It happened one Easter morning in a church built years ago, one of those big, barn like sanctuaries with a basement below and boilers to heat the building which never seem to work very well.

            Everything was planned so that the morning would go off without a hitch. The music started and the carefully choreographed Easter procession began. Acolytes led the way, then came the cross and banners. The minister and the readers followed and behind them came the choir.

            Everything was going well until the last alto in line caught the heel of her shoe in the grate of the air vent. Not wanting to slow down the procession or create a scene, she slipped her foot out of her shoe and kept moving up the aisle.

            The tenor behind her saw what had happened and without missing a step, reached down to pick up her shoe. To his surprise, the whole grate from the air vent came up with the shoe.

            Again, not wanting to cause any problems, he kept on going, holding the shoe and the grate in front of him. It all happened so smoothly that the next man in line hadn't seen what had happened and he stepped right into the air vent and disappeared! Fortunately, everyone else bypassed the gaping hole in the aisle.

            Finally the procession ended, the choir, the acolytes, the pastor, everyone was in the front of the church. The music ended and in the brief silence that followed, a voice could be heard, "I hope everyone is out of the way, because I'm coming out!"

            And a young girl leaned over the end of the pew and called back, "Come on out, Jesus, the coast is clear!" That certainly wasn’t what anyone was expecting on Easter morning![1]

            No one was expecting what happened on Easter morning. We can start there. No one was expecting the stone to be rolled away. No one was expecting the body to be missing. No one was expecting angels, or a resurrected Savior or anything other than a ritualistic anointing of the body after the Sabbath. This is why the women visited the tomb on Easter morning. John’s Gospel says it was just Mary Magdalene, but the other Easter stories indicate there were other women. For whatever reason, John shines his spot light on Mary Magdalene and he also focuses on running. In John’s Easter, there is a lot of running.

            I’m intrigued by running at Easter. Maybe it comes from my earliest Easter memories of running to find Easter eggs. Maybe it is because I remember my father running around the house on Easter, trying to get us to hurry up and get ready. Maybe it’s just that I’m intrigued with running in a cemetery because I cannot imagine running in a cemetery.

            When I go to the cemetery, I’m usually there professionally. When I go to cemeteries, I go to preside over a burial service. In fact, in cemeteries, I have to remind myself to walk slowly. Ministers lead the funeral procession from the coach to the grave. Pallbearers walk slowly because of their heavy load. Often, I must stop and wait for the procession to catch up with me. I can’t run; in fact, I am confident that I have never seen anyone run in a cemetery.

            Mary Magdalene runs away from the open tomb. She runs away from Easter. It is an odd image, running from Easter, running in the cemetery. I suppose that we can account for her running because Easter didn’t happen the way she expected it. She didn’t expect to find the grave open. She didn’t expect to find the body of Jesus missing. She ran away because she encountered something outside of her realm of understanding.

            There are a few of you here today who can relate to this type of running. Mary ran from something she didn’t understand and if you could join her, you’d run too. In fact, I know that every Easter, if given the chance, there are one or two of you who’d bolt and run. I know this because I see the pained look on your face. You're not sure that beyond death there's anything else, for you or for Jesus or anybody. Your experience doesn't give you any evidence to help you believe. Coming to faith is not simple or natural or even something you are sure you want or need. [2]

            For whatever reason, you find yourself here. Maybe you came with family. Maybe you came out of tradition. Maybe you come to worship because you are in worship every week. But you look around and think, “Everyone around me believes and I’m not sure.” Like Mary, you want to run away because you just can’t get your head around the concept of resurrection. For just a moment, don’t run. Don’t run from the empty tomb just because you don’t understand it. Wait and watch as others run to the cemetery.

            That’s what Peter and the other disciple do. They run to the cemetery. They run to the empty tomb to find evidence. Tradition holds that the Beloved Disciple is John. There is no evidence to support or contradict this. We could name him Speedy because he is faster than Peter, both in his running and his believing. When it comes to Easter, John is lightening fast. When John gets to the tomb, he doesn’t go in. He just looks, sees the empty linens and a rolled up headpiece, and then, he pauses to reflect on what he saw.

