Mary Magdalene peered into the empty tomb; wept and said, "they have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have laid him" Mary was devastated. Not only had they crucified her Lord, but his body, which she came to honor with anointing, had been removed as well.

Nevertheless, Mary was not so easily put off as she went alone looking for the gardener-prepared to beg, if necessary, to find out where the body of Jesus had been taken. But it was not the gardener that she found. It was Jesus, himself, not dead, not stolen, not violated, but risen from the grave and alive. Jesus spoke her name, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (Which means teacher). His familiar voice of love and tenderness penetrates her soul. In this breath- taking moment her weeping turns into joy and she runs to the disciples with these treasured words, "I have seen the Lord." Christ’s resurrection appearance was far more than that brief encounter at the tomb; it was a reality about God making all things new that would stay with her the rest of her life.

We have heard the Biblical account of Mary’s witness of the risen Lord again and again, so much so that it is easy to dismiss it as an encounter that may have been real for Mary but has little significance for us today. However, if we do three things Mary’s encounter with the risen Lord can make real sense for us. Those three things are understanding the context of the Biblical story; awareness of new -life experiences and living in a future -faith.

To help us understand the context of biblical story, biblical scholar N.T. Wright has this to say. The early Christians quickly came to understand Jesus’ resurrection in terms of their Jewish belief that the living God would one day make all things new, solve the problem of Israel’s exile by releasing them from bondage and bringing them into a new land, ending evil and injustice not only for them but for the whole world. By the way, when we say in the creed that the resurrection took place "in accordance with the scriptures" (I Cor. 15:3) we are saying that the resurrection took place just as the Scriptures recorded it i.e. as the fulfillment of the prophetic promise given to Israel. Jewish belief, the disciple’s belief, was that something like the resurrection, God’s intervention, would actually happen in the real world, in a tangible not in just a spiritual sort of way. Holding to this belief the disciples would not be surprised to see the real Jesus again in bodily form, appearing before their eyes in the upper room, speaking with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, revealing himself in the breaking of the bread, eating breakfast with the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee or Thomas placing his fingers in Christ’s hands and his hand in Christ’s side.

For us being ware of these new life experiences is a matter of seeing Christ’s presence in conversation as we are traveling along the way, in welcoming a stranger, meeting someone new with whom we hit it off, in a shared meal on the seashore, a picnic lunch in the park, or in the fellowship of family gatherings, in mutual prayer and praise in worship; or perhaps even in holding a newborn baby in our arms.

An example of la new life experience took place when Nelson Mandela was imprisoned 19 years by the South African Apartheid Government. He recalls: "The one thing that kept the prisoners from despair was singing together, reminding them of family, home and tribe, and the world outside. On a special occasion Nelson was granted a visit from his daughter whom he had not seen since she was a young girl. He recalled meeting with his full-grown daughter and her running over to hug him. Then, she gave her new born baby, Nelson’s granddaughter, into his callused hands. He was overcome by a profound joy.

By tradition, the grandfather is expected to name the baby. He thought about various names and settled on the name Zaziwe that means Hope. "The name had special meaning for me,’ said Mandela. ‘During all my years in prison hope never left me—and now it never would. I was convinced that this child would be part of a new generation of South Africans for whom apartheid would be a distant memory—that was my dream."

After seeing his new grandbaby, Mandela would serve 14 more years in prison. Though he couldn’t see evidence of the demise of apartheid then he believed it would someday crumble and a new day of justice would reign. Aware of this new-life experience he beheld a future faith that determined his present attitude and the way he saw things.

Though our situation may never be as dire as Mr. Mandela’s was, we often experience disappointment, pain and alienation. The question is, will we accept the future- faith that gives us hope and the power to see things differently? Will we dare to believe that no matter how bad things are now, we will get through them with the best yet to come? Will we understand that the message of the resurrection is not about life after death, but about living in a future faith?

Finally, being aware of our new-life experiences, will we choose to live in a future faith that trusts and looks beyond, expecting God to break through and make things new at any moment? Will we choose to live in a future faith that has power to overcome our deepest fear-fear of death. Will we choose to live in a future faith that has power to heal our deepest pain-the pain of grief that comes from the death of someone we love? Will we choose to live in a future faith that readily forgives those who have hurt us because we have been forgiven. Will we choose to live in a future faith that gives us a sure and certain hope of our own resurrection to everlasting life in union with those whom we love? Will we choose a future faith that brings peace and invincible joy?

But choosing a future-faith will bring with it a cost. Jesus tells Mary: "Do not cling to me because I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." In other words, do what Jesus is asking Mary to do. Let go of the past, surrender your very selves, die to unhealthy attachments, relationships, self-indulgent appetites and self- serving attitudes. Then move out, go tell others that you too have seen the Lord. Tell them that you have received the only gift Easter has to offer; an encounter with the risen Lord, His presence, in new life experiences. You can do this if you remember these three things: understand the context of the Biblical story of Mary’s encounter with the Jesus at the tomb, be aware of your new-life experiences as Nelson Mandela was and live in a future-faith of expectation and hope of better things yet to come. Then you will proclaim with me the ancient Easter greeting: Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!