Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb

Why, did Mary go to the tomb while it was still dark? 

We could speculate that she went as soon as she could.  She couldn’t go earlier because of the Sabbath, but now that Sabbath was over, she could go and prepare Jesus’ body properly for his burial.  So, maybe she went out of duty.  Duty and responsibility to the dead.  Maybe she kept her duty to her dead friend, but she was still afraid of the authorities who had executed him and so she went while it was still dark so she wouldn’t be seen.  Or maybe grief had kept her awake all night and she couldn’t stay in bed one minute longer, couldn’t stay in the house one minute longer, because her sorrow and heartache was driving her crazy and she had to move, had to do something.  We could speculate and there’s probably more than one reason, but I’d like to think that mostly she went out of love.  Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to offer one final act of love to this beloved man who had been her teacher and friend. 

Early this Easter morning, while it was still dark, you and I got up and dressed and came to this place.  Why did we come here, so early on this rainy Sunday  morning?

You know,  I’ve been in lots of places with Easter sunrise traditions.  Some churches hold these services in cemeteries, because that’s where the disciples went on that first Easter morning.  Being new in town, I find it interesting that you choose to hold your service just a stone’s throw from state government.  I’m not sure what to make of that. 

Since I am the newcomer here, I’m just speculating about why we came here this morning, but maybe, like Mary, some of us came as soon as we could.  It is our first opportunity to celebrate the resurrection and we wouldn’t miss it.  Some of us might be here out of duty.  We the ones who are always at church, always at the sunrise service.  Some of us are clergy and we’re here because our congregations think it’s good for us, even if they don’t show up themselves.  Maybe some of us come every year, but maybe some of us are here for the first time.  Something major has changed in our lives.  We are grieving or struggling or afraid and we couldn’t stay in bed one minute longer, couldn’t stay in the house one minute longer, because our sorrow and heartache and fear are almost more than we can bear and we desperately need the presence of God and the company of others.

I don’t know exactly why you’re here.  You might ask yourself if you know.  There are probably multiple reasons for each of us, but I’d like to think that mostly we’re here out of love.  It can be hard for us mainline Christians to say, but I think we do love Jesus.  In fact, I heard someone say it not too long ago, almost a little sheepishly.  Her exact words were, “Doggone I just love Jesus.  There I’ve said it.”  And so we come to an Easter sunrise service not just out of duty or because it’s expected or because we need it.  We come because we love Jesus and we love his story and we believe in his power, the power of resurrection.

Some of you probably have read the Anne Lamott’s books.  One time she took a good friend on a lecture trip with her to Utah.  This friend was sick and actually dying.  The trip was the week after Easter.  Anne Lamott wrote, "She ought to have one more Easter. Easter is so profound." So the two friends recreated Holy Week, a week later. On Thursday they had communion, using Coca Cola for wine and Pepperidge Farm Goldfish for the bread broken in remembrance of him. They washed each other’s feet.

They celebrated Good Friday, "a sad day of loss and cruelty when all you have to go on is faith that light shines in the darkness and nothing, not death, not disease, not even the government, can overcome it."

She writes for all of us, "I hate it that you can’t prove the beliefs of my faith. If I were God, I’d have the answers at the end of the workbook, so you could check as you went along, to see if you’re on the right track. But noooo—Darkness is our context, Easter’s context; without it you couldn’t see the light. Hope is not about proving anything. It’s about choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak [stuff] anyone can throw at us"^[1]

Unlike Mary Magdalene, we’ve know the story of resurrection.  Some of us have experience a life change, a transformation that seems to share the power, the life force of resurrection.  Others may feel stuck in a tomb, but we believe that things can change, that God can change us, and we’re here early on this damp Easter morning because we are Easter people, hopeful people, people who believe that love is bigger than anything anyone can throw at us.  Christ is risen.  Christ is risen indeed.  Amen.