April 22, 2012
Easter 3
Acts 3:12-19
1st John 3:1-7
(prayer)
For me...Jesus’ disciple (known to us as) Peter is one of the most interesting people in the Bible.
A couple of weeks ago, on Good Friday, I presented a dramatic-style sermon where I took some poetic license and relayed the story of Holy Week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion from Peter’s perspective.
I extrapolated that Peter probably held incredible guilt for not standing by Jesus and the relationship they shared, when people started accusing Peter of being one of the blaspheming traitor’s disciples. Three times, Peter said: “I don’t know him!”
On Easter Sunday, the traditional reading from John chapter 20 focuses mostly on Mary Magdalene, but Peter plays a supporting role there too.
You may recall that when Mary found the stone to the tomb rolled away, she ran back and got Peter and another disciple whom Jesus loved (probably John according to most scholars) to come and have a look. Peter arrived the fastest but couldn’t bear to go past the entrance to the tomb. After John took a look inside, Peter went in as well and saw that not only was Jesus’ body gone, but that (for some strange reason) the thief had taken the time to neatly fold up the death linens.
The empty tomb was not a sign of resurrection for Mary, John or Peter – it was a mysterious new humiliation to the dignity of their lost friend and teacher.
//
That Easter story in the gospel of John goes on to tell us that Jesus appeared to Mary in the tomb’s garden and tells her to go to Peter and the other disciples and tell them that she had seen Jesus. She does. Over the next two Sunday evenings, Jesus appears to the group and convinces them all that he had been raised from the dead.
The fourth gospel tells one more resurrection appearance story – one where Jesus appears to his disciples again while they are fishing on Lake Galilee (Sea of Tiberias, according to the Romans). In a way, Peter is absolved for his three-fold denial, by being given the opportunity to proclaim his love for Jesus three times – each time being instructed to offer leadership to the other followers - to ‘tend Jesus’ flock’ so to speak.
//
Simon, the son of John - also known as the Rock, Cephas (or Kay-fus), Peter - did take on the role of leader in the lives of the early church.
//
//
In the book of Acts today from Chapter three, we heard about the astonishing reaction to Peter and the others’ tending of Jesus’ flock – the healing of a lame beggar.
Peter recounts the sorrow and the wonder of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus was not understood to be the Messiah by those who handed him over to be executed and those who cried out for crucifixion. But, Peter preaches, God glorified Jesus by raising him from the dead. And Peter could attest to this fact because he had seen Jesus raised.
God’s power and glory was also shown in the healing of the beggar by the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. Peter had told the man asking for financial charity: ‘I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you... in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.’ The healed man would not leave Peter’s side – that’s where we started the reading today:
While “he” clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together ... utterly astonished.
//
The final point of Peter’s sermon there in Solomon’s portico of the Temple was a call-back to the words that began the Jesus movement. Jesus had heard the message preached by John the Baptist; when Jesus came out of his wilderness of temptation, he preached the same words – that Peter was preaching now: “Repent, turn back to God. Know forgiveness! The Kingdom of God (‘Universal Restoration’ in Acts 3:21) is coming.”
Peter knew the power of a message of forgiveness. He had lived that path in a very real way. And now he was inviting others to know what he had come to know.
//
Faith and Spirituality is not static – and it is a unique experience for everyone. We are all on our own path to come to know the love and the welcome of God - that is...inviting not excluding;
forgiving not judging;
renewing not destroying.
//
Because God's love is wide enough to encompass all this variety, there is no expectation that we all be at the same place spiritually.
//
//
I was somewhat hesitant with the title I chose for today's message because the language of ‘maturity’ implies a comparative analysis of the relative level of faith from one person to another.
There was a time when Jesus' disciples got into that discussion: who among them was the greatest; who would sit at Jesus' right hand? But an eavesdropping Jesus quickly put a wrench into the discussion by suggesting that a servant position was desirable over a place of honour.
One could have a conversation about who has a more deeply developed faith among a group of people, but that is not how I mean to use the word "maturity" today.
The focus of the comparison is within each individual. Where am I at, now, compared to where I've been?. And perhaps most importantly, what is my attitude to where I can be going from here?
Faith is intended to be a constant work-in-progress.
