March 31, 2002
Easter Sunday
"Something From Nothing"
(John 20:1-18)
Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn
[1] Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.
[2] So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him."
[3] Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb.
[4] The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
[5] He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.
[6] Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there,
[7] and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.
[8] Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;
[9] for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
[10] Then the disciples returned to their homes.
[11] But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb;
[12] and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.
[13] They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."
[14] When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
[15] Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."
[16] Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher).
[17] Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
[18] Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
[NRSV]
Well, it's been released again. It's proven to be one of the most popular stories of all time. People have sung praises to its author since it was first written and released. And yet, it has never won an academy award. And now, because of its popularity, you can see it in all kinds of odd places: the grocery store, bookstores, the video stores, and in the most unlikely homes.
People talk about all the time.
It's the story that goes like this . . . . . .
Once upon a time, an extraterrestrial visited our planet. He lived among the people and He watched them with great fascination. He befriended the common people. And it seemed to be the children, more than the adults, who understood this extraterrestrial. And we understand that, because, in a child's eyes, even the most wondrous is somehow believable.
This extraterrestrial possessed unusual hands. They were healing hands. With the touch of one finger, pain and hurt simply disappeared.
Even though they tried to keep it a secret, it wasn't long before the news of this strange visitor reached the authorities. They sought to capture him and confine him. They didn't understand his mission, his purpose or his peaceful spirit. And in their hands, the extraterrestrial gasped and died.
Those who knew him, those who had spent time with him wept. But he wasn't finished yet. Somehow, through some incredible miracle, the extraterrestrial sprang back to life. People could scarcely believe their eyes or the stories that the witnesses had told.
The extraterrestrial stayed with his friends for just a short time after that before returning to the heavens. But before he left, he turned to his friends and he whispered, "I'll be right here." And then they watched him ascend into the heavens.
Wasn't that a strange thing to say? But then, that's how the story ends, at least as it's told in the Gospel of Matthew. "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
And yet, that's not really the end of the story. Because even though it's nearly 2000 years later, people still gather to hear the fascinating story, not of E.T., but of Jesus, the Son of God, who died for our sins and was raised from the dead. People keep coming, like little children, to hear it again and again like a favorite bedtime story.
Those who know and love the story best; those who believe it and have faith in its main character and its Author are given the assurance that they too shall conquer death.
That's what this day is all about. Resurrection. You see, today E.T. doesn't stand for some weird little Extraterrestrial created out of the mind of Hollywood. Today E.T. stands for Empty Tomb.
That Empty Tomb is what brings us here today.
A. But you know, Scripture tells us that the Good News of the Resurrection was hard to believe at first. It was so hard to believe that Luke records that the disciples thought it was just "an idle tale."
And can you blame them for doubting? They had watched Jesus die on the cross. They saw Him laid in tomb and watched as the tomb was sealed. No wonder it was hard to believe.
But you know, we'll believe a lot of incredible things. We'll believe things that are nearly impossible or stretch the imagination to point of breaking.
There are people who still believe that Elvis is alive. There are some who still think Madlyn Murray O'Hare is still trying to ban religious broadcasting and they spend thousands of dollars and hours trying to stop something that was never true. Recently I received a story that was touted as being true.
According to this story, Green Garden Grass snakes can be dangerous, Grass snakes, not rattlesnakes. A couple in Sweetwater, Texas had a lot of potted plants, and during a recent cold spell, the wife was bringing some of them indoors to protect them from a possible freeze. It turned out that a little green garden grass snake was hidden in one of the plants and when it had warmed up, it slithered out and the wife saw it go under the couch.
She let out a very loud scream. Her husband, who was taking a shower, ran out into the living room with nothing but a towel wrapped around him, to see what the problem was. She told him there was a snake under the sofa. He got down on the floor on his hands and knees to look for it.
About that time the family dog came and cold-nosed his rear end.
He thought the snake had bitten him and he fainted. His wife thought he had a heart attack, so she called an ambulance. The attendants rushed in and loaded him on the stretcher and started carrying him out.
About that time the snake came out from under the couch where one of the EMTs saw it and dropped his end of the stretcher. That's when the man broke his leg. And that's why he is in the hospital.
The wife still had the problem of the snake in the house, so she called on the next door neighbor. He volunteered to capture the snake. He armed himself with a rolled-up newspaper and began poking under the couch. This guy decided the snake was gone and told the woman, who sat down on the sofa in relief.
