At first the empty tomb moved Mary to tears

What’s “the most memorable act of loitering ever recorded” and “the most mind-blowing theological declaration ever”? I’ll share my nominations–keep reading.

I love today’s passages because they emphasize/highlight Mary Magdalene’s starring role in the greatest event in human history. (We’ll abbreviate Mary Magdalene to Mary M for carpal tunnel purposes.) Let’s take a quick look at some of the fascinating tidbits of our story:

(Aside: I can easily imagine the Roman guards congratulating themselves for getting such an easy gig for the weekend–just watching a dead guy’s tomb. Bored, they begin to sing Neil Diamond’s song, “Sweet Caroline.” They start singing the chorus: “S-w-e-e-t Caroline…” And from behind the rolled stone they hear, “Bah, Bah, Bah.” * The guards look at each other wide-eyed.)

Mary M is traveling alone.  Why?

• She knew the location of the tomb & perhaps Nicodemus & Joseph of Arimathea were staying elsewhere or maybe felt they had already stuck their necks out far enough.
• The other Disciples were either too frightened of potential arrest or too despondent to go visit the tomb.
• Being a woman, she could possibly travel inconspicuously since the legal authorities might not view her as a threat or I would submit that it was more likely that she was beyond caring what the authorities might do to her.
• Or, like a mama bear & her baby cub, you don’t want to get between Mary M & her Lord.

Mary M arrives at the tomb 1^st thing in the morning. Some scholars note the description of this timeframe could mean sometime between 3:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m. There are numerous possibilities for why she went so early:

(Aside: As a Dad who is guilty of being a boastful early riser, our sons have gotten a kick out of texting memes to me like the one that reads, “No one cares what time you got up.” They wisely delayed such mocking until after they had moved out of the house; after all it’s not against the law to electronically grind coffee beans in the bedroom hallway.)

• She couldn’t sleep & wanted to get to the tomb as soon as the religious law permitted.
• She wanted to discreetly travel in the dark to the tomb to avoid seeing anyone. (Sometimes when we are in mourning, we just want to be invisible for a while.)
• Mary M knew which tasks had been left undone during the pre-Sabbath rush-job when she helped prep Jesus’ body for entombment.
• She needed to treat the body quickly before it decomposed further.

Mary M arrives in the garden & sees that the stone has been rolled away. She immediately runs to tell Peter & John. This indicates the Disciples hadn’t scattered & were staying together & that, despite his less-than-sterling actions of Thursday evening, Peter was still considered one of the leaders of their band of believers. Oddly, Peter & John see the empty tomb & return to their hideout.

In the most memorable act of loitering ever recorded, Mary M lingers in the garden. She is crying/sobbing possibly in anger, frustration, or utter despair. She had witnessed first-hand the indignities done to her beloved Rabbi on the cross & she now reasonably assumes they have stolen His body just to demean & humiliate Jesus further. I would suggest Mary M is at her breaking point.  All hope is gone.

And then. We hear the most mind-blowing theological declaration ever. It comes in the form of a question when an angel asks, “Why are you crying?” Wow. In some modern translations, the angels might exclaim, “Spoiler Alert!” You see, the angels are puzzled by Mary M’s crying because they already know that the tomb is empty, that Jesus has defeated death, that evil has not triumphed over good, & that times of sadness & sorrow will eventually be replaced with love & laughter forever & ever. This is the game-changer for all of humankind. 

2,000 years later we are grateful to this stunningly courageous young lady. Because her life’s trajectory was forever transformed by Jesus’ love & grace, Mary M, herself, became part of His story & helped share this Good News with generations to come. May we all be inspired by Mary M’s example & go & do likewise.

We wrap up by returning to our imaginary Roman guards now heartily singing the conclusion to Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”: “S-w-e-e-t Caroline… Good times never seemed so good.” The guards pause & cock their heads to eagerly listen to Jesus shout from behind the stone, “So Good! So Good! So Good!” * So good indeed.

* If you’re not familiar with the “Sweet Caroline” crowd ritual, here’s a video clip: 110,000 plus singing Sweet Caroline (Penn State) – Warning: it’s loud, and only slightly melodic!