John’s Gospel is a book constantly sharing two stories. The story of the world as it seems to be, and the story of the world as it actually is.

Take a look at John 20:1-16 and you’ll see what I mean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“What on earth is God up to?”

Ever asked that question? Ever felt so confused, lonely, or lost with what’s happening in your world or in the lives of those around you that you start to wonder what God’s playing at? There are times when each of us asks: Why is it so hard? So impossible? So hopeless?

On the face of it, John 20 is a story asking these very questions. The disciples world has been turned upside down by the tragic and horrifying death of Jesus. And things are about to get even worse.

As Mary reaches the tomb, she is immediately faced with the awful reality that Jesus is gone. The man she loved and followed for the past three years has been executed as a criminal, and now his resting place has been desecrated and his body stolen. She can’t even grieve for him properly. He is gone.

Absence isn’t just about what isn’t there. It’s a thing in itself. The empty space. The silence. The sense of loss, of failure, of mourning, of grief. Things aren’t as they are supposed to be. We feel it. We know it. Absence is the reality of loss. It is a physical thing.

Abandonment:

Do you know the corny American phase ‘If life offers you lemons, make lemonade.”? Great advice. When things get tough, make the best of it. Roll your sleeves up and get on with the job – right?

Mary’s world has collapsed around her. Things are even worse than she could possibly have imagined; her Lord has been killed. But she is trying to make the best of it. Do the little she can. Give him a proper burial, restore some dignity to him.

But things are now even worse. Even the little she thought she could control and make right, has gone wrong. They’ve stolen his body. She has been abandoned by everyone, let down again. She can’t make anything right.  Her futile plans to control the situation have been utterly crushed

Story Two:

Does John wants us to recognise that there is an alternative narrative happening here? I can see two little clues.

 

Restoration:

Maybe John wants us to think about the other 1st day of the week, the other garden with a gardener. The first original story. The story of Eden. Eden, a place of order, of the world working in harmony, where things were as they should be.

The second story in John 20, is that of a resurrected Eden. A new creation bursting out, right in the middle of the old one. This is the story of Life, of Restoration, where the resurrected Jesus ushers in a new reality with a totally different perspective.

 

Hope:

The angels aren’t being mean or pedantic. They know there is no need for anyone to be crying at Jesus’ empty tomb. They know that this is a place of celebration, of joy, of delight. This is the start of something amazing, not the end of it.

 

Relationship:

Mary’s world is crumbling around her. And with a single word, Jesus restores her faith, her hope and her purpose. Mary. He restores her by name. The most intimate single word I can think of in the Bible.

The resurrection isn’t theoretical. It isn’t a feeling, a longing, or a mental crutch to help the disciples get through their grief. The resurrection is reality. The resurrection is immediate. The resurrection is present.

Jesus calls us each by name.

He still died. He still suffered, and he even calls us to suffer with him. But the resurrection story says that although Death is part of the old story, Life is the hallmark of the new. How do we approach and view the world around us? Do we see a world of hopelessness, absence or abandonment? Or do we see a world of restoration, hope and relationship?