Happy Easter!

Today is Easter Sunday. Some churches call it Resurrection Sunday. The day when the entire church celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Friday was all about atonement and forgiveness. Without Friday, we would all stand condemned by our sins and separated from God forever. It is Friday that gives us the opportunity to have a relationship with God and to be forgiven for our sins. But today is Sunday, and Sunday is all about life! Friday took care of our sins and separations, and Sunday gave us resurrection power to invade our everyday lives. We need the message of both. On Friday, I identified most with Jesus’ disciples–the men who walked with Him and talked with Him for three years, the men who had formed expectations for what it meant that Jesus was the Messiah, the men who were known thrown into a world of chaos that made no sense. On Sunday, I identify most with Mary Magdalene.

Mary Magdalene was from the town of Magdala. We don’t know where she met Jesus. We don’t even know when. It’s possible that she met Jesus at the recently discovered first century synagogue on the outskirts of Magdala, a place where Jesus may have done some of his teaching. What we do know about Mary Magdalene is that Jesus delivered her from demons. Mark tells us that seven demons were driven out of Mary Magdalene. Some people theorize that she had to have seven separate exorcisms because the previous exorcisms were only partially effective. Some people theorize that the number seven is symbolic and simply means that Mary was overwhelmed by demonic power. I’m not sure it really matters.

Mary was wealthy. She supported Jesus’ ministry financially, and some scholars suggest that she played a pivotal role among Jesus’ female believers in the same way that Peter played a pivotal role among Jesus’ male followers. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no evidence that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. She was not the sister of Martha (that was Mary of Bethany). There is considerable debate about whether or not Mary Magdalene was the “sinful woman” who anointed Jesus’ feet at the home of Simon the Leper. These are all church tradition. But the gospels do tell us that Mary was present at Jesus’ crucifixion, at his burial, and at his tomb on the first Easter morning.

That’s where I find myself in the character of Mary. Mary arrives at the tomb just after dawn on Sunday morning. The Sabbath has ended. It’s the first day of the week, and Mary leads a group of women to the tomb with spices to finish the burial rituals that were curtailed and rushed because of the Sabbath. There is a guard stationed at the tomb. There is a stone placed in front of it, and the women discuss how in the world they’re going to get that stone out of the way in order to properly wash and anoint the body.

It surprises me that the first people told about the resurrection of Jesus are women, and at the same time it doesn’t surprise me at all. Yes, the principle mourners in Jewish custom were women. It seems to be the only time that any restrictions on their speech and movement were suspended. Jesus has always given women a prominent place in His kingdom. The women funded the ministry–nothing new in first century Israel–but Jesus seems to go beyond that. He shows care and consideration for His mother. He talks to the Samaritan woman at the well. He heals the daughter of the Gentile woman who came to Him. Jesus embodies the fact that God is no respecter of persons. He does not play favorites. All are welcome.

And women….we get things done. We’re detailed oriented. We’re relational. When something happens, who organizes meals for the family? Who is there taking care of things? It’s the women. When someone is ill, who tends them? Who stays up all night praying and worrying? Women. So it’s no surprise that the women are the ones who are on the way to the tomb just after dawn on the first day of the week. Perhaps they all decided to journey there after a sleepless night. Either way, they go to the tomb. When they arrive, they find the stone has been moved and the body is gone.

Now the other women disappear from the narrative, and Mary Magdalene stays. It is Mary who looks into the tomb and initially mistakes the angels for gardeners. She wants to know who stole Jesus’ body. It is Mary who doesn’t recognize Jesus at first and thinks He is a gardener as well. It is Mary. She loves Jesus. After all, Mary has felt Jesus’ resurrection power at work. Mary was filled with demons. Her life was nothing but torment and chaos…until Jesus. Jesus didn’t just restore Mary’s health and sanity and life. No! He resurrected it. He took what was broken beyond repair, and He made it new. That’s what resurrection power does. It breathes new life. New life in such abundance that the old life isn’t even recognizable anymore. Mary knew resurrection power in her own life, but delivering someone from demons and raising them from the dead are very different things.

So, it is Mary who cannot let go of the Lord. It is Mary who is desperate to have just one more minute with the Lord. She begs the angel and Jesus to tell her where the body is. She will move it herself. She will handle everything. Just one more minute. Just one more look. Just one more conversation. I think because Mary understands resurrection power already, the Lord let her see resurrection power at its fullness. Mary doesn’t recognize Jesus at first. He has new life. He has been resurrected, not restored, and there is something there that makes Him appear a bit different, but Mary recognizes His voice when He speaks. Jesus has shown her that there is no limit to His resurrection power. He has been raised from the dead.

And now, the cry of Mary’s heart has been answered in a way she could never imagine. That prayer for one more minute with the Lord’s body is transformed. It’s no longer a wish for time with the dead. Now it has been changed. It has undergone resurrection power. Mary can have time with a living Lord! There are lots of times when my heart cries out for one more minute. One more minute in Your presence, Lord. One more touch from Your hand. One more answered prayer. One more glimpse of Your glory. And my prayer can be answered for eternity because the Lord lives! Death has no power here. It has no power over my prayers. It has no power over my dreams. It has no power over the places in my life. It has no power over my spirit. One day, it will have no power over my body because Jesus has released resurrection power into the world.

I have an eternity ahead of me of “one more minutes” with the Lord. I have an eternity of relationship with God open to me. My prayers are given new life. My dreams are given new life. The dead places in my life hold the promise of new life….resurrection life. My spirit has been given new life, and when the Day of the Lord comes, my body will be given new life as well. It’s a treasure far beyond anything I could ever imagine, and it’s available because of Easter Sunday.

Jesus told the disciples who He was, and they believed Him in a limited way. He healed the sick. He raised the dead. He taught the Word of the Lord with authority. He was the Messiah. But there were many men in Jerusalem at this time claiming to be the Messiah. The Bible tells us that in the last days, there will be men claiming to be the Messiah, performing miracles, healing the sick, and raising the dead. So what makes Jesus different? The resurrection. The resurrection was God’s seal of approval on Jesus’ ministry. It was a “certificate of authenticity.” Mohammed may have been a prophet for the Islamic faith, but Mohammed died and was buried. His body lies there still. You can take a pilgrimage and visit his grave. The same is true of Siddartha Gautama, the first buddah. The same is true of Joseph Smith or David Karesh or any other charismatic leaders of various faith traditions. But it is not true of Jesus. There is no tomb holding the body of Jesus.

God resurrected Jesus. He released divine power and brought forth new life. It’s a miracle of creation just like in the beginning. Now that miracle is available to each and every one of us. What places will we receive resurrection power in our lives today? Will I receive resurrection power in my family? God can do more than restore my children to me. He can breathe new life into our family structure. Into my every day. Will I receive resurrection power in my marriage? I can already see the glimmers of it. God is breathing new life. In my finances? There, too. I see a stirring of resurrection power. Not just restored life….NEW life!

Where ever you are, whatever you need, no matter what kind of dead places you may have in your life, God is holding out resurrection power to you. If you have never given Jesus your life, if you have never known Him as Lord, He stands before you holding out resurrection power to you, too. Resurrection power. The promise of New Life. And that’s what we celebrate on Easter. A promise of new life that isn’t limited to a single day in history. A promise that is available to anyone…anywhere…every day!