            Then Slow Poke, Simon Peter comes running up and rushes right on past into the tomb. That’s when the beloved disciple enters the tomb and that’s when he believes. He didn't need a lot of proof. Unlike doubting Thomas, he did not have to thrust his hand into Jesus' side or put his fingers into the holes. He didn't have to see Jesus walk through walls or eat fish to believe. He just saw that little bit, and in the he believed. Isn’t that wonderful? His faith came quickly.

            Some of you are that way. You run to Easter because all you need is a little bit of evidence and you believe. Your faith comes easy. You run to Easter and shout, “He is risen. And you put the emphasis on, indeed. Of course he’s risen. He’s risen indeed. When you look around at the crowds on Easter, you think, “Everyone is like me. What’s not to believe?”  You forget that there are those who are running away and who are stuck at Easter. Some here are like Peter, stuck at Easter.

            It is one of the rare pictures of Peter, don’t you think? Peter is always the one who is first to act, first to speak, first to volunteer. There is Peter, stuck in the tomb. He’s scratching his head trying to figure it out. He desperately wants to believe. He wants to make it add up but he can’t get there. He’s stuck and end leaves the tomb confused.

            There is good reason. Peter is stuck in his guilt. Only a few nights earlier, he denied Jesus not once, but three times. Easter wasn’t the first time he ran. When accused of being with Jesus, he ran away, abandoned Jesus to his death on a cross. When you are stuck feeling guilt, it is hard to embrace Easter. Some of you know this all too well. There are plenty of Peters in this crowd. You look around and think, “Everyone here is better than me; I’m a sinner. I’ve done some awful things. I’m not sure that I’m good enough for Easter.” Before you run from your gift of salvation, look once again. There you’ll see Mary, standing outside of the tomb, waiting in the garden.

            It is a powerful scene. Jesus approaches his grieving friend. Through her tears, she thinks he’s a gardener. Jesus asks her a simply, two simple question, “Why are you weeping and who are you looking for?”  It all spills out because that’s what grief does. It spills out. When we grieve, it overflows, spills over the side like a pot boiling over. Some of you know this too well. You grieve this Easter or you grieve every Easter. A quick look at the list of donors for Easter lilies reminds us that many grieve on Easter. Easter comes to Mary Magdalene when Jesus says one word. He says her name, Mary.  When Jesus says her name, Mary Magdalene believes. Rabboni! It is a powerful scene, the climax of John’s Easter. When Jesus calls Mary by name, she believes and then she runs. I’m convinced of this. John doesn’t say so but it can’t be any other way. She runs, once more, this time not from a cemetery but from Easter. She runs from Easter and her resurrected Savior all the way back to the Disciples and explains, “I have seen the Lord.” With this kind of information, you don’t just walk away. You run. You run as fast as you can and tell others. When Jesus calls you by name, you’ll believe and run.  It will be impossible not to believe.

            Until then, we are left to our different ways of approaching Easter. When the sun rises each Easter morning, it dawns on people who believe in many different ways.  I’m wondering which of these who came to the first Easter you are most like. Do you come to Easter, embrace it for just a moment and then, just a moment and then, run away afraid of the implications of what it means. Or are you one of the ones who run to Easter in order to find a little bit of evidence, a handhold to keep them going? Or are you so weighed down from guilt that you can’t run very well at all because you can’t imagine such redemptive love? Do you know who you are most like?

            Then remember this Easter truth. No one was expecting what happened on Easter morn and no one, neither you nor I expect to meet the gardener anytime soon. But when we do and he calls us by name, suddenly, all of our Easter doubts will be put aside.

            For years, I’ve thought about starting Easter in a dramatic way. I’ve thought about dressing an actress up, having her run into the sanctuary and shout, “He has Risen, Risen Indeed.” But I’ve got that all wrong. That’s running from life to Easter. That’s running the wrong direction. We need to be running from Easter to life. We need to be running from the cemetery and the open tomb out into the world, to declare, “He is risen. He is risen, indeed.”

            So now I’ve got a new image. It has to do with all of you. It might have some possible publicity benefits. We might even get an endorsement from Nike or Reebook. Instead of wearing new Easter shoes, I’d outfit you all in running shoes. The best we could find. Then, we’d all be ready to run from Easter. (Takes off shoes; puts on a new pair of white sneakers.)

            It’s a wonderful image. No more hunting for Easter shoes. No more pumps or sandals, wing tips or loafers. Just everybody in tennis shoes, ready to run, ready to run from Easter and shout, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

            Be careful as you leave the sanctuary. Some may be running.   

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