“Why are you weeping?” This question in the gospel of John jumps out at us today. Though we generally think of Easter day as a time of great celebration and rejoicing, this question reminds us that for Mary Magdalene, and the other disciples, the day started out in deep sadness. I suspect Mary awoke that morning, so soon after the crucifixion, with a heavy heart. Though John doesn’t tell us so, I imagine she wiped her tears with the edge of her dress even as she made her way to the tomb. Sadness may have been temporarily replaced by alarm when she saw the stone rolled away. And she may have felt afraid while she ran to tell Simon Peter and the other disciple. But by the time she returned to the tomb the overwhelming emotion she felt was despair. And so she stood there, weeping, and as she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb.
How surprised Mary must have been when she saw two angles sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying! They were the first to ask her the question. “Why are you weeping?” Shouldn’t these messengers from God know the situation? But she tried to explain, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” They gave no reply.
Then she stepped out of the tomb, turned and saw a man. And he asked her the same question. “Woman, why are you weeping?”
In the drama of the story John doesn’t stop to tell us why Mary is weeping. But I would like us to consider the possible answers to the question. Why did Mary weep? What could be the source of tears for any follower of Jesus, like you and me?
Of course it is normal to weep after the death of someone we love dearly. Mary had followed Jesus for a long time. They had traveled many miles together with the other disciples. She had learned much from him, and he had given her a kind of respect that few men gave to women at that time. The feelings of loss; the bleak realization that the loved one who has died will no longer be there to share a meal, or tell a joke, or embrace can be overwhelming. Such grief can last for a very long time, and just when we think we are over the worst of it, we hear a song, or come across the persons’ favorite food, or their old comfy sweater and we find the tears welling up in us all over again. And we weep. Why are you weeping? I am weeping for grief, for loss of a special relationship that is forever changed by death.
Why are you weeping? Another possible source of Mary’s tears could be stress. The last few days had been particularly stressful. It was the time of Passover – and big holidays like that with lots of food to prepare can make a person exhausted. Besides all of the work of cooking big fancy meals, there is the added pressure of trying to make the holiday just perfect. John doesn’t say who prepared the meal that Thursday night where Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and gave them final words. But we can be pretty safe to assume that the women, including Mary Magdalene, did most of the work. ˜ When the meal was over Jesus and the disciples went to the garden, I imagine that Mary stayed behind with the other women to clean up. Perhaps they were just putting away the last dishes, and hanging the towels to dry, ready to finally get off of their tired feet when the distressing news came that Jesus had been arrested, and taken to the high priest. At this point Mary’s tiredness would have escalated to full-blown stress, which only got worse as the events unfolded on Friday. She witnessed the angry crowds yelling “Crucify him!” and she heard the nails driven into his hands and feet, and she stood before his cross and watched her beloved Jesus suffocate to death. Being witness to such violence causes humans to develop posttraumatic stress disorder. And weeping is a common result of such exhaustion and stress.
Why are you weeping? When we put ourselves in Mary’s position we can understand that besides being stressed and tired, she also must have been feeling very confused at this point. Jesus was her leader. He had made many promises and performed many miracles. Not only had he fed 5,000, healed many sick and walked on water, but he had raised Lazarus from the dead. That procession they had into Jerusalem last week – didn’t they do that because Jesus was the Messiah – a new leader of the people of God who would establish a new government? He had raised so many hopes for the future. Hadn’t she been following the Way, the Truth and the Life? But now Jesus was dead, and those hopes and dreams had died with him. What had happened? How could things have gone so wrong? With no leader what would the disciples do? They had become sheep without a shepherd. They felt lost and abandoned. All good reasons to weep.
Many of us can identify with Mary’s situation. We start out on a path, which we believe is the right one. We think we are following Jesus and we catch a glimpse of a bright future ahead, and devote our efforts to moving toward it. But then something terrible happens, a flood, an earthquake, a nosedive in the economy, a rejection letter. We loose our home, our job, our life savings, the things that we were relying upon to bring us happiness. The very thing for which we have been preparing is ripped away. It leaves us feeling lost, confused, dazed. It’s enough to make us weep.
