But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.

In the name of Jesus, the Risen One, dear fellow Christians:

What are your Easter expectations? Do you think of sunshine, laughter, peals of trumpets, majestic organ chords, and singing which raises the church rafters? What about tears? They seem completely out of place, don’t they? We left them behind on Friday. Yet, on that first Easter morning Mary was at the tomb with her eyes brimming over with tears. She told the angels why: “Because they have taken my Lord away.” She had witnessed Jesus suffer the most agonizing death in the history of the world. There was no question that He was dead when His battered body was taken off the cross and gently placed in Joseph’s tomb. Mary had come back to mourn, and now His body was gone. “They took Him away.” In Mary’s mind, forces beyond Jesus’ control had taken over and if her Lord whom she had trusted was overcome and gone, what hope was left for her? The future looked like a great, black, bottomless pit into which she was about to fall.

Have you ever had tears for Easter? Were there tears of sickness or disappointment or grief over the death of a loved one? Even if they have never come on Easter, there have been countless tears throughout our lifetimes. It’s the common human experience. The psalmist speaks of drenching his couch with tears, tears being his food day and night, and rivers of tears flowing from his eyes (cf. Psalm 6). Sin has that effect. It robs us of joy and hope, and leaves us with nothing but death looming. We have been completely overcome by it, and if Jesus was too, then our Easter celebration is nothing but a momentary distraction to take our minds off our ultimate doom. We could eat a big dinner, hunt for eggs and baskets, and look forward to spring weather, but we would still be staring at that bottomless pit waiting for us. We would have good cause for tears.

But for Mary everything changed with one word. The man whom she assumed was the gardener said, “Mary!” With that her tears were forgotten! She recognized the voice of Jesus. He had not been taken away. He was alive and standing there with her. He had died, but He had broken free from death. He had won! With her living Lord beside her, Mary’s heart was filled with the sunshine of joy.

The living Lord asks us, “Why are you crying?” We might offer all kinds of reasons: “I have so many problems…I hurt so terribly…I’m so sad…I’m so sorry…I’m so scared…You seem so far away.” But then Jesus calls your name. He knows each of us on a first name basis. He has made us His own in baptism. He assures us, “I was dead, but now I’m alive forevermore.” He dries all our tears. When our guilt brings tears of sadness and fear, Jesus is there to remind us that He took our sins to the cross and left them behind in the grave.

If He could set us free from sin and its curse, we can count on Him to take care of every obstacle and hurdle in life. We do not have just a fond memory of someone, we have a living Lord. When troubles come, remember the Lord lives. We have someone to go to for help, someone who will always care and know what to do.

Even when death faces us, the Lord is there to dry our tears. His resurrection from the grave is a preview of that coming “Easter” day when all who die in faith will rise from the grave to never-ending life in Heaven where “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Because we are still living in a sinful world for a time, tears will come. But then look to the empty tomb. The Lord is not dead and gone. He is alive and risen! He transforms tears of despair into tears of joy. The Lord lives, and by His saving work we do too.

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep…Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Grave, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 15:13-20, 51-57). Amen.

—Pastor Michael M. Eichstadt

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Ministry by Mail is a weekly publication of the Church of the Lutheran Confession. Subscription and staff information may be found online at www.clclutheran.org/ministrybymail.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.