//
//
In one of the pieces of correspondence shared among the early churches (the letter we call 1st John), the young communities who followed Jesus way were invited to be keenly aware of the depth of love and compassion that God gives – particularly as they see that love expressed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. A result of the extending of that divine love into the human experience, they can call themselves “children of God”.
That letter spoke to the church as it existed in the late first century and to their context. The church at the time was small, isolated; it carried little influence and garnered little interest in the wider world: as the letter says “The reason the world does not know us, is that it did not know [Jesus]”.
Even then, the church was still in its infancy – like children on the threshold of learning: “what we will be has not yet been revealed”.
Then the letter-writer goes on to encourage the people to not assume that they have achieved all they can already – they can still lose focus, they can still stray from the path Jesus set them on – and so they are encouraged to remain pure in their faith and to live lives of righteousness.
//
The church - over the millennia since the time of the writing of First John - has grown and discovered and matured. We have walked both paths of righteousness and sin over the years.
We continue to be in a state of maturing.
The language used in the United Church of Canada (and other churches and organizations) is to say that we are Life Long Learners.
Did you know that it is mandated that full time UC ministers be given at least $1250 and three full weeks away from pastoral duties every year for the purpose of life long learning – that’s over and above vacation time.
I think this one of the ways that the wider church recognizes the message of passages like 1st John chapter three: we are in a state of maturing and ‘what we will be’ is not fully known yet.
//
The church can mandate this kind of thing for its clergy. In a way, people like me have given ourselves over to the church as part of our calling – they can tell us what to do and set up the employment terms to encourage the actual behavior. After all, who wants a minister who is stuck where they were (learning wise) when they graduated from seminary?
//
But, the call to Life Long Learning is not just for clergy – it is for all followers of Jesus. Each of us is on a path of maturing in our faith.
As I said before, there is no reason to expect that the person beside you is where you are.
But we are not about comparing our relative faith maturity to build ourselves up in some way. We are invited, by texts like the ones we heard this morning, to be aware of what potential for a deeper and greater connection with God is in our lives right now.
//
One other point I want to make is that, unlike a diploma or degree program, the life long learning of a person of faith is not linear. There is not a prescribed order and curriculum that leads everyone done the same path step by step.
God’s love is vast – the experience of that love is vast. Jesus reached out to people in all walks of life – the details of their calls to faithfulness varied as much as they did.
There are times we will find ourselves with company on this journey of faith and at times, we will be in undiscovered countries of the spirit.
If it is based on a love for who and what Jesus’ loved, it is all good, it is all God.
“Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as [Jesus] is righteous”.
//
Enjoy the journey. Encourage and support each other on the way. Be open to the mystery of God’s creation. And let the spirit be your guide and comfort along the way.
Let us pray:
God, your world is a place of wonder. We trust you, knowing that you are with us in all the mysteries of our lives together. We know that as we trust and open ourselves to your truths we experience a glimpse of who we are becoming.
Amen.
#427VU
“To Show By Touch and Word
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
FOR (MORE THAN) ME
April 15, 2012
Easter 2
John 20:19-31
Acts 4:32-35
1st John 1:1-9
(prayer)
Today we are one week into the 2012 Easter season. Although much of the world around us has moved on from the Day of Resurrection whether that was the discovery of an empty tomb or chocolate bunnies behind the couch, we in the church know that there is much more to explore about the impact of our highest festival and what it means to be followers of the ‘risen’ Christ.
In the cycle of the church year, Easter is a seven week season. It parallels the fifty day interval between the Jewish festivals of the Passover and the Feast of Weeks (aka Pentecost).
And so, over these weeks, we will take time to hear and experience some of the stories of the Risen Christ being experienced and known in the lives of Jesus' closest followers and what that meant for how they lived in the days, weeks, months and years that followed.
//
The resurrection story that is often told on this Sunday (one week after Easter) is the one I shared with the children earlier.
John’s gospel gives us this narrative…
Mary Magdalene discovers that the tomb of Jesus is empty – a fact confirmed by two male witnesness (Peter and another disciple) which means, even in the staunchly patriarchal society of the day, it could be accepted as a fact. Jesus body was gone.
Then after the men leave, Mary sees Jesus in the garden of her tears. He calls her by name and tells her to spread the good news that she has experienced.
