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| Coventry Mystery, From Knight, The Popular History of England, 1874. |
John 20:1-18
"Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple,who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her,“Woman, why are you weeping?Whom are you seeking?”Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.”She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go tomy brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her."
I would like to share with you my background concerning
Easter. Growing up as a church kid there were always opportunities to engage
with the Scriptures through drama. Most of us are familiar with children’s
Nativity plays, Christmas pageant and holiday musicals. I definitely was
involved in those, even past the expiration date of childhood. If my memory
serves me correct, I was still playing the role of King Herod in the children’s
Nativity play at age 23. However my fondest memory was of an Easter play that I
acted in at age ten. It was when my family attended Mount Everest Baptist
Church and all of my little friends were in the play. My friend Daniel played
Jesus, Elena played his mother Mary, Keith played a Roman soldier and all of
the other church children were dressed in bed sheets as they filled the roles
of assorted disciples, Pharisees and townsfolk. I got the role of one of the
high priests that arranged for Jesus’ execution. Now even though I played the
role of the villain in this play, I tried to make the most of this role. We
cleared the pushed the pulpit to the stand and used that elevated platform and
the choir stand as our stage. There I stood in the forefront of the stage
donning my bathrobe as my high priest’s costume. And in the background stood
the two guards in their makeshift Roman soldier helmets; one on stage left
wearing a baseball batting helmet and the other on stage right costumed in his
dad’s construction hard hat. I passed back and forth, yelling my lines and
stomping my feet to show emotion. It was only a year ago that I found out that
when it comes top acting, playing angry or crazy is the easiest thing to do (and
the best way to snag an Oscar). I had to act with so much emotion because my
scene centered on the two soldiers (who stood watch over Jesus’ tomb) telling
the high priest that they had woken up to a rolled away stone and an empty
tomb. So it’s been 24 years since that church play and I’ve had 24 Easters to
think about the high priest’s reaction to the resurrection. I’ve had almost 2 ½
decades to consider the high priest’s treatment of the tomb guards. As a man I
now understand that were always hardest on those who fail at a job that we
perform ourselves. Now as you may know the primary job of the temple priests
was making sacrifices and leading temple worship. So in that aspect the high priest’s job was
very different than the two soldiers. But similar to the two soldiers, the job
of the temple priest did involve guarding something. The temple in Jerusalem
itself was a very guarded and restricted place. T go deeper inside the building
required special clearance and access that was granted to certain individuals.
Much of the temple could only be accessed by the temple priesthood. And the very
center of the temple, the Holy of Holies, could only be accessed by one man
(the high priest) on one day (the Day of Atonement). On that special day the
high priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial
bull on the top surface of the Ark of the Covenant. This ark (like the temple
itself) was a guarded enclosure. It was a box that protected the contents
within. On the inside of the box was the tablets of the Covenant (the 10
Commandments) given to Moses. The ancient Jews believed that where God’s Word
was, God was. They thought that the presence of the Almighty God of the
Universe dwelt especially in this temple, in this room, in this box and in His
Word. So based on God’s decree they encased the box in gold and attached two
statues of angels facing each other on the top left and right surface of the
box. And on this top surface between the two golden angels is where the high
priest would sprinkle the sacrificial blood once a year. This was because it
was believed that the God of Mercy Himself sat there between the two angels.
And on the Day of Atonement He would receive the sacrifice and it would atone
for the sins of the people. Then they would receive God’s mercy. So they called
this space in the middle of the two angels, between God’s judgment and the
people’s atonement, the Mercy Seat. So that is both the background of the
Easter play that I was in 24 years ago and today’s Scripture reading where
three characters proceed from their own background stories and enter the empty
tomb where Christ’s body once lay. The English playwright William Shakespeare
once said “All the world’s a stage. And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts…”
Yet in today’s Scripture we find through three characters that Jesus’ tomb (a grave
on an elevated platform) is the stage that all men and women must pass through
before they exit this world to enter God’s mercy.
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| A reconstruction of a pageant wagon. From Wickham, Early English Stages. |
Act One: Mary
Mary Magdalene is the first character to walk into the foreground
of the scene. When we look at her background we see a scene depicting judgment.
