Christ Church Sermon, Questions Jesus Asked: Who Are You Looking For? April 5 2026 Easter Sunday

You're listening to a message from our

weekly worship at Christ Church in Bethl

Park, Pennsylvania. We're a United

Methodist congregation with the mission

of building inclusive community, sharing

Christ's transforming love. To learn

more about the church, including how you

can join us for worship online or in

person, visit christyouumc.net.

Thank you for listening.

This morning's scripture reading is from

John 20:15.

John 20:15

He asked heroman,

why are you crying? Who is it you are

looking for? Thinking he was the

gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have

carried him away, tell me where you have

put him, and I will get him." Hear what

the spirit is saying to the church.

Thanks be to God.

>> Thanks be to God. Thanks, Susan. Happy

Easter.

>> Happy Easter.

>> He is risen.

>> He is risen indeed.

>> Not too bad. Not too bad. Welcome to

Christ Church on this Easter weekend. I

got a question that I want to ask you

this morning. Have you ever gone looking

for something and it was right in front

of you the whole time?

>> Ever that happened to you, right? You

know, you're tearing through your house

looking for your keys. You're checking

the counter. You're checking the table.

You're checking the car. You're getting

more and more frustrated. And your

spouse looks at you and says, "Look in

your hand." Right? and you're holding

them the whole time? Or have you ever

been in a movie theater and you lost

your phone and you're crawling around on

the ground looking for it only to

realize you're using the flashlight of

your phone to look for your phone? Or is

that just me? Right. It's funny when

it's small, but it's not as funny if

it's something deeper. And I think

sometimes we do that kind of thing with

life, right? We go searching for peace

while we're living disconnected from the

only place peace is found. We go

searching for purpose while ignoring the

one who created us. We go searching for

hope while standing in the middle of a

story where hope is already alive. Now,

if you were here as part of our last

sermon series called All for Love, you

know that last week we kind of ended at

the foot of the cross. And when you're

at the foot of the cross, it kind of

looks like loss. It looks like defeat.

It looked like the end. But I told you

that beneath the surface something

deeper was happening because Jesus was

not avoiding death. He was entering it.

We recognize that love doesn't fight the

way we expect. Love didn't conquer

through force. Love conquered through

surrender. So sure on Friday it looked a

lot like loss. But Easter was the moment

that we realized that Friday was never

the end of the story. Amen.

>> Amen. I mean, that's why we're here

today, to celebrate. And I'm here to

tell you that when Mary was standing

outside of that empty tomb in the

garden, and she was crying and she was

confused and she was searching, she was

standing in a space where love had

already won. She just didn't know it

yet. You see, the cross was the battle.

The resurrection is the revelation. And

the cross is where love fought. And the

empty tomb is where love was proven. And

that's exactly what is happening on that

Easter morning. Mary standing in the

garden looking for Jesus, not realizing

that he is already standing right in

front of her. Because if you read the

Gospels carefully, you see a lot of

things about Jesus. Jesus teaches with

parables and stories and and anything

that's around. Jesus performs miracles

all of the time. And everything Jesus

does from stories to behavior declares

the truth. But Jesus also uses a lot of

questions. Questions like, "Why are you

afraid? Do you want to be well? Who do

you say that I am? What do you want me

to do for you?" Now, I wonder how many

of us would have an answer to that

question if Jesus just suddenly appeared

in front of us and asked us that

question or if we would just stare at

him like, I don't know. So this Easter

we're kicking off a new sermon series

called questions Jesus asked because he

uses questions so much. And here's

what's powerful about questions. He's

not asking because he doesn't already

know the answer. He is asking because

the way the people who answer the

questions answer reveals something about

those people. Questions uncover what

we're carrying. Questions expose what we

believe. Questions open the door to

transformation. So beginning today,

we're going to listen carefully to the

questions Jesus asks. Because sometimes

the most important thing that Jesus says

is not a statement. It's actually a

question. And I want to begin with the

question that Jesus asked in the garden

outside an empty tomb. It's a question

that he asked a grieving woman named

Mary Magdalene. And it's a question that

Jesus still asks today.

