Easter People

Easter People

John 20:1-18

            What does it mean to be “Easter People?”  Let’s look at some examples.  Perhaps we can develop a composite picture that will help us form an accurate description.

            According to John’s gospel, Mary Magdalene was the first Easter Person.  This is one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible.  Jesus had meant so much to Mary—and no, we have no proof that she was a prostitute, as one of the early popes declared her to be.  Apparently he wanted an example of someone whose life Jesus had changed, so he conflated the stories of two or three women to arrive at a conclusion Scripture in no way confirms.

            We know Mary had been very close to Jesus.  She is the only woman all four gospel writers place at the tomb that resurrection morning.  Jesus had changed her life.  Now here she was, outside the empty tomb, with an aching emptiness inside because her Lord’s body was not there.  Through her tears she saw a man she presumed to be the gardener.  When he said her name she knew who it was.  Her life was transformed once again as her sorrow was turned to joy.  She couldn’t wait to tell the good news.  She became an Easter Person.

            Peter was an Easter Person.  Before we criticize him for denying Jesus we must ask ourselves:  Would I have behaved differently?  In John 21 we read the story of Peter’s encounter with the risen Jesus.  Three times he had denied his Lord, and three times Jesus asked him the most important question he would ever answer:  “Simon, bar Jonah, do you love me?”  We know his answer, and we know what happened to Peter at Pentecost.  This sometimes brash/sometimes fearful disciple became a tower of strength among those who were called Followers of the Way.  He became an Easter Person.

            Thomas was an Easter Person.  When Jesus appeared to his disciples that first Easter evening, Thomas wasn’t among them.  When he returned, his friends said, “We have seen the Lord!”  Thomas refused to believe until he saw for himself.  Before we criticize him, we must ask ourselves again:  Would I have behaved differently?  When Jesus appeared to the disciples again, and Thomas saw him, there were no doubts.  His confession is one we should all be eager to make:  “My Lord and my God!”  With those words Thomas became an Easter Person.

            Luke (24:13-35) tells the story of two disciples, despondent over the death of their beloved Master, who left Jerusalem that first Easter evening heading for Emmaus.  Suddenly they were joined by another traveler who, as they walked along, taught again the same lessons he had been trying to teach them for three years.  When he joined them for supper, and presided at the table, breaking bread as he had done so often in their presence, they recognized their risen Lord.  They couldn’t wait to tell the good news.  They became Easter People.

            We could mention many more:  Philip, who taught the Ethiopian eunuch; Paul, who with his enthusiasm and God’s help turned the world upside down; the disciples who overnight became apostles—messengers of the good news.  I think we have enough to form a definition.

            What do these people have in common?  Their encounters with the risen Jesus changed their lives.  Whatever they had been before—sad, afraid, depressed, reluctant, angry—they were now different people.  Jesus took their weaknesses and gave them strength.  No longer content to be what they had been; no longer content to live half-lives; no longer content to be less than they could be, they began new lives—lives dedicated to letting everyone know that life could be different, and that they too could become Easter People. 

Are you an Easter Person?