She runs into where the others are and announces with great joy: “I have seen the Lord!!” It seems that there was less enthusiasm to believe these words.
Then that same Sunday evening, the Risen Jesus appears again, this time to a larger group of followers – presumably the same ones Mary had run and told her idle tale to.
It seems that even the sight of Jesus was not quite conclusive enough because he showed them his crucifixion wounds. Then they could believe Mary’s words of resurrection.
Well, not all of them – Thomas was not in the room when Jesus came. He was a stubborn of the others and would not take the good news on word alone.
John’s gospel tells us that Jesus repeated the visit - one week later - and gave the one they called “The Twin” the same perspective as the others.
This whole story leads into John’s main point to his readers: this book has been written so that [by reading it] people may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
It was a blessing for those few who were privileged to be eye witnesses to resurrection, but it is even a greater blessing to have not seen and yet have come to believe.
John was writing some sixty years after Mary came running with joy from the tomb’s garden. All his audience had were the testamonies passed on to them of those claiming to be witnesses.
//
//
Faith (by definition) exists on a different plane than proof and fact and hard evidence. As I mentioned last week, the resurrection didn’t become real for Jesus’ closest disciples even when angelic messengers told them that Jesus was risen. It became believable when trusted friends spoke of wondrous experiences. And that only opened the door to the upper room – the grief of Jesus’ disciples was too dark a shroud over them to allow the light of new life to illuminate their hearts.
//
We don’t carry the deep and honest grief over the death of Jesus like those disciples did, because even when we first heard the Good Friday tale, we were quickly told the next chapter about Easter Sunday.
So maybe, we have an advantage that Mary and Peter and Thomas did not have. We did not have our hope extinguished between Friday and Sunday.
Our spark of faith might, in fact, be easier to light than it was for poor old doubting Thomas.
//
//
It seems that for many who had first hand Easter experiences, there was a need for it to be extremely personal. They wanted to see for themselves.
//
We live in the post-corporeal church – the post-easter-jesus church, where that physical resurrection experience is relegated to stories passed on to us.
So, the nature of our faith is naturally a bit more interactive.
For modern people of faith, spiritual experiences are usually based on some level of interaction with others.
It is a widely accepted fact in ‘church growth literature’ that almost everyone first who comes to a church, comes because they were invited. Sometimes, that could be an advertisement of some type or perhaps a church’s reputation has spread a bit, but more often than not, people first enter a new church because, someone has personally invited them - maybe even brought them.
This speaks to one of the hallmarks of our ethos, as churches; we are (first and foremost) “communities” of faith - people who gather with each other because they hold something in common.
//
And yet...on the other hand (or perhaps better phrased, ‘at the same time’) spirituality is intensely personal. We still carry that legacy from the risen Jesus’ first believers.
Sometimes, we speak of our relationship with Jesus as a personal one. When the lights go out and we find ourselves in solitude and there is no one to watch or judge, the true measure of our devotion can be measured.
Our faith is supposed to help develop who we are at the deepest recess of our being.
Faith is - at its most basic level – is... for me, and me alone.
The truth is that if faith doesn’t work on the level of the self, it is likely that it doesn’t work at all for us.
Now, I don’t mean that we can’t have doubts or misgivings or wonderings or uncertainly – faith has room for all of that. But that spirituality is always personal before it is communal.
//
We must remember that as much as this is true, spirituality is also communal. Our scriptures show and teach us that this is the core of the wider Jesus Movement.
//
As we heard from the book of the Acts of the Apostles this morning, the communal life of the individual believers was a significant characteristic of the early church. In fact, they were much more into this that we are, if we look at the passage in its most literal form: “no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common”. I suspect that most of us get a little suspicious when we hear of some group of believers that put every resource they have into a common pot. When they buy a plot of land out in the wilderness and set up a self-sustaining isolated society.
I can see how some people can extrapolate that kind of situation from passages like the one in Acts chapter four. But...as we read on in the New Testament, we can observe that communal living was not the norm for the early church, but that communal support and care and faithfulness, was.
To say that no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common does not necessarily mean that it all gets deposited in a central bank account. But it does seem to mean that there was an attitude about possession that runs counter to our modern culture.
