Truth Evades Us – Easter 2

John 20:1–18 – April 7th, 2024

The Lord Be With You.

A parable or short story on our Gospel …

A man went canoeing one day. The waters, where he got in, were calm and as far as he could see it looked to be a peaceful outing. So the man started paddling. He soon saw an area he had not been before and decided to explore. The minute he entered that unknown the water current became stronger. But he knew he could overcome it. The father he went the stronger the current until it was so strong that he could only strive to keep himself upright as the current moved him faster and faster into newer areas he had not seen before. Before long, the man heard what sounded like a water fall and he knew that he was headed straight for it. As he got nearer, he noticed some limbs that were hanging out over the water so he maneuver the canoe towards them. He got under them and hung on while his canoe disappeared over the water’s edge. He finally made his way to shore. To safety. He had not paid attention to any of the maps that told him about the waterfall. He discounted the danger because it was not what he expected of that day and he turned away from the truth that was given to him thinking he already knew what lay ahead.

Here ends the parable or short story.?

Sometimes we see something or hear something and then we have to take a second look or ask that person to repeat what they said. I saw a picture of a bale of hay sitting in a field. The question was did I see the bale of hay or the hole in the ground made from the way the sun shown on it. It took a minute. Both questions abut the bale were right as well as wrong because their could have really been a hole. Having the facts count.?

Sometimes I come across something and I just shake my head because I already know where that person is going with what they’re saying and they have missed the mark so wide you could drive a semi thru it. I wonder if that person has read anything about what they are remarking on. Our media is such that lies are spread like truth and one has to wonder if the person is just doing that to get a rise or if they’re actually serious.?

But then I read the Gospels. I read about all the things that are reported that the disciples did or said or thought and I wonder to myself how they could miss the mark so much. I mean, they were living with the walking truth and that they were shown, time and again, would never lie to them. But then I come back to reality and realize that nothing has changed in over 2,000 years. We’re still making those same mistakes and then nuancing those mistake to cover our rears so we don’t look so bad. We are human. The disciples were human. Mary Magdalene was human.?

They went to that tomb expecting Jesus to be there and then were shocked to discover that He was gone. In His place were two angels in this Gospel. One at the head and one at the feet. Reminding those that came of just what Jesus said. Of course the guys didn’t stick around. But Mary did and she was graced with the risen Lord’s presence once again. He has risen. He has risen indeed. But even she didn’t remember Jesus’ promise to her before He went up there on that cross. She substituted the ordinary for the extraordinary. We discount things around us too. From the relationships we have to what we accomplish in our lives, we discount all those blessings that are presented to us to relish in.?

Of course, it may be hard to see any blessings one may have because our days are just too frazzled. Too busy. Too much going on. On most days, we count the few blessings and assign them to the whole. It’s like when the husband came home from work after a very long and terrible day. Everything had gone wrong. He said to his wife, “I’ve had nothing but bad news at the office today. If there is one thing I don’t want, it is more bad news.” He wife gently replied, “In that case, you’ll be glad to know that three out of four of your children did not break their arm today.” Sometimes we gotta look for the positive too.?

Jesus told His disciples, as reported by John, some stark words. Things they would encounter. Things they would have to endure. He gave them all a chance to back out. He offered them all the opportunity to go their own way. They stayed. Jesus never promised them a bed of roses but a batch of thorns. He told them, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” in chapter 15. But He also said, “I have called you friends.” Jesus prepared those who followed Him for what was to come. He spelled it out for them.?

What Jesus told Mary is that His words are true. To be taken to the bank. His words are the only thing that has value because they will never lie to you. They’re the only ones that can instill real comfort, real grace. We just gotta take a step back and remember His words to us. We all get them. He talks to all of us. Some recognize that voice and others put it aside.?

But He’s always there talking us through a problem or celebrating any victories we might be experiencing. And what He tells us will never lead us down the wrong path. We just gotta let loose long enough to hear what He’s saying and then attempt to make sense of it.?

Verse 9 of this Gospel reads, in part, “They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead” and I think to myself that I’m probably in the same boat as they were from time to time. Which makes me wonder what are our expectations? Do we hang onto the past so much so that it hinders our future? Clouds the voice of God or Jesus? Is our holding onto what we want to believe blinding us to what could be or what is real? How are we lifted up when we’re under the covers of what we’ve surrounded ourselves with? Is what we want to know really the truth? Would we even know Jesus if He was sitting right next to you in the pews??