Over the years many preachers have made the connection that Mary Magdalene may
be the unnamed woman that was caught in adultery. Ove the centuries we have
painted her background as a scene of criminal judgment where the religious authorities
drag her from the act of adultery and reveal her private shame in the public
square. The Scribes and the Pharisees surround her in the temple on stage left
and stage right as they encompass her with judgment. They did so in exercising
their religious authority, because as an adulterer she not only was a criminal
before the civil law but also before divine law. But as Mary Magdalene lay
there in the foreground gazing at the impending judgment of death in the
background Jesus stepped in the midground. Jesus stepped in between the Scribes
on stage left and the Pharisees on stage right and said “Let he who is without
sin cast the first stone.” And one by one her accusers walked off stage. Then Jesus stood up and asked “Woman, where
are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” She answered “No one, Lord.” And
Jesus said “Neither do I: Go and sin no more.” You see, Jesus stepped into the
midground, the intersecting space between the background and the foreground.
Jesus stepped into the space between judgment and Mary. And that space is
called Mercy.
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Plan of the Lucerne Passion Play, 2nd day, by Renward Cysat, 1583, From Leibing, Die inscenirung
des zweitatigen Luzernes... (1869) |
Act Two: John
The disciple that Jesus loved runs into the foreground as
the second character. As he stoops down to peer into the interior of the tomb,
we peek into his own background. There we discover a different kind of
judgment. Over the length of the text theologians have taken note of the
mysterious, unnamed disciple whom Jesus loved. The Gospel of John is the only
one that refers to him in such a way. When you compare the Gospel of John to
the other (Synoptic) Gospels it becomes clear that the beloved disciple is not
only John but also the author of this Gospel. In each of the six background
scenes that depict John as the beloved, we are shown that this assessment of
John is from Jesus’ very own opinion. The greatest example of this is at the
crucifixion. It was bleak and dark scene even though it took place in the
middle of the day. To stage left of the cross hung a thief being crucified and
to stage right was another thief meeting the same fate. Somewhere in the background
were the temple priests arguing with Pilate that the sign that read “Jesus of
Nazareth; King of the Jews” should be removed. But as Jesus’ mother Mary stood
in the foreground mourning the Roman judgment exacted upon her son, Jesus
looked down from the midground. From his cross he saw the disciple John whom he
loved. Jesus said to his mother “Woman behold thy son.” And to John he said “Son
behold thy mother.” And from that hour the disciple cared for her as his own
mother in his own home. Jesus’ love for John changed him from an unnamed
disciple into family. John’s love for Jesus made his mother Mary family. Jesus’
love came from his judging John as one that was worthy to be loved. That
judgment became a calling for John to judge others as worthy of love. Jesus
looked down from the midground, the intersecting space between the foreground
and the background. Jesus looked down into the the space between judgment and
John. And that space is called Mercy.
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| Plan of the staging for The Castle of Perseverance, c.1425. |
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| Scenery for the Valenciennes Mystery Play, 1547 |
The Guarded Space
As we near the conclusion of the story we find
Mary Magdalene re-entering the foreground with fresh eyes and a new
perspective. For she enters the tomb and sees things that no one else had seen
before. She looks past the entrance where the two guards had once been
stationed by the temple priests. And as she stooped down to view the once guarded
and restricted space she sees a startlingly familiar arrangement. On the
surface where they once sat Jesus’ dead body were two angels. One sat at his
feet (on stage left) and the other at his head (at stage right). Before she can
fathom the full significance of the background, Jesus appears behind her in the
midground. And suddenly it becomes evident to the reader what we are actually
viewing. In this small tomb (a grave
that had been lifted above ground on a platform like a stage) God was directing
His final redemptive act. This tiny restricted sarcophagus that was guarded by
the temple’s guards had become the new Holy of Holies. The surface that the angels
now sat facing each other at the head and the foot was the new Mercy Seat. This
Mercy Seat was the resting place of the Word of God incarnate. But the atoning
blood of the sacrifice that was sprinkled on this Mercy Seat was not that of a
bull this time but of the Lamb of God. That precious Lamb of God was the same
one that was risen to life and stood behind Mary Magdalene. That Lamb was Jesus
Christ. And just like Mary he stands waiting for us to turn around and recognize
him. Just like Mary he calls us by name and tells us to go and tell our
brothers that he is risen, Just like Mary he calls us to sin no more. Just like
John he calls us his beloved and he calls us family. Just like Peter, he calls
us to loosen and unbind the fabric of forgiveness so that his heavenly treasure
may be free for all. Jesus calls us by stepping into the midground, the
intersecting space between the foreground and the background. Jesus calls us by
stepping into the space between judgment and where we are. And that space is
called Mercy.
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| Rhetoric Stage, Antwerp 1561 |
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