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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-05-02, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019. By Rev. JoAnn Todd Trinity Anglican, Byth St. John’s Anglican, Brussels I know we are a couple of weeks past Easter Sunday, but the Easter story from John’s Gospel is my favourite one of the four, and I thought I would share it with you. It’s such a personal account of Mary Magdalene’s experience from grief through desolation to the amazing and wonderful experience of coming face to face with the risen Christ. This is the same Mary for whom Jesus healed many demons that had made her so ill. This is the Mary who followed Jesus and took care of him, who loved Jesus, who was at the foot of the cross when he died. This is a story of love, grief and a sacred awakening and amazing belief—it’s truly a story of questioning faith, conversion and evangelism. So, it’s the day after the Jewish Sabbath, early on the Sunday morning after Jesus’ death. Mary goes to the garden to Jesus’ burial tomb. We can only speculate as to why—maybe to pray, or to mourn, or maybe just to be close to him. She sees the stone has been rolled away from the entrance, and she must have looked inside because she leaves and runs to find Peter and another disciple and she tells them: “They have taken the Lord out of the grave. We do not know where they have put Him.” (v2) So the men literally race off like a couple of boys, seeing which of them can get there first, to confirm Mary’s story for themselves. Although Peter took off first, the other disciple beats him to the tomb, but does not venture in. Peter bravely looks into the tomb and sees the burial linens lying there and the special cloth that is used to cover the head is rolled up and lying on its own. They too are puzzled. If it were a grave robbing, which apparently in those days was a fairly common occurrence, they wouldn’t have taken precious time to unwrap the body nor would they have bothered to nicely roll up the burial linens. The other disciple then joins Peter in the tomb. What to make of this turn of events? What does this mean? This is a mystery, so, where is Jesus then? John tells us that neither of them really “understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead” (v9). And what do the two men then do? Confused, unsure, wondering what it all means, they go home. But Mary stays at the tomb, weeping, overcome with grief and pain. She doesn’t understand what has happened either, but is reluctant to leave. Imagine her distress. She was at the foot of the cross when Jesus was so brutally killed; the man who healed her from a difficult and unhealthy life, a man whom she had come to love, to believe in as the Messiah, her beloved teacher, and now his body is gone! She looks again into the tomb, I suppose just to confirm what she knew, to help her come to terms with it, maybe just to be close to the place where Jesus’ body last lay. Only this time the tomb is not empty, there are angels in there, and interestingly she’s neither frightened nor surprised by them, she takes them in stride it seems. Maybe in her heartache and deep sorrow it didn’t quite register just who or what these beings were; maybe they just looked like regular people. They ask her “Woman, are you weeping?” Now to our 21st century ears, addressing Mary as “woman” may sound pejorative in the translation to English, but in the parlance of the day, this would have been a term of endearment. And even through her grief, she has sufficient presence of mind to respond to these messengers of God: “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.” And she leaves the tomb. So deep in her distress and grief, she doesn’t even recognize the man standing in the garden as Jesus. But you know, I think I can understand that. She’s not expecting him to be alive, she saw him die, saw him dead, saw him taken to be buried, why would she expect to see him standing there talking to her, burial linens notwithstanding? It goes against all logical human experience – beyond human comprehension. Then Jesus calls Mary by name and the sound of his voice is unmistakable to her, she immediately recognizes him as her Rabbouni, her teacher, her Lord, the one she loved with all her heart. Mary knew that voice. And then she recognizes him. Imagine how elated she feels, her heartache, her grief is gone! She reaches out to him, to touch him, to hold him. Of course she does. Wouldn’t you? It would be an instinctive gesture to want to grab him and hug him! But in this, in- between ethereal and earthly state at this point of time, she cannot touch him, she cannot hold onto him he tells her. It matters not Jesus, who was dead, is really alive! Differently alive, to be sure, but alive! Jesus lives! Christ has risen from the grave! John’s accounting of the resurrection is the story of how three different people responded to an empty space and a stack of neatly piled linens. The men leave and go home, no doubt shaking their heads, trying to figure it all out. Mary, however, is unable to draw herself away from the scene. She needs to stay there and ponder it some more, as though she needs to allow herself the time to take it all in, become fully engulfed in this confusing and painful experience. She has to go back into the tomb to see it again. Is just seeing really believing? In the rawness of her emotion, in the aching loss for Jesus, the one whom she so loved, she sees the angels, but yet doesn’t really see Jesus – until he calls her by name. It made me wonder, was Jesus there the whole time and the three of them just couldn’t see him? Mary recognizes Jesus’ voice—remember the parable of the shepherd who calls the sheep? Trust me, I know from personal experience, sheep really know their shepherd’s voice. Mary THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS. OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS: Brussels: St. Ambrose Saturday 6:00 p.m. 17 Flora Street Wingham: Sacred Heart Sunday 9:00 a.m. 220 Carling Terrace Listowel: St. Joseph’s Sunday 11:00 a.m. 1025 Wallace Avenue N. huronchapel.com huronchapelkids.com huronchapelyouth.com 519-526-1131 ~ 119 John’s Ave., Auburn Sunday May 5 Fri. May 3, 7 p.m. Youth Games & Bonfire at R&A Campbells’ Sat. May 4, 8-11 a.m. Yard Sale for Missions Support (in Gym); 7:30-9 a.m. Men’s Breakfast (Fellowship Hall) Wednesdays 6:30-8:30 p.m. Jr. & Sr. YOUTH (Gr. 7-12) Evangelical Missionary Church Pastor Ernest preaching “Who Says? -- Jesus our Scripture-Opener” (Lk.24:13ff) 9:30 a.m. Sunday School 10:30 a.m. Worship Youre Invited to come worship with us Sunday, May 5 at 10:30 a.m. & 6:00 p.m. 650 Alexander St. (former Brussels Public School) Sunday School for children 4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m. Childcare provided for infants and preschoolers during the sermon. Coffee & cookies after the morning service. For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621 Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173 Blyth United Church Est. 1875 OFFICE: 519-523-4224 Sunday, May 5 Guests: Mary Ross & Clayton Peters at 11:00 am Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 9:30 am - 2:00 pm Accessible Facebook: Blyth and Brussels United Churches blythunited@tcc.on.ca Drive Thru Lunch & Supper Thursday, May 16 Salads: Potato, broccoli & cauliflower, macaroni ham, tea biscuit and cheesecake 11 am - 12:30 pm and 4:30 - 6 pm ~ Tickets $13.00 Take out only Pre-order with Donna 519-523-9855 Orders on May 16th 519-523-4224 MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS SUNDAY, MAY 5 Nursery care available 519-887-6687 Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm ~ Soup & More 2 - a free community meal held in Melville’s basement, and made possible by the Brussels churches working together. Worship & Sunday School - 9:30 am Coffee & Snacks following the service We invite you to join our church family in: The Regional Ministry of Hope BLYTH BRUSSELS Trinity St. John’s 9:15 am 11:15 am COME WORSHIP WITH US! Rev. JoAnn Todd, Rector 519-357-7781 email: revjoann@hurontel.on.ca The­Regional­Ministry­of­ Hope St. Paul’s Trinity WINGHAM 11:15 am These Anglican Churches Welcome You Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743 Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH SUNDAYS Morning Service 10:00 am Evening Service 7:30 pm You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship BRUSSELS United Church Worship and Sunday School Sunday, May 5 at 9:30 am Worship leaders, Mary and Clayton Ross All are Welcome From the Minister’s Study Believing is more than seeing says Todd Continued on page 17