St John 20:1-18; Various Texts
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Tell us, dear John, beloved disciple of our Lord, who who leaned on His breast during the Supper, what did you see? You ran to the tomb with the first among the Apostles, disbelieving. Though arriving first, you waited in deference for your elder. He went in. He too saw the saw the linen clothes and the face cloth, folded, lying in its own place. Only then did you enter. You saw, you believed. But you did not yet understand the Scripture. So you and Peter returned home.
But Mary, you remained. You waited. Like Abraham of old, you hoped against hope. Tell us, O Mary Magdalene, out of whom were driven seven demons, What did you see? The tomb of Christ who is living? The glory of Jesus’ resurrection; bright angels attesting, the shroud and napkin resting? But your Lord, your hope, you did not at first see.
Yet you lingered in the garden. You hoped, you wished, but still you could not let yourself believe. And so when He whom you thought to be the Gardener asked why you were weeping, you replied, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away.
And then He spoke your name: Mary. The voice of your beloved! And at once you knew! Your heart thrilled. You believed. You saw. You fell to the ground and held His feet until He said to you, Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Who is this? Whom did you see and behold?
You saw He who walked in the Garden with your first parents; your true Bridegroom from whose side you are now fashioned and formed. Who clothes you with the garment of righteousness made from the Lamb of God who was slain to the sins of the world.
You saw He who is the true Ark and ferry of Life, safely brining passage to His Church through the flood of the Father’s wrath; raising you up in Himself from death and destruction all around, and now, from whose riven flesh pours out new Life for the new creation.
You saw He who went before and followed after Israel, the Angel of the Lord who defended His people from the tyranny of Pharaoh and the destroyed the armies of Egypt, fighting for His people and ransoming them with unmoistened foot, who now brings you safely through the sea of your Holy Baptism drowning all your foes.
You saw He who gathers now into the good Land of His Church. He who sprinkles you with clean water and cleanses you from all your idols. You saw He who is your new heart and bestows His Spirit within you.
You saw, dear Mary, He who came back from the belly of the earth, three days rest in the tomb, fulfilling the time of Jonah, and by whose Sacrifice caused the Father to relent from His fierce anger so that you may not perish.
You saw, O Magdalene, He who strode in the fiery furnace with the three young men, the Son of God, who was bound with your sins, but now walks freely from the flames, unharmed by death, bringing you life and light and peace.
Tell us, so that we too, this night, may know that the burning of our hearts, the confidence, the hope, the rediscovery that Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining! Tell us, that our joy may rise full and free, Christ, our resurrected Lord, our comfort true will be. Tell us, Mary and John, Peter and James and all the apostles, you on the Emmaus Road, tell us, Paul and the 500, tell us, all you witnesses of the resurrection, tell us, that we too may join in the chorus that with exuberant hearts has through the ages cried out to one another ever since the very first days you yourselves have said it:
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Tell us, dear John, beloved disciple of our Lord, who who leaned on His breast during the Supper, what did you see? You ran to the tomb with the first among the Apostles, disbelieving. Though arriving first, you waited in deference for your elder. He went in. He too saw the saw the linen clothes and the face cloth, folded, lying in its own place. Only then did you enter. You saw, you believed. But you did not yet understand the Scripture. So you and Peter returned home.
But Mary, you remained. You waited. Like Abraham of old, you hoped against hope. Tell us, O Mary Magdalene, out of whom were driven seven demons, What did you see? The tomb of Christ who is living? The glory of Jesus’ resurrection; bright angels attesting, the shroud and napkin resting? But your Lord, your hope, you did not at first see.
Yet you lingered in the garden. You hoped, you wished, but still you could not let yourself believe. And so when He whom you thought to be the Gardener asked why you were weeping, you replied, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away.
And then He spoke your name: Mary. The voice of your beloved! And at once you knew! Your heart thrilled. You believed. You saw. You fell to the ground and held His feet until He said to you, Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Who is this? Whom did you see and behold?
You saw He who walked in the Garden with your first parents; your true Bridegroom from whose side you are now fashioned and formed. Who clothes you with the garment of righteousness made from the Lamb of God who was slain to the sins of the world.
You saw He who is the true Ark and ferry of Life, safely brining passage to His Church through the flood of the Father’s wrath; raising you up in Himself from death and destruction all around, and now, from whose riven flesh pours out new Life for the new creation.
You saw He who went before and followed after Israel, the Angel of the Lord who defended His people from the tyranny of Pharaoh and the destroyed the armies of Egypt, fighting for His people and ransoming them with unmoistened foot, who now brings you safely through the sea of your Holy Baptism drowning all your foes.
You saw He who gathers now into the good Land of His Church. He who sprinkles you with clean water and cleanses you from all your idols. You saw He who is your new heart and bestows His Spirit within you.
You saw, dear Mary, He who came back from the belly of the earth, three days rest in the tomb, fulfilling the time of Jonah, and by whose Sacrifice caused the Father to relent from His fierce anger so that you may not perish.
You saw, O Magdalene, He who strode in the fiery furnace with the three young men, the Son of God, who was bound with your sins, but now walks freely from the flames, unharmed by death, bringing you life and light and peace.
Tell us, so that we too, this night, may know that the burning of our hearts, the confidence, the hope, the rediscovery that Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining! Tell us, that our joy may rise full and free, Christ, our resurrected Lord, our comfort true will be. Tell us, Mary and John, Peter and James and all the apostles, you on the Emmaus Road, tell us, Paul and the 500, tell us, all you witnesses of the resurrection, tell us, that we too may join in the chorus that with exuberant hearts has through the ages cried out to one another ever since the very first days you yourselves have said it:
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.
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