The Easter Roller Coaster

Easter weekend is traditionally the start of the tourist season. And I imagine therefore that there will be many people going to the various theme parks around the country such as Alton Towers.

I’ve never really got theme parks. I don’t understand why people pay a lot money to queue up to go on a ride that will last perhaps only a couple of minutes and in the process scare themselves witless. And they get off and go and do the same thing again! I suppose people ride roller coasters and such like for the thrill. The sheer excitement of being scared. People get a “buzz” from it. They enjoy the mixture of terror and thrills.

There’s a saying isn’t there? “Life is a roller coaster”. I suppose it means that like a roller coaster in our lives we have the highs and the lows. We have excitement but we also have moments when we are frightened too.

It seems to me that had roller coasters been invented at the time of Jesus Mary Magdalene would have related to that saying. Her life was a roller coaster and on that first Easter morning the roller coaster of her life was about to take on a whole new dimension.

Before I go on, just a few words about Mary Magdalene. Magdalene describes where she was from – the town of Magdala. Magdala was an important agricultural, fishing and trade centre in Galilee. We are told both in Mark’s Gospel and Luke’s Gospel that Mary Magdalene was possessed by seven demons and that Jesus healed her. Today we take this to mean that she was suffering from mental illness. But in ancient times “demon possession” was a term used to describe physical or mental illness.

Of course we all know that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute don’t we? Wrong! There is nothing to suggest this in the Gospels. Over time it seems as if the early church confused Mary Magdalene with the unnamed woman in Luke who anointed Jesus and dried her tears with her hair. This woman was a prostitute and therefore Mary Magdalene became labelled as a prostitute herself which is very unfair.

Mary Magdalene became part of the inner circle of Jesus’ supporters.

Mary Magdalene’s life was a roller coaster then but for different reasons from those we may have thought
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Come Easter morning Mary has been through the high of Palm Sunday and the gradual plunge of Holy Week leading to the full horror of God Friday. And now, at rock bottom she comes to the garden to visit the tomb where Jesus was buried hastily on Friday. She couldn’t visit on Saturday as it was the Jewish Sabbath.

And of course she still has another scare – worthy of the fastest roller coaster – the tomb is empty.

Given how frightened she is when Mary Magdalene encounters Jesus, her natural reaction is to want to cling to him. She needs the security Jesus offers. She doesn’t want to get back on the roller coaster once more.

But she is in for another surprise because Jesus says to her “Do not hold on to me”. Jesus tells her she needs to let go of him. She won’t find security by holding on to him or by trying to hold on to how things were. Rather she needs to trust in God for her onwards journey. A roller coaster journey but a journey that will be more secure by placing herself in God’s hands.

I’ve only been on a roller coaster or a scary theme park ride two or three times. (I don’t count The Water Chute at Porthcawl!) The most memorable was once on a visit to Germany. I was persuaded to go on something called a Pirate Ship. You are strapped in to the “vessel” and then it gradually swings like a pendulum.

It doesn’t quite go upside down but near enough. At the widest swing a number of the people around me raised their hands in the air. We were all strapped in of course. But I clung on tightly to the bar in front of me. I didn’t have the confidence they did. To me letting go was far too risky.




When we feel there is a risk or something feels unsafe we want to cling on. This is the way of things in church too. But Jesus comes to us and says

‘Do not hold on to me’

We can be unsure of our ability to trust in God especially when letting go seems risky or we feel unsafe or when we are unsure of the future. Yet the reality is that God’s love is always there for us. The Easter story shows us as much.

One of the reasons I don’t like roller coasters or the Pirate Ship is that I really don’t like heights. Somewhere at my parents’ house is a photograph of me taken at the top of the Eiffel Tower on a school trip in 1980. It was a glorious summer’s day but all I could do was cling to wall. I couldn’t bring myself to cross the viewing platform to take in the spectacular view of Paris. By holding on to the wall I felt – relatively – safe. But by being safe I missed out on the opportunity to see a wonderful view of Paris.

Not being prepared to let go; clinging on to what is safe means we miss out on the opportunities Jesus presents to us. We need to let go to enjoy the new things Jesus leads us to.

Mary’s encounter with Jesus meant that she was told by Jesus to go and witness to what she had seen and encountered:

17 Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’ John 20:17

We forget that Easter is a time of action after the waiting time of Lent. Often we forget this. In Lent we frequently get called to take action whether by giving something up or doing something. Yet it is Easter that should be the time of action.

If the disciples who encountered the risen Jesus hadn’t taken action by bearing witness to him, we wouldn’t be here today.

Imagine what difference it would make if we responded to the resurrection by committing ourselves to witnessing to the risen Jesus in the way Mary Magdalene did. And imagine what difference it would make if we made a commitment to witness for 50 days - in the same way many of us take on an action for Lent. Imagine if we heard those words of Jesus speaking to us saying:

“Do not hold on to me. Go instead to my brothers and sisters and tell them the Good News.”

Mary’s encounter with Jesus and his direction to her to GO! came after a time of waiting – albeit a brief time.

Simon Peter and John the beloved disciple left her in the garden as they went back to where they were staying after seeing the empty tomb. Mary waited. And in this waiting she encountered Jesus.

There is a need for action. But sometimes there is a need for waiting too. Our actions as Christians need to follow on from times of waiting for God; Waiting for, and looking for, our own encounters with him.

That waiting may be long or it may be brief. But waiting is important. Sometimes we can be tempted to dive into something. But we need to wait to hear God’s word. Telling us what we need to do.

Even though Mary Magdalene doesn’t understand what is happening in Jesus’ death, she remains faithful to him throughout everything. She remains faithful. She comes to the tomb the faithful servant when others are hiding behind closed doors or have fled.

Mary doesn’t have the great theological insights that Paul will have. Mary isn’t destined to be a preacher and evangelist like Peter. She doesn’t write one of the Gospels. But she has faith. She is one of the everyday ordinary Christians serving their Lord. Day in day out. Week in week out. Christians like you and me. Christians who continue to serve faithfully even though our understanding of faith or our sense of God’s calling might be limited.

But knowledge and understanding is not the same as faith. Faithful actions can speak much more of our belief, our theology, than many learned books or great minds.

There’s a story told about Albert Einstein. Einstein was traveling from Princeton University in America on a train. When the guard came down the aisle to check the passengers’ tickets, Einstein couldn’t find his. He looked everywhere but there was no ticket. The guard was gracious; “Not to worry, Dr. Einstein, I know who you are, we all know who you are, and I’m sure you bought a ticket.”

As the guard moved down the aisle, he looked back and noticed Einstein on his hands and knees, searching under the seat for his ticket. The guard returned to Einstein; “Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry. I know who you are. You don’t need a ticket, I’m sure you bought one.” Einstein arose and said “Young man, I too know who I am; what I don’t know is where I am going.”

We may wonder where we are being led. At times we may wonder whether we have done the right thing. We may wonder what on earth we are doing sat in the front seat of the roller coaster! But the good news of Easter is that we do know where we are going. We have been told by the Saviour that his life and death has promised us life eternal. Nothing can change that. Whatever else we do is immaterial. As Paul puts it in Romans

We may be certain of this: neither death, nor life, no angel, no ruler, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor anything created, can ever separate us from the love God which we have seen in Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 8: 38 – 39 (amended)

Nothing changes that promise. Unemployment doesn’t change that promise. Neither does divorce, or bankruptcy, or cancer, or depression, or felony, or failure. Through elation and deflation and every emotion in between, this truth remains; we know whose we are and we know where we are going, because the Son of God has promised. And this, my friends, is faith.