He has risen. He has risen indeed.
Over the whole season of Lent, we have been taking a fresh look at the Lenten scriptures through the lens of TV. The average American watches over 29 hours of TV and whether we wish to admit it or not, TV infects or affects our lives. From what we purchase to what we think, TV has a grip on us. As such, I thought Jesus could use a new TV station to get the word out. So we invented JTV – Jesus Television. A cable station that uses current and past hit shows to grab channel surfers attention to draw them so we can teach real truth to a world that lack it. We’ve done all kinds of shows from “Let’s make a deal” to “Extreme Home Makeover.” We have been having some interesting services. This week we wrap up our message series with “The Amazing Race.” Are you familiar with this show? It’s a story of teams of two people who take clues from the race director and race around the world to win the daily prize or just not get eliminated by finishing last. The object is to be the last couple standing at the end of the race and wins one million dollars. It’s fun to watch people and relationships under stress. People react in some very unlikely ways.
The Amazing Race is a perfect metaphor for today’s scripture.
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
The Amazing Race: Jerusalem edition was down two teams: Mary Magdalene and her friends, Simon Peter and John. The final leg of this race begins with Mary having a head start by venturing down to the place of the first clue, the tomb, before the sun came up to get a jump on the preparations. As she comes to the tomb, she realizes the race had already begun because yesterday’s finish line has been moved so to be fair she goes and tells the other team of Peter and John. They, of course, feel like they have totally overslept and have a foot race to the prior day’s finish line. John wins! When they arrive at the tomb, they see the clues left by the race director to what has happened and what may happen next. The clues were the grave clothes and the folded face cloth. After the inspection of these, the men’s team leaves to go back and discuss what should happen next. The men surmise that the remaining cloth means Jesus rose from the dead because if his body was stolen the robbers would never have taken the time to remove the burial shroud and never would have folded up the facial cloth. The disciples decided to go back to the hotel to try and figure out what the clues mean. Meanwhile, the ladies team stays behind and because of their patience they receive a bonus clue from the prior year’s finalist: the angels. The angels tell Mary and the gals the girls the final clue. “He has risen!” It’s true. Their hope in Him was not in vain. He conquered the grave.
We are all in a similar Amazing Race, aren’t we? We are starring in our own Pseudo reality TV show. Unfortunately, our show is often called the “rat race.” We wake up and hit the ground running hoping to find the clues to our own big prize. Maybe for you the big prize is good health or enough money or a great job or good grades or well behaved children or a spouse who treats you well. The reality is we all move towards our greatest desire. However, as Christians, we know these will fill the whole in our soul for a very short time. They all fade. They are all just a fleeting prize for a certain stage of the race. The big prize comes at the end of the race and not before.
Florence Chadwick was a world class swimmer. She had already conquered the English Channel but decided she wanted to complete a swim no woman had ever done before. She was granted her desire when she decided to try and swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the main coast of California. In her first attempt she swam for quite a while before the fog rolled in. It was so thick, she could not even see her hand in front of her and she stroked ahead. As the fog become more unbearable she motioned for the crew to come and pull her out. As God would have it, she was much closer than she ever imagined. It turns out she was only a half mile from shore when she quit. She was devastated. She waited almost 6 months before trying again. When she did, the fog was even worse that the last time. This time however, she kept on swimming. She ended up beating the world record by over 2 hours. When asked after the swim what was different this time? She answered, “It was actually really easy. I kept a mental picture of the coastline and with every stroke I didn’t lose sight of the image.”
In today’s scripture, we are given our final clue to our final destination.
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
Jesus rising from the dead fulfilled the prophesy of the ages. The world changed in that moment. God had come to earth in the body of Jesus and would soon leave behind a counselor in the Holy Spirit. God loves us so much He couldn’t bear to see us eternally punished for our inability to fulfill our end of the agreement that Moses made on our behalf. As such, God being perfect and just provided us a better way. He came to earth via Jesus. He came and lived, suffered, died and rose to free us from all our sins and be a part of a new covenant which only asks us to choose Him with our whole heart. After all, Jesus said “my yoke is easy and my burden light.” In accepting Him, we change our course from this world to a coastline that goes on for eternity. It’s a place where there is no pain or suffering and the rescue boat is close by to pull us out and give us a second chance whenever we think the fog is too much. We are given the “real” prize - a living prize of His presence in this stage with the gift of His Holy Spirit to guide strengthen and encourage. In addition , he has provided the grand prize – a peace and comfort that comes only when we enter into his kingdom.
Maybe you have swum the Christian way before and it didn’t quite work out. You are here this morning because it seemed like the “right” activity for this Sunday morning. Or maybe you are searching because the God you once believed in, now seems so disconnected from your swim. You are asking, “Where is my life boat?” The reality is he is all around you. He is the scriptures, the worship, the liturgy and people of the church. He is right here and He has risen!
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