SPB Sermons || Easter || John 20:1-18 || WHo Are You Searching For? (Rev Andrew)

On the first Easter morning, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb in the dark — grieving, searching, and not yet understanding. She finds the stone rolled away, the grave clothes lying empty, and angels where a body should be. And then, in a moment that changes everything, the risen Jesus speaks her name.In this Easter sermon from John 20:1–18, Rev Andrew Irwin reflects on the restless searching that lies at the heart of every human life — the longing for something we can't quite name, the disorientation of loss and confusion, and the silence of an empty tomb that at first seems to make everything worse, not better.But Easter doesn't meet us with an argument. It meets us with a person. A risen Jesus who walks in gardens, who calls us by name, and who invites us to stop searching — because he has already found us.In this episode:Why Mary's confusion at the tomb is so deeply humanWhat the empty tomb means before we understand itThe moment Jesus calls Mary by name — and what that means for usHow the resurrection answers our searching with presence, not just proofPreached on Easter Sunday, 5 April 2026, at St Paul's & St Barnabas, Belfast.St Paul's & St Barnabas is an Anglican evangelical parish in the heart of North Belfast, seeking to make Christ known and to love our city in his name.Join us in person on Sundays at 208 York Street, Belfast, or find out more at www.spbbelfast.church