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While It Was Still Dark
Finding hope in a hopeless time.
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.
-John 20:1
John has never been my favorite gospel; that prize goes to Luke. But this story in John of the resurrection happens to be one of my favorites. On Easter Sunday 2022, I preached on this text and focused on the words “while it was still dark.” Those words say so much in this text. We read these texts so much that we forget the meaning at times. When the text says “while it was still dark,” the writer of John is not just telling us the time of the day. The writer is also telling us the mood that opens this act. As I said in that sermon:
“Mary makes her way sensing the darkness. There is no hope at all. She was healed by Jesus and she saw others being healed by this same Jesus. Jesus had become a friend. Then out of nowhere, Jesus, her friend of many years was put to death by an uncaring empire. Another good man was executed by the state. She resigned herself to believe she would never see this man again.”
When Mary makes her way to the tomb, she is feeling a sense of despair. A good man was executed by the state. A friend was murdered. There’s nothing much else to do but care for his broken…