The 24th Psalm begins: “The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it: the world, and those who live in it.”
This is a belief not a method.
If we believe there is truth in Psalm 24, we like the people of Acts 4, might be able to say that none of us really owns anything.
It is good Biblical scholarship to say that, at most, we are Stewards of that which is God’s.
//
For me, though, perhaps the most important part of the Acts passage is the very first phrase we heard today: “the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul”. Money and things are not at the centre of the church, but emotional and spiritual connections – being of ‘one heart and soul’!
For the early church the sharing of resources to ensure that no one was in need, that there wasn’t a disparity among them, was simply a natural consequence of the heart and soul transformation.
//
This kind of faith leads to sharing – it just does. It leads to generosity... and openness... and true and non-judgemental welcome.
And so we are not stingy with what gives us joy. We are sharers of the good news we have taken in.
As a late first century evangelist wrote (in the letter of First John) “we declare to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us”.
Our joy is made even more complete when that joy is not hoarded. The author of the letter used the tried and true biblical metaphor of light and darkness to emphasis this point.
God is light - in that, with God, there is no need to pretend or feel like we need to hide. In the light, all can be known. It is in the darkness that hypocrisy can endure and if there was anything that got Jesus’ goat, it was hypocrisy.
Living in the light, doesn’t mean living perfectly, but it means that our imperfections and misgivings and shortcomings are are not ignored, they are 'tended to' because we care about each other’s well being.
When I hear in Acts 4 that the community worked together to support those in need, I know that the reference is primarily to practical daily needs like food and shelter – but I also know that the message there is broad enough to allow for those needs to include the need for forgiveness and the opportunity to make things better for ourselves and for others.
//
Jesus is my personal saviour, but my faith cannot simply be a selfish endeavour.
I thank God that I am also called into community for the well-being of my very heart and soul and for the well-being for the hearts and souls of all of God's Children.
**prayer**
Let us pray:
God, help us to understand and experience the resurrection of Jesus as a welcome to all of us into true community where all are excepted and offered a home. May we rejoice in that great gift. Amen.
#185VU “You Tell Me That the Lord is Risen”
Easter 2
John 20:19-31
Acts 4:32-35
1st John 1:1-9
(prayer)
Today we are one week into the 2012 Easter season. Although much of the world around us has moved on from the Day of Resurrection whether that was the discovery of an empty tomb or chocolate bunnies behind the couch, we in the church know that there is much more to explore about the impact of our highest festival and what it means to be followers of the ‘risen’ Christ.
In the cycle of the church year, Easter is a seven week season. It parallels the fifty day interval between the Jewish festivals of the Passover and the Feast of Weeks (aka Pentecost).
And so, over these weeks, we will take time to hear and experience some of the stories of the Risen Christ being experienced and known in the lives of Jesus' closest followers and what that meant for how they lived in the days, weeks, months and years that followed.
//
The resurrection story that is often told on this Sunday (one week after Easter) is the one I shared with the children earlier.
John’s gospel gives us this narrative…
Mary Magdalene discovers that the tomb of Jesus is empty – a fact confirmed by two male witnesness (Peter and another disciple) which means, even in the staunchly patriarchal society of the day, it could be accepted as a fact. Jesus body was gone.
Then after the men leave, Mary sees Jesus in the garden of her tears. He calls her by name and tells her to spread the good news that she has experienced.
She runs into where the others are and announces with great joy: “I have seen the Lord!!” It seems that there was less enthusiasm to believe these words.
Then that same Sunday evening, the Risen Jesus appears again, this time to a larger group of followers – presumably the same ones Mary had run and told her idle tale to.
It seems that even the sight of Jesus was not quite conclusive enough because he showed them his crucifixion wounds. Then they could believe Mary’s words of resurrection.
Well, not all of them – Thomas was not in the room when Jesus came. He was a stubborn of the others and would not take the good news on word alone.
John’s gospel tells us that Jesus repeated the visit - one week later - and gave the one they called “The Twin” the same perspective as the others.
This whole story leads into John’s main point to his readers: this book has been written so that [by reading it] people may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.
It was a blessing for those few who were privileged to be eye witnesses to resurrection, but it is even a greater blessing to have not seen and yet have come to believe.
