Springing: John 20:1-18

Do you remember that big snow storm we had back in January? With all the snow and ice, with impassable roads, and fears of power failure? It almost seems like a distant memory now, doesn’t it? I remember watching a truck hitch a boat to the back and it ride down the road. I remember braving the ice to go to the grocery store, only to find nothing there, so I had to borrow milk from a neighbor for Georgia.



Wow, things were shut down for that storm. The Atlanta Hawks had to postpone a game because they couldn’t fly in to Atlanta. And I remember images from newscasts that showed an interstate, with bumper to bumper traffic, but no one moving because people had abandoned their cars rather than sit in a frozen river called I-20.



Seems like a distant memory, but it was only 3 months ago! We look outside now, and we wonder how in the world could it have been that way. Because NOW things are green and lush. Pastures are beginning to grow taller. In the yard at the parsonage, flowers just shot up out of nowhere it seemed like. Daffodils, Tulips, and Lilacs burst forward…because of no effort on my part I assure you. They were always there, and needed the right conditions to come out. Our azaleas in the front of the house look beautiful, and our trees are growing rich and full with leaves where before, they were just branches. The days are nice and long…cool in the morning and evening, warm enough to wear shorts during the day. Baseball is being played.



It really is the perfect time of year if you ask me.



And with all of that surrounding us, it is no wonder why it is so difficult to remember when our world was covered in ice.

That is the beauty of seasons.



But that, my friends, is also the beauty of resurrection.



The world was one way. It was a dark and scary place for the disciples. The person they had followed and pledged themselves to was tried and executed by the Roman government. And he was dead.



And as Mary approached the tomb, she came in the dark. Still confused. Still grieving. Still upset. With spices to prepare the body because there wasn’t enough time before. Spices that assure everyone that their Teacher was dead.



And she saw the tomb opened, with the stone rolled away. She turned tail and ran back to tell the first people that she sees, Peter and the other disciple. Someone has opened the tomb! And they run to see what was going on.



And the other disciple gets there first. But Peter is the first to go in, and they see that there is no body, just some old burial clothes folded up. And they go away confused, because they still live in the frozen world.



But then we have Mary.



This section from the Gospel of John is almost like seeing one of those videos of an extremely long process in fast motion. You see them where they fix a camera on a seed from fertilization to germination, and before your eyes you see the plant grow. I saw a video on the Internet recently that did the same thing. A guy hiked the entirety of the Appalacian Trail, all 2,181 miles of it, while holding a camera. And he sped up the whole thing, and in five minutes time, you could see his entire journey. It was truly amazing to see.



Mary is sitting by open tomb, wondering what to do next. And then the seasons change. She sees a man, that she doesn’t recognize, but we know its Jesus. She asks him if he knows anything about this open tomb, here.



He does.



And he calls her by name. Marking the moment when Resurrection and life became poignant, and real. He speaks her name, and lets her know that because of his Resurrection, not only is everything going to be alright, but she is going to become ten times the person she ever could have been when it was still winter; when it was still dark.



I’ve spoken with you many times about Camp Glisson. How it is a wonderful place, and how I grew up going there, and how I was a counselor there, and how that is where Meredith and I met, and that is where Georgia was baptized. But it was also the place where I learned what Easter means.



It was during communion. I had a counselor, named George. And at the end of each week of camp, the entire camp has a time of communion together. It takes a long time, because there are a lot of campers. It’s at least 2 and a half hours long. But I knelt at that altar, and heard George go down the line of campers with the bread, “the body of Christ given for you, the body of Christ given for you,” and on down the line he went. When he came to me he said, This is the body of Christ given for you, Jordan.



He said my name, he knew me. And all of a sudden I came to the realization that this is how Christ knows me. And that my name itself comes from his lips. And your name does too. At that point when Jesus says, “Mary” the Bible might as well read, “Insert Your Name Here.” That is what we hear at that moment. And because of Resurrection, the snow and ice of life melt away and gave way to spring.



Easter is a special day. It is at a time of year when things are changing. We go all out for Easter. Many churches have special music, special musicians. Some bring in guest preachers. Have extra services. I even know of one church in our conference that is extending the start time for the Easter worship service to start at 10:30 so they can fit it all in!



And, we dress differently for Easter. At least I do. I do every year. I want to do something to mark it apart from every other Sunday. So I wear my bow tie.



We have the living cross outside, we will have pictures, and brunch with family.



Easter is a special day.



But what makes it most special, is something we sometimes don’t even give a second thought. And that is, that Easter changes us.



In every sense of the word. This is the main Sunday we get ready for all year, and the main Sunday that we spend the rest of our lives trying to figure out. We were once one way, and now we are another.



So what changes are we going to make in our lives, or in the lives of others?



Are we going to leave Easter where it is, eat our brunch and move on with our lives?



Or are we going to make Easter who we are, resurrected disciples of Christ, where death does not separate us or anyone else from the love of God? Neither does pain, or grief, or hate. Nothing separates us anymore.



Because Christ met us in the garden, and said, look around you, life is everywhere. Winter is a distant memory. Its time to come out into the sunshine, and help others do the same.