As the Father Has Sent Me, Even So I Send You

This passage covers the first day after Jesus' resurrection, when Mary Magdalene, Peter and John ran to the tomb, and what followed. Even after seeing that the stone had already been taken away from the tomb, Mary ran to the disciples in fear and confusion over the loss of the body, and Peter and John too, though they witnessed the miracle of the resurrection, went back home with heavy hearts. Even knowing that Jesus had risen, they had no understanding at all of what it meant for them or how they should live, and they were gripped by fear.

Through these reactions of the disciples, the sermon points out the state of faith of believers today. Mary did not yet believe in the resurrection, but because of her sincere love for Jesus she did not leave the tomb, and as a result she was the first to meet the risen Lord. The disciples, on the other hand, though they had heard much of his word and followed him, were gripped by the thought that Jesus had gone away, and went back to their daily lives or shut the doors and hid. The sermon emphasizes that God does not choose those whose faith is perfect or whose knowledge of the Bible is rich, but looks at a heart that longs earnestly for the Lord and does not give up.

We look back on whether, even having met the risen Lord, we are still living focused only on the affairs and fears of the world. Jesus said that just as the Father sent him, he also sends us into the world. Before the command to become witnesses who boldly share the gospel with assurance of the resurrection, it asks whether we are still like the disciples who bolted the doors and hid, and whether we have grown into a faith that truly meets the Lord and bears witness to his love.