But in relaxing, her hand dangled in between the cushions, where she felt the snake wriggling around. She screamed and fainted. The snake rushed back under the sofa. And the neighbor, seeing the woman laying there passed out tried to use CPR to revive her.
The neighbor's wife, who had just returned from the grocery store, saw her husband's mouth on the woman's mouth. In a jealous rage, she slammed her husband in the back of the head with a bag of canned goods. The blow knocked him out and cut his scalp to the point where it needed stitches.
Another ambulance was called and it was determined that the injury required hospitalization.
All of the noise woke the woman from her dead faint and she saw her neighbor lying on the floor with his wife bending over him. She assumed he had been bitten by the snake. So, she went to the kitchen, brought back a small bottle of whiskey, and began pouring it down the man's throat.
By now the police had arrived. They saw the unconscious man, smelled the whiskey, and assumed that a drunken fight had occurred. They were about to arrest them all, when the two women tried to explain how it all happened over a little green snake. When everything was cleared up, the ambulance took away the neighbor and his sobbing wife.
Just then the little snake crawled out from under the couch, One of the policemen drew his gun and fired at it. He missed the snake and hit the leg of the end table that was on one side of the sofa. The table fell over and the lamp on it shattered and as the bulb broke, it started a fire in the drapes.
The other policeman tried to beat out the flames and fell through the window into the yard on top of the family dog. Startled, the jumped up and raced out into the street, where an oncoming car swerved to avoid it and smashed into the parked police car and set it on fire.
Meanwhile the burning drapes had spread to the walls and the entire house was blazing. Neighbors had called the fire department and the arriving fire-truck had started raising his ladder as they were halfway down the street.
The rising ladder tore out the overhead wires and put out the electricity and disconnected the telephones in a ten-square city block area.
Time passed . . .
Both men were discharged from the hospital, The house was rebuilt,
The police acquired a new car, and all was right with the world . . .
About a year later they were watching TV and the weatherman announced a cold snap for that night. The husband asked his wife if she thought they should bring in their plants for the night.
She shot him. (1)
B. All of that's a little hard to believe isn't it. It was really hard for me to believe because about 20 years ago, one of the members of our church worked in an insurance claims office. He brought me a list of stories and comments that people had made on their claim forms. And every one of the details of this story ARE true. They just didn't all happen to the same people.
Someone has done a masterful job of weaving them all together and embellishing them. Unfortunately some people think that's what has happened to the story of Jesus. Scripture even says that's the story certain Jews told to discredit the disciples and their story.
And yet, as hard as it is to believe, this day, Easter, draws us like a magnet. We come in record numbers, year after year. And we come filled with expectation. We come looking for something that only Easter can offer. Why?
A. Easter is the day that defines all other days. Easter is the day that gives us hope. It was hard to believe for the disciples. And yet, they too, were drawn to the empty tomb like the rest of us. The Gospel of John even says they RAN to the tomb. John got there first, but Peter was the first one in the tomb.
And what did they see? Nothing but the burial clothes. The tomb was empty.
(Use "He Is Risen" Illusion)
We all know the story. It's that never old, oft told story. When Jesus was delivered to Pontius Pilate. He was tried and condemned to death on the cross. They took Him to Calvary and there He was crucified between two thieves.
It's appropriate that the Son of God was placed in the center because He has become the center of countless millions of people's lives.
Once they had died they took them off the crosses and buried them.
(Show paper tomb. Then place crosses in paper tomb.)
(Take out first cross)
This cross represents the First Thief, the one who ridiculed and derided Jesus like the crowds.
(Take out second cross)
This cross represents the Second Thief, the one who asked Jesus to remember him. And Jesus said, "Today you will join me in paradise." Notice that Jesus said "Today" not next year, not in 1,000 years or 10,000 years. But "Today."
On Easter morning, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. And they met an Angel who said: "HE IS NOT HERE"
(Show first side of card)
"HE IS RISEN"
(Show second side of card).
Mary ran back and told the disciples and when they got to the tomb, sure enough, it was Empty.
(Show empty tomb).
The disciples looked in and even went in and found nothing.
B. I think it was my Dad who told me that you can't get Something From Nothing. But Easter says that's wrong. Easter turns it all upside down and inside out.
Even though they had all witnessed Jesus' death and burial, there was NOTHING in the tomb, NOTHING except the burial clothes. And that was SOMETHING. That was REALLY Something. SOMETHING that none of them had ever seen before. SOMETHING unexpected yet foretold.
