You are known and given life in this resurrection, life for this world, life in the next.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Great Vigil of Easter
Text: John 20:1-18
Beloved in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
The voice said “Mary.”
And her world changed again.
Long ago, in the lost days of terror, she didn’t know who she was, couldn’t control her thoughts, wasn’t able to live or function. With so many voices in her head there was no room for her own voice. Then, when she first heard this voice, it called to the depths of her soul and found her. This voice sent away the other voices, brought her to life: that day was birthday.
In the devastating hours since Friday, Mary Magdalene was overwhelmed and lost, all over again. She wasn’t sure she knew herself anymore. The One who knew her, who was God’s love to her, was dead.
Then the voice said, “Mary.”
Listen: your heart is likely not far from Mary’s.
You long to be known for who you really are, and loved. We all do. We fear both might not be possible: if our truths were known how could we be loved? Competing voices inside and outside us devalue us, challenge us, confuse us.
Maybe there have been moments you’ve sensed God knows you, loves you. Maybe others have told you this, have been God’s loving presence to you.
But there are other times. Like these days, when the world is falling apart, thousands of lives destroyed and marginalized for the sake of a few in power. When you fear for your neighbors’ lives and even your own. When you wonder where God is, where hope is.
And there are times you face your own internal pain, fears, worries. When shame and failure embrace you, and seem more real than God to you. Dark nights of the soul when you doubt God could love you. When you know nothing except that you feel alone.
But you came here tonight, and waited in the darkness.
Maybe you don’t know why. But then, almost like a miracle, a fire leapt up, and a candle bore a light. And that one flame, one solitary candle, divided and divided and divided but in truth multiplied and multiplied and multiplied. And filled this room with a glow of hope.
And in that light you saw faces, the people of the risen Christ, who said to you, as they lighted your own candle, “The Light of Christ.” The faces of people who know you by name, love you. People who will soon greet you again with “Peace be with you.” In those faces, you saw the face of Christ. And you were no longer alone or in the dark.
And then you heard words of hope in God’s salvation from Scripture, ancient words of a glorious creation, a daring sea rescue, an astonishing protection of people in the heart of a fire. You were invited by God’s Wisdom to be filled to the brim with God’s love and grace and healing that is yours through the Spirit.
And you heard once again, with Mary, that God’s love cannot be stopped even by death. A voice familiar to you came through the locked doors of your heart, and, risen from the dead, now stands beside you at the gravestones of your life. Offers you food for life in this bread and wine. Christ’s voice calls you by name here. Knows you.
Jesus called her “Mary.”
That’s when she knew. So it is for you and me this holy night.
We face many hard things, and we fear most of them. But Christ has faced them all – suffering, betrayal, loneliness, sadness, abandonment, pain, death. And none of them have any power over the risen Christ, over the love of the God who breaks death, who calls you by name, who knows you, who loves you.
Listen . . . nothing, nothing, can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Not this life, not death. Not your past. Not the present, not the future. Nothing.
So you don’t need to be afraid. This day is birthday for you, the day you come back to life.
And now all that remains is to be Mary. Go and tell others, and show them, by your love and grace and hope, that God’s life is still in this world and in them and in you. So they know they are known and loved by God always. And so this world can begin to be healed.
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
