Sermon 20130331 Easter
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
[point out the resurrection scene in the sanctuary windows that reflect the gospel of Luke as well as the lilies in the stained glass]
Dearly beloved,
I know you’ve been going through a lot lately, and that
even the activities of the worship services for holy week and everything else
that’s been happening in your life has been just as much burden as it is joy.
And that’s precisely why we come together today to proclaim the good news of
Jesus’ resurrection from the tomb. God is victorious over sin, evil, and death.
These particular struggles you’re going through, with
members of your community gossiping and talking about one another behind backs,
while troublesome, it is not unique to your faith community. Christian
communities have always been riddled with factions, sects, and tribes in
conflict. And God loves each one of them. Not necessarily their behavior, mind,
you, but the individuals and the way they were created in God’s image. Through
baptism and communion each person is made whole and holy in God’s sight,
precisely because of the events of Holy Week. Everything that Jesus’ went
through, everything that the disciples witnessed, from the first sign of
conflict, when everything looked so rosy, and that Jesus would be their new
king, to his betrayal by Judas, his death on the cross, the resurrection from
the tomb. That is all for you.
(ad libbed) Of course many of you missed Good Friday
because of the KU game. (congregation laughed.)
Sure, there were political and current context
realities, but God brought something eternal from those earthly events that
still impact our lives today. That’s why Clark and Garrett’s parents and family
bring them back to Immanuel today, because this is where they first learned the
story of God’s salvation. This is where they heard week after week the triumph
of goodness over evil.
Each of us lives in a dog eat dog world the rest of the
week, so we come here, to hear the old old story that we know so well. Life is
so tough sometimes, that we question whether God is present in the midst of our
suffering, and if he even cares about what is happening in our lives, but then
when we get through a particular period of suffering and strife, we can see how
God’s hand was in it the entire time. Not necessarily causing the suffering,
but sending the messengers of good news to carry us through, or working
miracles and providing the bread or the comforting word we needed.
That old old story that we know so well is the one that
brings comfort too so many. It also brings challenge to others. After all, we
can’t linger at the cross, the empty tomb, or later on, in the upper room
afraid for our lives. We are sent to live these new lives that Jesus has given
us by rising from the dead.
Let me tell you. It scares me. I’m
comfortable. I have a routine. I know what’s expected of me today, tomorrow,
and next month. I don’t like change. Even if there are people in my community
who are difficult to work with, or even people who despise me, at least their
actions and efforts are predictable. We are who we are.
After all, I don’t know what venture Jesus is calling
me to. I can only imagine.
And what Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson has said is
true, our lives are being opened to newness. We can imagine ourselves as better
people – whose hearts are filled with more light than darkness – whose minds
are open to new and creative ideas – whose homes are open to welcome friends
and strangers – whose church is open to the seekers who will come because
they’ve heard of this strange way of life
– trusting in God rather than money
for security. Trusting in bread and wine for sustenance rather than our vices.
Trusting in prayer for serenity. Abandoning our old lives in favor of the new
life that Jesus extends to us as he emerges from the tomb. Will we dismiss all
that we have seen and heard as idle tales, or will we embrace the message of
forgiveness, love, and new life?
Being marked with the cross of Christ forever means
that even when we stray from the path of following Jesus, that we are never out
of his sight. Much like GPS devices in kids’ phones so parents know where they
are, God knows where his children are. He knows the hairs of our head – even our true color and even when they fall from our heads.
Some in our community are sick. The good news of the
empty tomb for them is that Jesus brings healing and newness for them as well.
The breath of the risen Jesus blows across our injuries and our scars bringing
healing and comfort in many forms.
Suffering with confidence – Romans –
suffering/endurance/character/hope! Hope doesn’t disappoint.
Sorrow and fear are suddenly transformed into joy and
hope on this day. The resurrection account is full of emotions – starts with
sadness, perplexity, and then terror, remembering, doubt, and amazement. Not
unlike our own lives. Think about our own emotional roller coasters as we move
through our lives or even one day.
Joy mingles with sorrow as we remember the dead who have
gone before us and long to be in their company. Maybe you long to dwell with
them in heaven, but at the same time your witness in our community is a
powerful statement of God’s presence with us – the way you send a birthday card
or shake someone’s hand on Sunday morning.
Hope springs from the amazement of that first morning.
Jesus is alive! He walks among us. Jesus is alive in the body of Christ. He
enters in where two are three or more are gathered in his name. He shows up
when we pray, and he hunts us down even when we stray.
He offers forgiveness and reconciliation when we turn
around, when we run to see the good news of Easter. Jesus is seen and heard
when baptized brothers and sisters in Christ offer the same reconciling love
that proclaims the good news of the resurrection and the difference it makes in
our lives together.
Doubt is so pervasive in our culture and in our
communities. Ever since Enron and Arthur Anderson, and probably even before
that, to be truthful, people and institutions have been knocked down from their
pedestals. Dave Allen always says – I live in the show me state. Show me. Even
the first disciples to hear the good news of the resurrection doubted – and it
seemed that the good news would die on the lips of the women who first shared
it, but then one single person got up and did something about it. Peter ran and
looked in the tomb. Finding it empty, he went home, amazed.
Peter looked and saw, and because he did, the church is
still present in the world all these years later. I imagine, that if he hadn’t
gone and looked, the women would have proclaimed it from the mountain tops.
I love this gospel story. Within the Southern Baptist
Church, where women are excluded from ordained ministry by their version of
Vision and Expectation, pastors and lay leaders alike who recognize women’s
calls to ministry, refer to this passage. It was used by a southern Baptist pastor.
His argument was that the Easter message was first spoken by women, so what
prevents them from preaching and leading in our congregations?
Even 2000 years ago God was stirring up surprises.
I would call those early preachers and believers
innovators. They were going to bring about change in their culture by
proclaiming Christ risen from the dead. In their community there were more
innovators who joined them. There were early adopters who believed and acted
almost immediately, and as they practiced their faith, others came to believe
and join the group. Those who joined them later change proponents would call
late adopters. And then in their community there were the laggards. They were
loved deeply by their community, after all, they had contributed a great deal.
In fact, I would imagine, they had provided bread, wine, and other provisions
for the Passover meal annually. They’d probably provided food and lodging for
Jesus and the disciples. The Pharisees were probably in that group that sat
back with their arms crossed and questioned what this new community and way of
life were all about. And Jesus loved them.
Jesus loves the innovators, the
early and late adopters, and the laggards. He loves them with their bold and
brash ways and he loves those with their deliberative and cautious moves. Each
and everyone is simultaneously a sinner and a saint. Called together, marked
with the cross of Christ forever, and sent forward from the meal for the sake
of the world.
And men and women’s lives were changed. Jesus has risen
so we can arise. He has broken the bonds that hold us back from being all that
we were created to be. Our lives are made new. Today! Alleluia. Christ is
risen!