Jesus tells us or John tells us in in

chapter 20 that it was early in the

morning and the tomb was empty. The

disciples had already looked in. They

got confused. They ran away. The stone

was gone. Um they didn't know what to

do. But we're told that Mary stayed. And

in verse 11, which happened a little bit

before what Susan read for us this

morning, it says Mary stood outside the

tomb crying.

Here's why she was crying. She wasn't

celebrating Easter yet. She wasn't

declaring resurrection yet. She was

grieving. From her perspective, the

story had ended on Friday. Just a few

days earlier, she had watched Jesus die.

The same Jesus who had changed her life.

The same Jesus who had healed her. The

same Jesus who had given her dignity and

purpose. And now, not only did he die on

Friday, but now on Sunday, his body has

gone missing. So to Mary, it's just loss

piled on top of loss. So she stands

there crying.

And through her tears, she looks into

the tomb and she sees, we're told, two

angels sitting where Jesus's body had

been. And they ask her a question before

Jesus does. They said,"Woman, why are

you crying?" And she answered honestly.

She said, "They've taken my Lord from me

and I don't know where they've put him."

And then she turns around and she sees a

guy standing right behind her. She

doesn't realize that that guy is Jesus.

She thinks that guy is a gardener. And

then Jesus asks her two questions. The

first one is, "Woman, why are you

crying?" And the second one is, "Who is

it you are looking for?" The second

question is the one I want us to sit

with a little bit today. Who are you

looking for? Because at one level,

that's a pretty simple question. Mary

was looking for Jesus's body. She thinks

the story is over. She's not looking for

a living savior. She's looking for

closure. She's looking for something

that that she can explain, something she

can manage, something that makes sense

after loss.

But at a deeper level, this isn't just a

question for Mary. It is our question

because every single person sitting in

this room and every single person

watching online, we're all looking for

something. Some of you came to church

today celebrating. Life feels good.

Things are working. Hope is in the air.

Some of you came out of habit. It's

Easter. This is what you do. You show

up. You sit in a seat. You sing the

songs or you at least lip-sync them so

people think you're singing the songs,

right?

Some came because you were invited by

someone, a a friend, a spouse, a parent,

and you're here, but you're still trying

to figure out what you believe. And some

of us came carrying weight. Grief that

hasn't lifted, questions that haven't

been answered, disappointment that

hasn't healed, a quiet ache that you

can't put words to just yet. But

underneath all of it, whether it's

celebration or habit or curiosity or

pain, there's a deeper search happening

because we are all looking for

something. We're looking for peace that

lasts longer than just a moment. We're

looking for joy that is not dependent on

our circumstances. We're looking for

meaning, something that tells us that

our life actually matters.

We're looking for forgiveness, even if

we wouldn't use that word out loud to

other people. We're looking for hope,

real hope, not just optimism.

And some people might be looking for

control or healing or purpose or relief.

I mean, let's be honest, sometimes we

don't even know what we're looking for.

We just know it feels like something is

missing. And that is what makes this

question so powerful. Notice that Jesus

doesn't start with a lecture. He doesn't

start with correction. He doesn't start

with a statement. He starts with a

question. Who are you looking for? And

here is what's so striking. Mary is

standing face to face with Jesus and she

doesn't recognize him. She's looking for

Jesus, but she's looking for the wrong

version of him. Have you ever been out

somewhere and you saw somebody who you

know you know but they're not in the

right place so you you can't figure it

out. That's what's going on here. She's

standing there and she's looking for a

Jesus who is still dead, that's still

limited, that's still part of the past.

And I think a lot of times we do the

same thing. We say we're looking for

Jesus, but we're looking for a version

of Jesus that fits inside of our

expectations. A Jesus who stays

manageable. A Jesus who doesn't uh

disrupt our lives too much. A Jesus who

fits into our schedule and our our

categories and our assumptions. But you

see the risen Jesus doesn't stay in

those kind of boxes. He is alive. He is

present and he is closer than we think

even if we don't recognize him. So the

question isn't just are we looking for

Jesus. The deeper question is what kind

of Jesus are we looking for? Because the

answer to that question will shape

everything else.

Shapes how we see God. It shapes how we

see ourselves.

It shapes how we live our lives.

