There are a lot of doubts about the resurrection in the world. Sometimes the Black Swan Theory raises its head even in the church: “We didn’t see the resurrection of Jesus; therefore Jesus cannot have been resurrected; therefore resurrection is impossible.” And so, some want to give up on the resurrection altogether and redefine Christian faith so that it’s simply about doing good things, because the resurrection is too hard to believe. But I believe Christian faith is founded on the resurrection. I believe that Christian faith wouldn’t exist without the resurrection.
I admit - the resurrection of Jesus might, in fact, be about as likely as the appearance of a black swan. But black swans are real. They remind us that just because something is unexpected and seems impossible doesn’t mean that it can’t happen. There may be nothing more unexpected than the resurrection. There may be nothing that seems more impossible than the resurrection. Except that - every now and then, when we look with eyes of faith - Jesus is there. And we can’t ignore him. Like Mary Magdalene, all we can do then is say “I have seen the Lord!”
“I have seen the Lord.”
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