Look for Jesus – Easter Sunday April 16, 2017 – Rev. Monika Bereczki-Farkas

Isaiah 65:  17 – 25; Psalm 47; John 20:  1-18

Friends, Jesus Christ is risen, he is risen indeed and today we can celebrate his resurrection. That is why we are here at Church today, we really want to celebrate. Let’s look at this ancient story with an open heart and hope for new creation today.

We remember what happened with Jesus after he entered Jerusalem on that little donkey, how the events accelerated during Holy Week.

We stood under his cross on Good Friday, then we felt the silence of the next day, waiting for the day of Resurrection, which is today.

But it is not easy to understand what is happening on Easter morning, not because we don’t want to believe in the resurrection of Christ, but because this news is so unbelievable.

Just look at Mary Magdalene who went to Jesus’ tomb when it was still dark. See, it was still dark. Mary was surrounded by darkness, not only physical darkness but all the dark emotions that come into our life when tragedy happens, when we lose somebody.  Under the burden of this emotional and physical darkness Mary was looking for Jesus. This would be the first message today. It doesn’t matter how big your darkness is or how big darkness around you is, look for Jesus. Follow Mary, who was not scared to go to the cemetery while it was still dark. She didn’t know what had happened, she didn’t know that Jesus was resurrected, what she knew was where she had to look for Jesus.

That is why we are here today, we also want to look for Jesus, and we know that today He is with us as our Risen Lord, who defeated death and darkness.

But let’s follow Mary on her journey toward meeting with Jesus.

Mary is the one who noticed that something happened to the stone and she had to go back to the disciples to let them know that the stone was not there. She went back to the tomb but she didn’t step inside, she cried outside. When the two disciples left she looked into the tomb, saw the two angels and continued to cry. She was so desperate. On Friday had Jesus died, then she just wanted to visit the tomb but something had happened to the stone and now Jesus’ body had vanished. What a terrible experience for this poor woman. In addition those two angels in the tomb asked her why she was crying. Oh why didn’t they understand her feelings? She loved Jesus and she didn’t know where He was. And at this moment she looked back and thought the gardener was there and asked him about Jesus.

But what a great surprise when Jesus called her name: Mary!

No more darkness, or mourning, or the stone, or fear and pain because of the loss of Jesus; no more death. Only Jesus, who still knew her name, who was still the same Jesus whom she loved.

This is the turning point of the story. Look at Mary, she forgot about every pain when Jesus was there in front of her, when her eyes looked at him and she didn’t see darkness anymore. Her new life began at that moment.

How many times are we similar to Mary Magdalene who wanted to meet with Jesus and knew where to look for him? But she didn’t realize that everything around her was singing Hallelujah to the risen Lord: the rolled away stone, the empty tomb, and the white dressed angels in the tomb. Then she saw Jesus but didn’t recognize Him till he called her name.

Please open your eyes today and see that the Resurrected Lord is with us. Sing Hallelujah, enjoy how God loves us. And start your new life with Jesus.

Yes, there are many reason to weep, that was why Mary wept but she didn’t weep anymore after she met with Jesus. If you have reason for weeping today, look at Jesus and wait for Him. Let Him take away your sadness, pain, and tears. Yes, we have to face death and the loss of our loved ones. We have to face terrible things in this world, and sometimes in our everyday lives. There are still incurable diseases, natural disasters and sometimes we cause disasters around us, but please today look at Jesus.

The tomb is still empty and we have Jesus who is our Resurrected Redeemer. We need Him more than anything else in this world. We need Him so that we know we are not alone when we are crying, and that there is somebody who will ask us why we are crying when instead we could be celebrating life.

Death is not the end of Jesus’ story. Yes, he died on the cross, he was laid in a tomb, but the tomb couldn’t hold Him. He is still alive. If he was not raised we wouldn’t be here.  Our Bible with the testimony that because He lives we will live too would not exist. Without Him there is no Easter message, and you would go home with your heart empty. But we have a resurrected Lord, who will fill your heart with hope, joy and love. Yes, today you are here because He wanted you to be here, He wanted to call you by name.

Rejoice and be happy. Look at only Jesus, like Mary, who didn’t look at darkness and pain and didn’t cry anymore because if Jesus is with you, life is with you. If He is with you today, you have hope for a new life which can begin today. I am so thankful to Jesus for this new life. And I am also thankful that it is not only for me, but for all of us who want to look at Him and live with Him every day of our lives. Amen