Luke 24:1-12
The Rev. Adele K. Langworthy, preaching
April 20, 2025 – Easter
8:00 a.m. Courtyard Worship
Amen and Amen!
There it was, the first day of the week, the sun was up and they now could go to the garden after the Sabbath to tend to Jesus’ body. Who would have thought just a week ago that this is how their morning would have been spent, just a week ago? The followers of Jesus had had a rough couple of days. It had only been a week since they were filled with jubilation, as Jesus paraded into Jerusalem greeted like a king. But then the tide turned.
In the midst of their grief, a group of women including Mary Magdalene, Joanna and James’ mother knew what they needed to do. They would prepare spices to care for Jesus’ body and visit him. They knew that Joseph of Arimathea had prepared his body before it was put into the tomb with myrrh and aloes, and had wrapped him in cloths to preserve his body. But they wanted to add something more – sweet spices and perfumes, as a sign of respect and love, a gift from their hearts. This not only was a custom of the day, but it was a natural response for them.
I am sure you have experienced at one time or another, when working with others, how ideas build on ideas, actions build on actions – from the smallest of ways to the largest. The end result is most often something better, richer and more special. Take for instance, this past Friday, a few people helped to prepare the Sanctuary for worship this morning. As two of the women were arranging the lilies, they realized that one of the plants was missing its foil wrapper. I was happy to go to a nearby florist to see if I could pick one up; but before I did, someone who knew of our missing wrapper came across one at home on top of a water heater (having no idea it had been there) – and yes, it was gold! Just what we needed. Now this is definitely small in the scheme of things, but don’t you just love how conversation and action can build upon each other, and then God bursts forth in the midst of it all to make things special and good, in the most unexpected of ways.
The scripture lesson in Luke doesn’t describe what kind of morning it was, but we can imagine. After the darkness had overtaken the skies with Jesus’ death on Friday, I can’t help but picture the beauty of the garden highlighting the life that had burst forth from the grave.
Picture, if you will, a lush garden with beds overflowing with flowers and plants against hewn out rock, nearby trees with leaves lightly blowing in the breeze as they pick up the rays of light shining from the bright sun rising above the horizon at dawn, birds chirping as they sun’s rays wake them for the day. Now, to this picture add in the women entering the garden, most likely talking amongst themselves as to how they would move the stone away to get to Jesus’ body and care for the one they loved.
How shocked and perplexed they must have been when they entered to find that the stone had been already been moved from the opening of the tomb. And to top it off, they were greeted by two men in dazzling white. The men questioned the women, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” The men didn’t wait for an answer from the women, but went on to tell the women to remember. “’Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words.”
Now the women had not misplaced Jesus, but they had found him missing – something we all can relate to. We all misplace things or lose something at one time or another. I may be the extreme when it comes to losing my keys. Rob used to estimate that he had lost 7 years of his life helping me find my keys, I think it is up to 10 years now even with a key finding device! My most recent episode was when I couldn’t find my phone and I thought I had put it in the mailbox with the mail. (After returning back to the church and searching high and low, Rob helped me discover my phone safe and sound.)
Ryan Fan writes, “Some of us are more prone to misplacing things than others … One study concluded that the average person misplaces 9 things a day and spends an average of 15 minutes looking for lost items.” (That would be a good day for me). He goes on to answer the questions of why this happens and what is the psychology and science behind it: “When we misplace our belongings, we fail to activate the part of our brain responsible for encoding what we’re doing. The hippocampus part of our brain is responsible for taking a snapshot and preserving the memory in a set of neurons that can be activated later. We lose things when we do not have a clear reference point of when or where we put down objects like our keys or glasses.” He concludes that one of the ways we can improve our memory is through practicing mindfulness. We do this by stepping back and calming our thoughts, focusing on being present in the moment.”
That’s it! That’s not only what we need to do with misplaced and lost items, that is what the women also needed to do at the tomb. The women needed to step back and remember. They had lost track of Jesus telling them that he would rise on the third day, And in the surprise of finding the tomb empty, they had no recall. It took the men reminding the women of Jesus’ words for them to remember. And, in remembering, their broken hearts were healed and soared like the wings of the morning; their cries of grief turned into alleluias and amens.
The enlightened women left the empty tomb to go tell the apostles. Eager to share the news, they must have been taken back by the apostles’ disbelief for they too had heard Jesus tell of his rising three days after being crucified. The apostles dismissed the women’s news as their sharing an idle tale. It was only Peter who was a little curious and went to check things out. After all, Jesus had told him that he would deny knowing Jesus three times, and that he had. He went to the tomb, made his discovery and then went home amazed, having gone to the right place to find evidence his Lord was alive! Alleluia and Amen!
The question is, will we be like Peter or like the other apostles? Will we hear of Jesus resurrection and think it an idle tale, a nice fictional story with no truth? Or will we be like Peter and be caught up in the amazement and awe of such a gift of love from God that we want to follow more faithfully and share the good news with others?
To start with, by your being here this morning, you are looking in a right place to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection and be reminded of God’s gift of love and grace through his Son, our Risen Lord.
But will you have eyes to look for the ‘the right places’ to encounter God beyond this Courtyard? Will you remember what Jesus said and the fulfillment of his word as you go through your days? … when you encounter an inconsiderate driver? … when you don’t get what you want when you want it? … when you interact with a barista at the local coffee shop?
Set yourself up to discover the Risen Lord by joining a Bible Study or a small group, by being more intentional about attending worship, by seeking ways to share the gospel message, by reaching out with acts of compassion and service, by praying in all circumstances.
What is your next step to be in the right places?
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