What if the thing we were searching for

wasn't a what at all? What if it's a

who? And what if he's closer than we

think even right now? Because what

Mary's story reveals is that sometimes

what we think we're looking for is not

exactly what we need. Mary thought she

was looking for a dead Jesus. She came

to a tomb expecting to mourn a memory,

but the truth is standing in front of

her and it was far greater than what she

was looking for. She was not looking for

a living savior. But that is exactly who

found her. And Mary still didn't

recognize him. She says to him, "If you

have carried him away, tell me where you

have put him." And then Jesus responds

to Mary with one word, just one, "Mary,

her name." And suddenly everything

changes. John writes,

"She turned towards him and cried out,

Rabani," which means teacher. And in

that one moment, grief breaks open. The

tears that she is shedding change from

tears of sorrow to tears of joy. Why?

Because the one that she thought was

gone was standing right in front of her.

And she finally recognized him. That is

the center and story of Easter because

Easter is not a metaphor. Easter is not

symbolic. Easter is not just

inspiration. Easter is lifech changing.

The claim of Christianity is Jesus

Christ rose from the dead. Meaning the

cross was not the end. Love did not

lose. Death did not win. And the grave

does not get the final word. Instead,

the risen Christ stood in a garden and

spoke Mary's name. And that moment

changed absolutely everything. Now, what

is awesome about that moment is even

though Jesus is alive, which is amazing

in and of itself, he still asked the

question, who are you looking for? And

he does that because resurrection is not

just an event for us to look at. It's an

invitation. It's an invitation to

recognize what is right in front of us.

And sometimes, like Mary, we're looking

for a smaller Jesus than the real one.

Mary was looking for a Jesus she could

carry away, a Jesus she could manage, a

Jesus she could mourn. But the real

Jesus was standing there alive and

victorious. And sometimes we do the same

thing.

We look for a Jesus who will simply

improve our life. A Jesus that will

neatly fit into our plans. a Jesus that

offers advice but we don't want to give

authority to.

But Easter reminds us that the real

Jesus is bigger than that. He is the

risen king. He is the one who conquered

death. And one of the mo most beautiful

moments in this story is when Jesus

simply says Mary

just her name.

That's all it took. And it reminds us of

something powerful about God. Do not

miss this point about God. God doesn't

just love humanity in general. God knows

us personally.

He knows our name. He knows our story.

He knows the grief we carry. He knows

the doubts we wrestle with. He knows the

prayers that we're afraid to say out

loud. And the risen Christ still calls

us by name. After Mary recognizes him,

Jesus does something that's actually

pretty surprising. He says, "Go to my

brothers and tell them." Remember, they

looked in and then ran away. Mary

Magdalene becomes the first witness of

the resurrection. She runs back to the

disciples and she announces, "I have

seen the Lord." Now, think about this

for just a second. The first Easter

sermon in history was preached by a

woman who came to the tomb crying. Make

sure you share that with people that

think women shouldn't preach in our

world today

because Easter is more than just a

celebration. Easter is a transformation.

The grieving become the witnesses. The

fearful become the messengers. The

searching become the proclaimers. Here's

the truth about Easter. Mary thought she

was looking for Jesus.

But he had already found her. She

thought the story had ended. But she was

standing in the middle of victory. She

thought love had lost. But she's

standing in the place where love had

already won. And maybe that is some of

us today.

Still searching, still grieving, still

wondering if hope is real.

And today's story reminds us that Jesus

is closer than we think. alive and

present and calling our name and asking

us the same question, who are you

looking for? Because when we finally see

him, we realize that we are not just

searching for him, but that he was right

with us the whole time.

That's Easter. It's the moment we

discover that love didn't lose, love

didn't fail, love didn't end, love won.

Will you receive that love today?

Let's pray. Lord, we are grateful for

who you are. We're grateful for all that

you have done for us. We're grateful

that you showed up and are there whether

we recognize you or not. Help us to

recognize who you are. Help us to accept

that gift of love. And then give us the

courage like you did for Mary to share

that gift of love with others. so that

they can experience the same love that

we have experienced.

That's what Easter is all about. May

this Easter challenge us to become more

like you and to follow your lead and

share your love wherever we are. We ask

all this in your son's name. And

everyone said, "Amen.