Yeah, the disciples still didn’t understand the Scriptures that Jesus had to rise from the dead. That’s because they hung onto their own past. They became bound up in the moment. They lost sight of the very words that Jesus told them was gonna come true. That He was the Messiah. The Christ. The Son of God. They heard about Him hanging up there on that cross and then all their past came flooding back to haunt them into the worldly view that Jesus was nothing more than a prophet. The truth of who Jesus was no longer held water. They became blind.?

I’ve called this message “Truth Evades Us” because sometimes we miss the surety of where we fit in. What’s this heaven all about? What does this cross really mean? Why does it matter with all that’s going on in this world? Does it even apply to us? The truth sometimes gets buried deep down inside so much so that the burning desire to have a relationship with the one who stands with you gets put on the back burner to the everyday goings on that we’re presented with. And, as a result, the truth becomes relevant and irrelevant simultaneously. It becomes something that’s redefined according to what seems nice and pretty because, after all, Jesus loves us. He wouldn’t offend anyone. He came to just simply love everyone regardless of what they were doing or how they thought. Right? Isn’t that the Jesus we all hear about??

But the truth is much more deeper because our own lives are deep and our future in heaven is even deeper. It’s as deep as the falls that the man canoed towards and it can be loaded with as much peril too if we do not pay attention to the maps that are there for us to look at. The words of warning as well as those words of affirmation. Jesus is a two edged sword. He said as much time and time again. Many preachers don’t like to preach about all the tough stuff. The stuff that can get people riled up. They only give the upside and never the downside. Many have reduced Sundays to a feel good psychological session. Jesus stood for all that we humans could throw at Him and He still came back. He came back not to assuage people’s emotional baggage but to show that His truth, the one truth that can stand the test of time, is the only one that we all need to make sense out of the world we live in.?

He promised a lot and gave even more. Those that reduce Jesus down to just another feel good guy that’s there to pat you on the back would have expected Jesus to still be in that tomb. They would never be able to understand the vastness of what coming back from His death really means because His return to us is tantamount to declaring that He, and He alone, stands alone in standing for what is to come. And the thing about it is that normal everyday people attempt to take His place but they’ll never get to the point of understanding all that He is. Our wisdom is full of holes because we do not know all the answers. And by not knowing, we make the mistake that those two disciples made when they looked into the burial tomb and didn’t see what they were expecting. The same with Mary because her emotional boundaries was for the here and now.?

You see, the mere life and death of our Savior is not really, really the good news. The real good news is the fact that He has ascended to God the Father which makes the relationship with the Father permanent. If all Jesus did was preach a little and do some signs and perform some miracles that would be grand. But it’s the promise that He went to the Father to be there for you and me, to be the advocate for us, a broken and sinful people, to a pure and sinless Father that makes all the difference in the world. If we didn’t have Him we wouldn’t even be able to stand in front of God. No sin can be in the presence of the pure.?

Jesus escaping from death gives us all a shot at escaping our own deaths within our eternities. Not a physical one, mind you, but a spiritual one that can allow you to get through those gates or be cast aside into a forever pit that will never be filled with the love of God. Jesus coming up out of that tomb gives us hope that we too can meet Jesus in heaven and be ushered in. Welcomed because we are good and faithful servants. Jesus returning to the Father, on our behalf, gives us the opportunity to fulfill our roles here on earth as His disciples in order that what we have to answer for when we will stand in front of the Father is subjugated by the presence of our Savior. Jesus proceeding to the Father is that branch hanging out over the raging river that we find ourselves caught up in that gives us the opportunity to reach out and grasp as if our own lives depend on it. And it is something that we can use to make our way to the safety of the shores. The safety of Jesus’ arms. The possibilities of an eternity with the father.?

This Easter is a time that we can reach back into our own recesses and rediscover the belief we have in the faith we’ve been given to become stronger in what we are called to do. Each time we speak with someone we are moving a little closer to shore. Each time that we participate in what is done within God’s house helps to firm our grasp on that life line. Each time we serve we are serving the greater purpose of being a disciple. We just gotta reclaim what is within each of us and claim it outwardly for God. Something to think about! Something to pray about??

Can we pray? …

Father, we pray that we can abide within you so much so that our own futures can enlighten us on the wisdom that you have given to us. We ask for your surety so that we can always look for the truth that your Son has already given to us. We pray for your peace to lift our hearts in the times that we’re living. Release the anxiety that comes over us from time to time. We thank you for the living truth of your Son so we can be sure and have a place with you when our own time comes. We thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit to help us in our times of trial. We pray for peace. For mercy. For eyes that can see and ears that can hear. We pray this, and more, in the name of your Son, Jesus the Christ our Lord and Savior.

And all God’s people said – Amen?!