MY LORD, WHAT A MORNING!
Mark 16: 1-8
In a stage whisper, I can imagine Christians thinking about
the day when God created the waters of the deep, and the sky above, and
exclaiming “My Lord, what a mornin’!” I can imagine Christians on the day of
Christ’s return, a time perhaps when stars will fall from the sky, or when the
earth will shake, or when a radiant beam comes from heaven, proclaiming “My
Lord, what a mornin’!” And today on Easter, when we remember that Mary
Magdalene and Peter and the others found that brand new tomb, where Jesus’ body
was placed and a stone rolled over the entrance, empty, Christians around the
world hopefully are saying in a breathless fashion, “My Lord, what a morning!”
The old Spiritual song from whence that title comes captures the sense of awe, and wonder and amazement that gets
buried under layers of our prior knowledge that the tomb was empty. We know the tomb was empty! The Bible tells
us so. We believe that Jesus’ body was not stolen from a guarded and sealed
tomb. We believe that the ground shook and the stone rolled away and that Jesus
rose from the dead! Risen from the dead:
we sometimes sing about it as if it happens every day; well, it does now, but only because Christ the
Lord broke the bonds of death and came to life again. It’s not every day that
such things happen! My Lord, what a morning!
As I was telling the children, I began thinking about times
in my life that took my breath away: going to my first World Series game was
never to be forgotten by a boy seeing his favorite team! Getting old precious coins
from my late uncle’s collection; seeing my wife on our wedding day and my
children on their day of birth; seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time;
seeing a double rainbow; seeing York Minister in England and St. Peter’s
Basilica in
The disciples of Jesus also had some breathtaking experiences
occur as they were following the Savior. What were some of their amazing
events? At a wedding, Jesus’ mother
watched him change water into wine; certainly one of his more popular miracles!
Just last month 35 of us stood at the Sea of Galilee where Jesus took five
loaves of bread and two fish and fed 5000 people with them! My Lord, what a
miracle! Can you imagine seeing that? How about seeing a man sitting by the
pool of
Perhaps you have not been spared in a storm, or perhaps you
have. Perhaps you haven’t had a doctor turn to you as your husband miraculously
recovered from a stroke and say, “There was more than medicine at work here!
Prayer brought about this outcome!” Or perhaps you have heard words like that. And it is likely that none of us can
know what is was like to approach the tomb of a man who was said to be the Son
of God, and, when going in to prepare the body, find it gone! But God did that for us, according to many
faithful witnesses. The tomb was empty;
it didn’t just matter to them; it matters to us; and as used to the news as
I’ve become, when I sing about it, pray about it, and try to picture it, it
still has the power to take my breath away. I hope the events of Easter never
lose their edge of awe. My Lord, what a morning!
One man put to paper what it must have been like on the day
of Jesus’ death.
On the day of Jesus’ death and the next day, Nicodemus might
have wished Jesus knew what he had done for him, for his gift was great, but
the man Jesus had died. Disciples may have given up on their dream of a
Messiah. Some gathered to talk about Jesus as friends do with casseroles or
finger foods in our day. But he was gone. Second day disciples are called that if they never hear of the empty tomb.
They have memories, but hope is missing. The memory of Christ’s strength could
keep them strong; the memory of his courage could breed courage; the memory of
his tenderness could encourage grace. But they are just memories. Second-day
disciples are to be praised and pitied,
third day disciples are to be praised
and envied! They have more than a
memory to recall, they have a person to
call upon! Even if the third day had never dawned, even without Easter,
Christ’s teachings were true. His principles were valid and practicable. But
third-day disciples have more than principles: they have a presence; they have the presence of a living Lord with them.” [LaRue
A. Loughhead, EYEWITNESSES AT THE CROSS, 1974, Judson Press. P. 68, 69.] We are not stuck in the night of his arrest;
we are not mired in the afternoon at
Jeffrey Sumner