Responses of Fools?

I had the best of intentions to get another post out before yesterday. Instead I find myself the day after Easter, April Fool’s day no less, finally at my keyboard.

Yesterday I chose to preach on John 20:1-18 because Peter is highlighted in the story. Mary Magdalene finds the tomb empty and runs to tell Peter. He and another disciple (likely John?) come running to look for themselves. Seeing the grave clothes left inside and Jesus’ body gone, they take off for home leaving Mary alone. Their emotions have overtaken them and they are panicked and grieving.

When Mary looks inside the tomb again, two angels are there who ask why she’s crying. Turning, Jesus Himself is behind her and He asks the same thing. She thinks He’s the gardener and, distraught, asks where His body has been placed. He calls her by name and tells her to not cling to Him but to go and share the Good News.

Reading this story we could think that we see some fools, or at very least foolish things going on. Peter and the disciple are running around like a stressed out team from the Amazing Race. In their haste and anxiety they miss what is actually happening, forgetting the clues they’ve been given. Rather than lingering and witnessing what Mary saw, they run home and lock themselves in. They react with understandable fear, given events of the last few days, but their self-centered response means that they struggle to see and believe. This will continue in other post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.

Mary might be considered foolish for caring so deeply for someone who it appeared turned out to be a sham and not who they said they were. She continued to care about Him anyway and showed up at the cross and at the tomb. And then, in that moment He said her name, it all came together that He had done what He said He would and really was alive again. She was sent to share the amazing news to a group of fearful followers who wouldn’t take her seriously.

How foolish are we when we race around in our lives ‘in a flap’ as my mother would say? We bounce from one thing to another and allow our anxiety, fear and other complex emotions to get the better of us. We want control and being busy gives the illusion of that even as we stuff our grief and aching for something more. How foolish are we when we don’t see the clues around us or listen to unlikely voices who have seen Jesus? How foolish are we when we forget His power and instead cower behind locked doors, fearful and suspicious of others?

Easter is about freedom from tombs that seal us in and keep us in darkness. Easter is about the power of God to take on anything, even death, and win. Easter is about the invitation to be fools for Christ, sharing the Good News because it matters.

May we slow down enough to see Him and to accept His invitation to share His story. May we find a compassionate Teacher who will walk with us in our busyness and lead us to an even more fulfilling life in Him. May we hear the risen Christ call our name and have the courage to respond.