Why are you weeping? The events of the past few days put an exclamation point on the degree of danger involved with being a follower of Jesus. The religious authorities thought he was leading a rebellion that had to be put down with violence. And the Roman officials seemed willing to sacrifice Jesus’ little band to pacify the majority. The disciples had recently become frightened enough that some, like Peter, started carrying swords. If the authorities would kill their leader, surely it was dangerous to admit to being his follower. Isn’t that what led Peter to deny Christ three times before the sun rose Friday morning? The world is a fearful place. Who can be trusted? How can we make sure we are safe? When the fear of danger becomes overwhelming we also respond like the disciples, keeping a low profile, locking ourselves away in an upper room, and weeping for fear.
Why are you weeping? Finally, there is the whole injustice of what they did to Jesus. ˜ Jesus, who carried no weapon, Jesus, who healed the sick, fed the hungry, welcomed children. Jesus was kind and loving and did nothing to harm anyone. ˜ Yet his enemies had him destroyed. At the end of his so called trial, when Pilot could find no reason to justify capital punishment, he chose to wash his hands of the matter rather than defy the angry crowds and serve justice.
We, like Mary, can see injustice all around us. Even if it doesn’t seem to affect us directly we cry out when we see brothers and sisters treated unfairly because of their ethnic background, gender or race. When innocent people suffer because of institutional racism. When all immigrants to America are treated with suspicion and prejudice in response to the few who actually seek to do our country harm. When the corporate executives retire with their huge golden parachutes paid for by taxpayers who are still unable to get modest business loans or mortgages. When federal and state budget cuts affect the children more severely than anyone else, it’s enough to make us weep.
Why are you weeping? Is it from grief, exhaustion and stress, feeling lost, afraid or due to injustice – or some mixture of all of these things? The good news is that the Lord meets us in our sorrow, listens to our concerns and stands ready to exchange our tears for Easter joy.
When we weep tears of grief, the risen Christ meets us and offers us the gift of eternal life. It is true that after his death nothing would be the same. Jesus explained that things would not go back to the way they were. “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father,” he said. Christ is alive, but his journey up from the grave continued up to his place beside God the Father in heaven. Because Christ rose, we can have faith that those who believe in him will also have a place in heaven, the gift of eternal life. “Where I am going, there you will be also,” he promised. In this we rejoice.
When we weep tears of exhaustion and stress, the risen Christ meets us and offers us the gift of the Holy Spirit. As he promised the Holy Spirit is our comforter, our counselor and our advocate. Even as Christ ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit remains with us to renew our strength, to carry our burdens and to lead us into new life even in this world. In this we rejoice.
When we weep tears out of confusion, feeling that our way is lost, Christ meets us as the Good Shepherd. Just as he promised, Jesus the Good Shepherd knows his sheep by name. As soon as she heard his voice call her name, “Mary!” she recognized him and her heart leapt for joy. The risen Christ continues to lead us, even when the path leads through the valley of death. Though we might not be able to see the way, we can trust that our Lord is the Way and the Truth and the Life and continue to follow our Good Shepherd. In this we rejoice.
When we weep tears of fear, Christ meets us and offers us the protection of the Heavenly Father. Jesus gave a message to Mary, he asked her to tell the other disciples that his Father is our Father, his God is our God. Just as Jesus prayed at the Last Supper, God our Father protects us in times of danger. Our father will guard us so that not one will be lost. Even when the world hates us, we can dry or tears and take courage that the Lord will keep and protect us. In this we rejoice.
When we weep tears of injustice Christ meets us and invites us to gather at his table, not as Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, but as equally beloved children of God. Though Christ is our Lord and master, he taught us to reverse injustice by taking the form of a servant and washing his disciples’ feet. And he taught us that we also must practice justice by serving one another, lifting up the lowly. As his followers we are strengthened by this meal to look our oppressors in the eye, and to stand up for our neighbors who are oppressed. The risen Christ gives us strength to live, not according to the world, but according to the just and righteous way of God. In this we rejoice.
As Mary left the garden to carry the message of the risen Christ to her brothers and sisters, I imagine that she was still weeping. But now her tears were transformed from tears of grief, exhaustion, confusion, fear, and injustice to tears of joy. May we all find ourselves overcome with such joy this Easter and in the days to come. Amen.
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