This is the manuscript of the sermon I preached for Sunrise service this Easter morning.  The Scripture text is John 20:1-18. 

Everything went wrong.  Last Sunday, Jesus and his disciples had entered into Jerusalem in style – like a parade for conquering heroes.  But nothing seemed to go right after that.  During the week, Jesus was confronted by the priests and the scribes and the Pharisees.  They tried their best to tangle him up in legal talk.  But each time, he showed them their foolishness and hypocrisy – increasing their rage.  Then one of Jesus’ own disciples betrayed him - giving Jesus’ enemies an opportunity to arrest him.  They put on a sham trial.  Even the governor, Pilate didn’t want to condemn him, but he did it anyway.  Then they led Jesus up a hill outside Jerusalem and crucified him.  And with his death died all his followers’ expectations and hopes and dreams of who Jesus was and what he was doing.  Everything went wrong. 

And now, it gets worse.  Mary Magdalene finds that even Jesus’ burial has gone wrong.  She comes to the tomb early Sunday morning and finds the stone rolled away.  So she runs away in a panic assuming that his body has been stolen and probably desecrated.  Peter and John come back with her, go inside, and find the tomb empty, but the burial linens are still there.  They go back home, but Mary stays.  With tears of sorrow flowing down her cheeks, she looks inside the tomb and sees two angels who ask her why she is weeping.  She is still assuming his body is stolen when she turns around and sees a man.  It’s Jesus, but she’s so blinded by doubt, hopelessness, and tears, she doesn’t recognize him. 

And how often do we have similar experiences as Mary?  How often are we blinded? – blinded by doubt, hopelessness, and tears.   Hard as we try to make everything go right in our lives, something goes wrong.  Tragedies happen in our lives: the failures, the poor choices, the arguments, the fights, the conflicts, betrayal, denial, death - everything going wrong.  “Where are you God?”  “Why aren’t you here God?”  “Everything is going wrong, God!”  The tragedies of our lives that cause the doubt, and hopelessness, and tears can blind us from seeing our Lord.  Like Mary, how easily and quickly do we forget what Jesus has said.  How easily and quickly do we forget what Jesus has done.  And our tears blind us from seeing the bigger picture – the one with Jesus it – the one with the risen-from-the-dead Jesus in it. 

Jesus asks Mary, “Woman, why are you weeping?  Whom are you seeking?”  And still blinded by tears of sorrow, she thinks he’s the gardener.  In desperation, Mary asks if he was the one who took Jesus’ body away.  And then Jesus says her name, “Mary.”  He merely says her name and everything that went wrong is suddenly changed.  Tragedy turns to triumph.  Tears of sorrow to shouts of joy!  And no longer blinded by tears, Mary cannot contain that joy.  She goes and tells the disciples that she has seen Jesus – alive.  Jesus says her name, and everything changes. 

And Jesus has done the same to you.  He has said your name.  Your name was said by God in your baptism.  In baptism your name was said in conjunction with water flooding over you and God’s name flooding upon you.  Jesus has said your name and everything changes.  In baptism, the death and resurrection of Jesus that we celebrate today has happened to you.  You and your sin – the root cause of everything that is wrong - has died with Jesus and you have risen to new life with the resurrected Jesus.  And on this day, when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, our sorrow turns to joy.  And that’s easy to do today with the beautifully decorated sanctuary and the festive music and our favorite Easter hymns.  But what about the other 364 days of the year?  What about the rest of the days of this life we call a veil of tears?  Those tragedies don’t seem to go away.  Things still go wrong in our lives.  What about then?  Even in the midst of everything going wrong, Jesus, the risen Jesus, has said your name.  He has promised to be with you.  The new life that began at your baptism did not end after your baptism.  Just like Mary’s life changed forever.  Your life has changed forever.  The new life you now have in the risen Christ has changed everything.  The new life you have been given is a new life lived each day, dying to sin and rising with Christ.   

Your eyes blinded by tears have been opened - because you know the end of the story.  Your eyes have been opened to see your savior Jesus through the tears of your tragedies – knowing with certainty the certainty of life you have because you belong to Christ.  And that changes everything.  And with that certainty, doubt and hopelessness fade away – leaving room for you to be filled with joy.  Maybe not shouts of joy every day of the year, but filled with joy nevertheless.  Because you know.  You know and believe along with Mary Magdalene, the disciples, your brothers and sisters in Christ gathered here with you, fellow Christians around the world, and all the saints who have gone on before us.  You know and believe that Christ is risen, he is risen indeed.  And that fact changes everything.  Amen.