Liturgy: “Focused on the Trappings of Easter Day”
Perhaps surprisingly, of all the passages in this week’s liturgy, Mary Magdalene’s story in John 20 is the one that resonates with me more than any other.
What is the King’s Liturgy? King’s Liturgy defines our experience together as a Christian community. It outlines the rhythms we celebrate with the Church at large: Scripture readings, Sabbath habits, and celebration of Holy Days and historical events.
This Week’s Lectionary Readings
Acts 10:34-43
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
John 20:1-18
Psalm 118:1-2,14-24
This week’s liturgy is contributed by Tim Gibson, acting president:
Perhaps surprisingly, of all the passages in this week’s liturgy, Mary Magdalene’s story in John 20 is the one that resonates with me more than any other. Separated by both thousands of miles and years, I see myself in this woman.
My childhood memories of Easter are very clear. Get up early for church because we need more time to get ready, after all, we are going to be more dressed up than most Sunday mornings. Be on my best behavior because to do less was to risk losing the privilege of hunting for my Easter basket later that day. After church we would return home and endure what seemed an unduly long preparation period before my father would declare us ready to take our carefully curated family photo, but again, best behavior or risk the loss of the basket and the goodies therein. Finally, after hours of the day had passed seemingly fruitlessly, baskets were found, sweets consumed and toys unboxed. Those memories are precisely why I can relate to Mary Magdalene.
Mary got up early that day, while it was still dark, perhaps still dark enough that it was difficult to make out from a distance that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance to the tomb in which Jesus had been laid. Did she pick up her pace once she suspected the tomb was opened? What fears were confirmed for her when she peered in and saw Christ’s body was no longer there? We know her feelings were intense, intense enough to drive her running to Peter and John and cry out that the Lord was missing from the tomb.
Mary’s behavior and mine have the same underlying cause. We both missed the meaning of Easter morning. Instead of being joyful because Jesus had risen, as a child, I focused on the trappings of the day. Likewise, instead of understanding the implications of the empty tomb, Mary focused on her fear, because she didn’t see Jesus’ lifeless form in the grave.
There’s nothing wrong with family observances that take place only on Easter, of course. Those are the traditions that later become treasured memories. But they cannot, must not, unfold at the expense of the reason behind them. We can never take for granted that the moment Christ rose Easter morning was the very turning point of man’s existence. That moment was the culmination of all the moments under the Law that preceded it. It was the precursor for all of history that has unfolded since. It is the foundation for our victory to come. The very Creator of all that is sacrificed all for Mary, for me, and for you. And after laying all down, on the first Easter morning, He rose, forever decimating death’s hold over creation. As the psalmist reminds us, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Don’t miss the meaning of Easter.
Christ is Risen. He is Risen Indeed!