Easter Sunday & Earth Day - April 17, 2022
John 20:1-18
Deborah Laforet
Easter Is Earth Day!
One: Christ is risen! All: Christ is risen, indeed!
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by the Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
You may have noticed that Easter falls fairly late this year, which suits our weather as spring seems to be coming late too. Easter can occur on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25th. Do you know why the date we celebrate Easter varies from year to year?
Easter's exact date depends on the moon. It is set to coincide with the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, the first full moon after the vernal equinox, or the first full moon after March 21st, the first day of spring. Did you notice the full moon last night? April’s full moon is sometimes called the Pink Moon, which actually has nothing to do with the colour of the moon. It is named after the early springtime blooms of a certain wildflower called creeping phlox or moss phlox.
There has been talk of changing the date of Easter so that it will land on the same Sunday every year, but I have to say that I would be against this. Sure, it makes it more convenient, but Easter usually coincides with Passover. In our gospel stories, Jesus celebrates Passover with his disciples before he is arrested and put to death. The celebration of Passover by the Jewish faith and Easter by the Christian faith often coincide, because we both follow the moon, which provides a meaningful connection to our Jewish siblings.
Also, I feel it makes sense for Easter to follow the rising of the spring full moon, following the rhythm of the creation. Many of us don’t connect with the rhythms of the earth anymore. Our culture tends to be more set against nature than working in harmony with it. Most of us don’t know when there is a full moon. In our region, it’s very difficult to follow the stars because we can’t see them. We don’t know when certain foods grow because all varieties are available in the grocery store all the time, and we rely on weather apps to tell us what it’s like outside, rather than just walking out and experiencing it.
Most of us know though when spring is in the air. We’ve made it through winter, cold weather, snow and ice, bulky winter jackets, and heavy boots. Even for those who love winter, there is something about opening the door and hearing birds again, watching the squirrels rebuild their nests, shedding the warm clothing, and feeling the warmth of the day on our bodies.
And with spring comes Easter, and spring and Easter just seem to come together so naturally. New life from the ground, in the air, and all around us. New life from the tomb.
Every year, this new life looks a little different from the year before, just as the risen Christ was different. In fact, he seemed to be unrecognizable. Judy read the story today of Mary of Magdala, who saw Jesus but didn’t know it was him. She thought he was the gardener and asked him if he knew where they had taken her teacher’s body. It’s possible her eyes were full of tears or the sun was right behind Jesus, and that’s why she didn’t know him, but we also get this phenomenon later when the other apostles are in a boat and see Jesus on the shore and don’t know him. Even in another gospel, in Luke, we have two people who encounter Jesus on the road, and don’t know him.
When Mary saw this person outside the tomb, she assumed him to be the gardener. Why the gardener? What was it about this person Mary saw that made her think it was the gardener? Was there a garden outside the tomb? Was he dressed like a gardener? I’m not sure what a gardener in Jerusalem 2000 years ago would have worn, but maybe an apron, gloves, a hat as protection from the sun. Maybe his hands and clothes were dirty, like he had been working in the dirt. Or maybe there was something about him that suggested new life - green buds on trees, budding flowers, the song of the birds, a gentle rain - something about him that was spring-like - a freshness, a warmth, a newness, a sense of hope.
Some believe the author of this gospel wanted to tie this risen Christ to the garden of Eden, to the beginning of creation, a time when humanity was dispelled from the garden and were now being invited back into the garden, back into this intimate relationship with God and the earth, with all of God’s creation. The gospel of John is full of symbolism, and this idea of Christ being connected to this first garden of creation, connects with the opening lines of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (John:1:1-2)
So who was this person? Mary recognized him as her teacher “Rabbouni!” she exclaims. The author of the gospel of John sees him as a gardener and calls him ‘the Word,’ as well as the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, and the Good Shepherd. There are some who will call the man of the gospels, the man who died, Jesus, but call the one who left the tomb, the Christ. They make a distinction between Jesus, the man who lived amongst other people, eating, drinking, sleeping, walking, doing the things that people do, and the Christ, who after facing death and returning, was much more. He still had meals with his friends, but did he feel hunger? He still walked with others, but would disappear suddenly. He still had the wounds from the cross, but he did not suffer from them.
Christians for eons have tried to make sense of this mystery. Some believed he was always a spirit, while others believed he was human and became God. The view that became standard, or orthodox, for Christians was a compromise. Jesus is 100 percent human and 100 percent divine. Christ is a new creation and an old one. Christ came to this world two thousand years ago as one of us and has always been here, and always will be. The contradictions confuse and baffle but also enhance the mystery of this Divine presence, of this Cosmic Christ.
And our faith allows for that. It’s not about either/or. It’s not one or the other. It’s not about being right or wrong. It’s both/and. It’s one and the other. It’s about truths held differently but still the truth.
This Easter, let’s join Jesus in the garden. Let’s put on our aprons, our gloves, and our hats, put our hands in the soil, and celebrate the life that comes from the earth. Or, if you’re not much of a gardener, maybe get out your umbrella and galoshes, and take a walk in the rain, jump into a puddle, and celebrate the life the rain nourishes. Or, if that’s not you either, sing a song with the birds, sit and watch the squirrels or the changing colour of the sky, or eventually, bite into a fresh Ontario strawberry or make a rhubarb pie. Celebrate this new life all around us.
You could also pick up your bible, and read the resurrection stories. Read about the disbelief, the joy, and the hope that came from seeing their friend and teacher again. Read about the Christ that was in the beginning, is now, and always will be. Read the peace that comes with knowing death is never the end and give thanks for new life all around us and within us. You can do all year round.
One: Christ is risen! All: Christ is risen, indeed!
Thanks be to God. Amen.