John was writing some sixty years after Mary came running with joy from the tomb’s garden. All his audience had were the testamonies passed on to them of those claiming to be witnesses.
//
//
Faith (by definition) exists on a different plane than proof and fact and hard evidence. As I mentioned last week, the resurrection didn’t become real for Jesus’ closest disciples even when angelic messengers told them that Jesus was risen. It became believable when trusted friends spoke of wondrous experiences. And that only opened the door to the upper room – the grief of Jesus’ disciples was too dark a shroud over them to allow the light of new life to illuminate their hearts.
//
We don’t carry the deep and honest grief over the death of Jesus like those disciples did, because even when we first heard the Good Friday tale, we were quickly told the next chapter about Easter Sunday.
So maybe, we have an advantage that Mary and Peter and Thomas did not have. We did not have our hope extinguished between Friday and Sunday.
Our spark of faith might, in fact, be easier to light than it was for poor old doubting Thomas.
//
//
It seems that for many who had first hand Easter experiences, there was a need for it to be extremely personal. They wanted to see for themselves.
//
We live in the post-corporeal church – the post-easter-jesus church, where that physical resurrection experience is relegated to stories passed on to us.
So, the nature of our faith is naturally a bit more interactive.
For modern people of faith, spiritual experiences are usually based on some level of interaction with others.
It is a widely accepted fact in ‘church growth literature’ that almost everyone first who comes to a church, comes because they were invited. Sometimes, that could be an advertisement of some type or perhaps a church’s reputation has spread a bit, but more often than not, people first enter a new church because, someone has personally invited them - maybe even brought them.
This speaks to one of the hallmarks of our ethos, as churches; we are (first and foremost) “communities” of faith - people who gather with each other because they hold something in common.
//
And yet...on the other hand (or perhaps better phrased, ‘at the same time’) spirituality is intensely personal. We still carry that legacy from the risen Jesus’ first believers.
Sometimes, we speak of our relationship with Jesus as a personal one. When the lights go out and we find ourselves in solitude and there is no one to watch or judge, the true measure of our devotion can be measured.
Our faith is supposed to help develop who we are at the deepest recess of our being.
Faith is - at its most basic level – is... for me, and me alone.
The truth is that if faith doesn’t work on the level of the self, it is likely that it doesn’t work at all for us.
Now, I don’t mean that we can’t have doubts or misgivings or wonderings or uncertainly – faith has room for all of that. But that spirituality is always personal before it is communal.
//
We must remember that as much as this is true, spirituality is also communal. Our scriptures show and teach us that this is the core of the wider Jesus Movement.
//
As we heard from the book of the Acts of the Apostles this morning, the communal life of the individual believers was a significant characteristic of the early church. In fact, they were much more into this that we are, if we look at the passage in its most literal form: “no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common”. I suspect that most of us get a little suspicious when we hear of some group of believers that put every resource they have into a common pot. When they buy a plot of land out in the wilderness and set up a self-sustaining isolated society.
I can see how some people can extrapolate that kind of situation from passages like the one in Acts chapter four. But...as we read on in the New Testament, we can observe that communal living was not the norm for the early church, but that communal support and care and faithfulness, was.
To say that no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common does not necessarily mean that it all gets deposited in a central bank account. But it does seem to mean that there was an attitude about possession that runs counter to our modern culture.
The 24th Psalm begins: “The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it: the world, and those who live in it.”
This is a belief not a method.
If we believe there is truth in Psalm 24, we like the people of Acts 4, might be able to say that none of us really owns anything.
It is good Biblical scholarship to say that, at most, we are Stewards of that which is God’s.
//
For me, though, perhaps the most important part of the Acts passage is the very first phrase we heard today: “the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul”. Money and things are not at the centre of the church, but emotional and spiritual connections – being of ‘one heart and soul’!
For the early church the sharing of resources to ensure that no one was in need, that there wasn’t a disparity among them, was simply a natural consequence of the heart and soul transformation.
//
This kind of faith leads to sharing – it just does. It leads to generosity... and openness... and true and non-judgemental welcome.
And so we are not stingy with what gives us joy. We are sharers of the good news we have taken in.
As a late first century evangelist wrote (in the letter of First John) “we declare to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us”.