That was REALLY SOMETHING. SOMETHING that changed the world. SOMETHING that changed our view of the world. SOMETHING that changed our view of life and death and life after death. SOMETHING that changed us. And that's REALLY SOMETHING.
So you see, my Dad was wrong. You really CAN get Something From Nothing.
(Use "Crystal Vase Flower Production" Illusion)
Take this little crystal vase. It's empty. There's nothing in it. But this is Spring and this is Easter and there should be something beautiful in a vase like this. So, in keeping with the Title and with the theme, Here's Something From Nothing.
(Flowers appear)
That's what this day is all about: The beauty of getting Something From Nothing.
A. And the real beauty is that because of the Resurrection, because of the Empty Tomb, because Jesus made Something From Nothing, He can take the nothingness of our lives and make us into Something Beautiful and Something Wonderful.
God in Christ can transform us into Something and Someone new. We can experience the new life of Resurrection everyday. And that's REALLY Something.
B. Many years ago, a homeless drug addict named Rob decided to turn his life around. He called his sister and asked her to take him to church that Easter.
On Easter Sunday, Rob walked into his sister's church just as the cast members for the Easter play were getting into place. One of the men had not shown up, so the casting director grabbed Rob and asked him if he would play a part. Rob was too dazed to refuse, so he was assigned the part of one of the thieves who was crucified beside Jesus.
Rob listened and watched intently as the Easter story unfolded. He didn't move a muscle when he was placed up on the cross. But when the pastor read aloud the words of the thief, "God, be merciful to me a sinner," he couldn't stay quiet any longer.
Rob suddenly knew that this was his prayer, too, so he echoed it from the cross. "God, be merciful to me a sinner." On that Easter Sunday, in a most unexpected way, Rob came to Christ. (2)
He was given new life. And the Nothing in Rob's life was filled with the Something of God's mercy, grace and forgiveness. The Nothing in Rob's life was filled the Something of God's Holy Spirit.
That's why I say that this is the day that defines all days. This is the day that fills us with hope. This is the day that always offers Something From Nothing.
In late March 1993, a sudden, unexpected snowstorm blanketed the East coast of the United States. In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina, it was the snow of the century. Many hunters and hikers were trapped in the park, cut off from their loved ones.
Four medical doctors from Knoxville, TN. had chosen that weekend for a hunting excursion in the Smokies. Since they had expected to be gone only one night and didn't expect any adverse circumstances, they didn't bother to give their families or their staffs the exact location of their hunt. They felt that their SUV could take them deep into the mountains and get them back out without any trouble at all.
Imagine their surprise when the snow banked up around their vehicle became so deep that their SUV refused to budge. What were they to do? This was before cell phones had become commonplace. No one in the outside world knew where they were. They hadn't brought enough food for more than two days. They were frightened and didn't know what to do next. They didn't even know if there would be a next.
Evening fell on the second day. They still hadn't had any contact with civilization. Their SUV was as unmoveable as on the day before.
They divided a stale doughnut that someone found in the back of the vehicle. They were cold, hungry and greatly discouraged. Would no one find them before they had either frozen or starved?
Then suddenly they heard a sound overhead. It was unmistakable whrrrr of a helicopter.
They jumped out of their vehicle and screamed and waved their arms so the pilot of the helicopter could locate them. And he did. For a moment the helicopter hovered above them. They could see it was already filled with other hunters or hikers.
Then they saw a basket being lowered from the helicopter. In that basket was a note. On that note was one word: "Tomorrow."
Immediately those four sophisticated medical doctors made a chorus line, and they kicked their legs as high as the snow would allow and they began to sing at the top of their lungs, "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow, you're only a day away."
Their fear was gone. Help was on its way. They would live to see another day. All of a sudden they had hope. There was Nothing in that basket except one piece of paper with one word on it. But they got Something From Nothing. They received hope.
And that's what makes this day the day that defines all other days. It gives us hope. It gives us faith. And most important of all it gives us Tomorrow.
Go ahead and go to the movies and enjoy the 20th anniversary edition of Steven Spielberg's E.T., but just remember this, for Christians E.T. no longer stands for Extraterrestrial, now it stands for Empty Tomb, the only place where you can get Something From Nothing.
1. Adapted. Received as an e-mail. Source unknown
2. Tommy Barnett, with Lela Gilbert. Dream Again (Orlando, FL.: Creation House, 1998), 134-135.
3. From a sermon by Eric Ritz
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