A sermon for Easter – John 20:1-18

Fr. Mike Paraniuk
HCP columnist

A Sunday school teacher in a little country church gave her class a special assignment a week before Easter. She handed each child a plastic Easter egg. 

She said, "Take this egg home, and next week bring it back with something inside that shows new life." 

The children were excited. One filled his egg with a budding flower. Another brought a butterfly charm. One placed a small green leaf inside. Each child proudly showed what they brought, explaining how their egg represented life. 

Then came Tommy. He was different. 

A shy, thoughtful young boy who struggled with health issues and didn't speak much. When Tommy handed over his egg, the teacher carefully opened it. To her surprise, the egg was empty. 

The class laughed at him. They made fun of him. 

"Tommy didn't understand," they said. 

Tommy spoke up. "I did understand," he said softly. "Jesus rose from the dead. He left the tomb. It was empty. Isn't that the best new life of all?"

The room fell silent. 

At that moment, everyone understood. Tommy's empty egg showed the most powerful message of Easter: Hope, Resurrection and Eternal life. No one ever forgot the lesson of Tommy's empty egg. It revealed the heart of the Easter message. The empty tomb of Jesus means that death does not have the final word. We, too, will live again. It means love wins. The empty tomb is Jesus's promise of new life.

Tommy succumbed to his many illnesses a few months later. Each classmate honored Tommy by placing a plastic Easter egg inside his coffin. They were all empty. 

This story, shared widely in Christian churches, teaches us another profound truth. Easter proclaims the power of faith to see beyond the surface, to look beneath the physical world. There you will encounter Jesus.

The encounter of Mary Magdalene meeting Jesus near the tomb is a wonderful witness that we meet Jesus spiritually through faith. At first, Mary did not recognize Jesus through her physical eyes. It was only when Jesus called her name, "Mary" that she could see Jesus with the eyes of faith. (John 20:16).

Jesus was teaching Mary and all disciples an important truth. Jesus is always present even though He is invisible to our physical eyes. Just because you don't see Him physically doesn't mean He is not there. 

The spiritual eyes of faith shows you that Jesus does not abandon you in your time of need. Faith opens your eyes to see Jesus by your side whether you're on the mountain top of joy or the valley of sorrow. 

The song "God of the Mountain" expresses this truth beautifully:

Life is easy, when you're up on the mountain
And you've got peace of mind, like you've never known
But things change, when you're down in the valley
Don't lose faith, for you're never alone

For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley
When things go wrong, He'll make them right
And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times
The God of the day is still God in the night.

When Mary Magdalene saw that it was Jesus, she tried to cling to His Resurrected body. Jesus told her, "Do not cling to me." (John 20:17).

He was teaching Mary that in the future she can connect with Him only through faith and the Holy Spirit. Once Jesus ascended to the Father, every believer can now touch Him. 

There is a legend about a Christian who was martyred for his faith. Before he died, the Roman soldier asked him if he had any last words. He shouted out, "He is Risen!" 

In the surrounding hills, Christians had gathered to pray for this brave disciple. When they heard the words, “He is risen,” they cried out with one voice, “He is risen indeed.” 

This was how believers in the early church greeted one another. Indeed, Jesus is risen. Believe and receive. Happy Easter.