Our joy is made even more complete when that joy is not hoarded. The author of the letter used the tried and true biblical metaphor of light and darkness to emphasis this point.
God is light - in that, with God, there is no need to pretend or feel like we need to hide. In the light, all can be known. It is in the darkness that hypocrisy can endure and if there was anything that got Jesus’ goat, it was hypocrisy.
Living in the light, doesn’t mean living perfectly, but it means that our imperfections and misgivings and shortcomings are are not ignored, they are 'tended to' because we care about each other’s well being.
When I hear in Acts 4 that the community worked together to support those in need, I know that the reference is primarily to practical daily needs like food and shelter – but I also know that the message there is broad enough to allow for those needs to include the need for forgiveness and the opportunity to make things better for ourselves and for others.
//
Jesus is my personal saviour, but my faith cannot simply be a selfish endeavour.
I thank God that I am also called into community for the well-being of my very heart and soul and for the well-being for the hearts and souls of all of God's Children.
**prayer**
Let us pray:
God, help us to understand and experience the resurrection of Jesus as a welcome to all of us into true community where all are excepted and offered a home. May we rejoice in that great gift. Amen.
#185VU “You Tell Me That the Lord is Risen”
Sunday, April 8, 2012
HALLELUJAH
WITNESSES
Easter Sunday - 8:00am
Mark 16:1-8
Acts 10:34-43
(prayer)
Jesus’ execution was on a Friday. According to the gospel of Mark, he died in the middle of the afternoon: sometime after three o’clock (“the ninth hour”).
The traditions of Jesus’ people honoured the final day of the week as a time of family, worship and rest. The Sabbath began at sundown on Friday evening.
So, a high ranking follower of Jesus (a member of the Sanhedrin Council named Joseph from Arimathea) negotiated for custody of the body and took it from the cross and laid it in a near-by rock tomb – one account says it was (in fact) Joseph’s own tomb.
By most gospel accounts, the hour was late enough that there was not time before sundown (and the start of the Sabbath) to prepare the body for burial with the appropriate spices and ointments. That would have to wait. They best they could do was to keep the body safe until after the Sabbath. The story goes that they rolled a large stone in front of the entrance to the tomb for extra security.
//
Saturday (the Sabbath) must have been an agonizingly long day for the women of Jesus’ group who were entrusted with the task of preparing the body for burial. Mark’s gospel names them as Mary Magdalene, Salome and (another) Mary, the mother of James and Joses.
Shortly after Sunrise on the Sunday morning, these three women brought the spices to the tomb where they had seen Joseph of Arimathea place the body of Jesus.
They wondered about the stone. Would they be able to move it enough to get inside?
But that question was moot because, when they got there, the stone was no longer in front of the tomb and Jesus’ body was gone.
:(
What happened next was nothing short of amazing:
There was someone in the tomb, described as a young man dressed in white.
He said, “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is not here he has been raised. Go tell Peter and the rest of Jesus’ disciples to return home to Galilee – they will see Jesus there.”
This was certainly and amazing experience for the women, but it was equally terrifying. They just ran away. And, according to Mark’s gospel, they did not follow the young man’s directive – they were too afraid to say anything to anyone.
//
You know...that’s not an unusual situation. When we are witnesses to something amazingly unexpected, we are not able to accept it at first glance. We need a bit more evidence, or even just some time to let the news sink in before we can begin to believe what we’ve seen.
//
All of the gospel writers tell the story of the first visitors to the empty tomb – the accounts vary the details a bit, but the basics are held in common:
1. No one expects to find anything other than Jesus’ lifeless body;
2. The tomb is (in fact) found empty.
3. And even when the possibility of resurrection is raised, it’s very hard to believe.
Can something that amazing be accepted only on the word of a stranger?
//
The truth is that (in every gospel of the New Testament) the message of a resurrection is seen as nothing more than an idle tale until the risen Jesus is experienced directly by someone who knew him well.
//
You might assume that an angel dressed in white sitting in an empty tomb might seem trustworthy...but (as it turns out) not as much as someone you have ‘come to trust’ through years of sharing this life together.
//
By the time Peter spoke in Cornelius’ house, he had seen things for himself. So he spoke as an eyewitness to what he knew to be true. ‘Jesus is risen. He is the Christ.’ And the word was spreading from one trusted friend to another.
//
No of us has seen the raised body of Jesus in the way Peter and Mary did. But we are here because that story has been passed on to us by trusted friends throughout the ages.
Something about this story resonates with us – and so we hold to the promise that
We are not alone, that
We live in God’s world.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
#179VU “Hallelujah, Give Thanks”
REJOICING
Easter Sunday - 10:30am
John 20:1-18
Isaiah 25:6-9
(prayer)
One of the most frightening words in the world is ... “Change”. Shakespeare’s Hamlet contemplated suicide but he was too afraid of what changes might be in store for him. He concluded that uncertain change “makes us rather bear those ills we have, than fly to others that we know not of.”
Sadly this is all too true. People endure abuse and disrespect and a lack of dignity because the fear of making a change is too strong.
//
Jesus was killed because there were those clinging to power who were afraid of losing their status quo.
To the religious authorities, Jesus’ radical welcome and love and forgiveness was seen as a challenge to the dogmas of guilt and fear.
And to the political authorities of the empire, any voice that empowers people to think well of themselves is bound to be the spark of revolution - not necessarily a violent revolution (those can be quashed by a superior military), but if one’s allegiance is to God in heaven and not to Caesar on Earth, the heart is already in transition and a changed heart is more of a threat than sticks or stones.
//
Simon, while Jesus was being tried for treason, was so afraid to be associated with the one who had nicknamed him Cephas (Rock, Peter), that he denied even knowing him. “I had to don’t you see, or else they’d come for me” (cf. Jesus Christ Superstar).
But, as it turns out, the authorities had figured that dealing with Jesus would be enough. That is the best evidence that the Jesus’ movement was non-violent.
When the Roman’s were faced with the potential of violent revolution, they would wipe out the rebels. In the case of a non-violent desire for change, cutting off the head of the organization was usually enough.
No Jesus. No more problem.
And the behavior of Jesus’ followers in the days after the crucifixion bore that out. They were in hiding – they were not mounting a counter-attack.
//
Jesus’ friends’ hearts had been changed and then their hearts were broken. Until...
“I HAVE SEEN THE LORD!!”
//
The shroud that was cast over the people was pulled away with those words.
“I HAVE SEEN THE LORD!!”
• Despair became joy.
• Grief became hope.
• Depression became dancing.
• Shouts of tearful pain became shout of rejoicing!
Sure, it took some of them a little more ‘hands-on’ convincing, but the truth of Mary’s words soon were taken deep into the heart and soul of the company of Jesus’ followers.
//
We carry that legacy and we are the modern embodiment of the hope that a changed heart is not so easily set aside.
//
Rejoice for all that gives you happiness and hope and a promise for a world that is not so firmly set in its way that it can’t be:
• more inclusive,
• more welcoming,
• more respectful,
• more compassionate
Remember Jesus’ words:
'I give you a new commandment: that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.' (John 13:34-35)
Now if we can give rise to ‘that’ this Easter-and-beyond, it would truly be cause for rejoicing!
Amen?
AMEN!
***offering***
Easter Sunday - 8:00am
Mark 16:1-8
Acts 10:34-43
(prayer)
Jesus’ execution was on a Friday. According to the gospel of Mark, he died in the middle of the afternoon: sometime after three o’clock (“the ninth hour”).
The traditions of Jesus’ people honoured the final day of the week as a time of family, worship and rest. The Sabbath began at sundown on Friday evening.
So, a high ranking follower of Jesus (a member of the Sanhedrin Council named Joseph from Arimathea) negotiated for custody of the body and took it from the cross and laid it in a near-by rock tomb – one account says it was (in fact) Joseph’s own tomb.
By most gospel accounts, the hour was late enough that there was not time before sundown (and the start of the Sabbath) to prepare the body for burial with the appropriate spices and ointments. That would have to wait. They best they could do was to keep the body safe until after the Sabbath. The story goes that they rolled a large stone in front of the entrance to the tomb for extra security.
//
Saturday (the Sabbath) must have been an agonizingly long day for the women of Jesus’ group who were entrusted with the task of preparing the body for burial. Mark’s gospel names them as Mary Magdalene, Salome and (another) Mary, the mother of James and Joses.
Shortly after Sunrise on the Sunday morning, these three women brought the spices to the tomb where they had seen Joseph of Arimathea place the body of Jesus.
They wondered about the stone. Would they be able to move it enough to get inside?
But that question was moot because, when they got there, the stone was no longer in front of the tomb and Jesus’ body was gone.
:(
What happened next was nothing short of amazing:
There was someone in the tomb, described as a young man dressed in white.
He said, “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is not here he has been raised. Go tell Peter and the rest of Jesus’ disciples to return home to Galilee – they will see Jesus there.”
This was certainly and amazing experience for the women, but it was equally terrifying. They just ran away. And, according to Mark’s gospel, they did not follow the young man’s directive – they were too afraid to say anything to anyone.
//
You know...that’s not an unusual situation. When we are witnesses to something amazingly unexpected, we are not able to accept it at first glance. We need a bit more evidence, or even just some time to let the news sink in before we can begin to believe what we’ve seen.
//
All of the gospel writers tell the story of the first visitors to the empty tomb – the accounts vary the details a bit, but the basics are held in common:
1. No one expects to find anything other than Jesus’ lifeless body;
2. The tomb is (in fact) found empty.
3. And even when the possibility of resurrection is raised, it’s very hard to believe.
Can something that amazing be accepted only on the word of a stranger?
//
The truth is that (in every gospel of the New Testament) the message of a resurrection is seen as nothing more than an idle tale until the risen Jesus is experienced directly by someone who knew him well.
//
You might assume that an angel dressed in white sitting in an empty tomb might seem trustworthy...but (as it turns out) not as much as someone you have ‘come to trust’ through years of sharing this life together.
//
By the time Peter spoke in Cornelius’ house, he had seen things for himself. So he spoke as an eyewitness to what he knew to be true. ‘Jesus is risen. He is the Christ.’ And the word was spreading from one trusted friend to another.
//
No of us has seen the raised body of Jesus in the way Peter and Mary did. But we are here because that story has been passed on to us by trusted friends throughout the ages.
Something about this story resonates with us – and so we hold to the promise that
We are not alone, that
We live in God’s world.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
#179VU “Hallelujah, Give Thanks”
REJOICING
Easter Sunday - 10:30am
John 20:1-18
Isaiah 25:6-9
(prayer)
One of the most frightening words in the world is ... “Change”. Shakespeare’s Hamlet contemplated suicide but he was too afraid of what changes might be in store for him. He concluded that uncertain change “makes us rather bear those ills we have, than fly to others that we know not of.”
Sadly this is all too true. People endure abuse and disrespect and a lack of dignity because the fear of making a change is too strong.
//
Jesus was killed because there were those clinging to power who were afraid of losing their status quo.
To the religious authorities, Jesus’ radical welcome and love and forgiveness was seen as a challenge to the dogmas of guilt and fear.
And to the political authorities of the empire, any voice that empowers people to think well of themselves is bound to be the spark of revolution - not necessarily a violent revolution (those can be quashed by a superior military), but if one’s allegiance is to God in heaven and not to Caesar on Earth, the heart is already in transition and a changed heart is more of a threat than sticks or stones.
//
Simon, while Jesus was being tried for treason, was so afraid to be associated with the one who had nicknamed him Cephas (Rock, Peter), that he denied even knowing him. “I had to don’t you see, or else they’d come for me” (cf. Jesus Christ Superstar).
But, as it turns out, the authorities had figured that dealing with Jesus would be enough. That is the best evidence that the Jesus’ movement was non-violent.
When the Roman’s were faced with the potential of violent revolution, they would wipe out the rebels. In the case of a non-violent desire for change, cutting off the head of the organization was usually enough.
No Jesus. No more problem.
And the behavior of Jesus’ followers in the days after the crucifixion bore that out. They were in hiding – they were not mounting a counter-attack.
//
Jesus’ friends’ hearts had been changed and then their hearts were broken. Until...
“I HAVE SEEN THE LORD!!”
//
The shroud that was cast over the people was pulled away with those words.
“I HAVE SEEN THE LORD!!”
• Despair became joy.
• Grief became hope.
• Depression became dancing.
• Shouts of tearful pain became shout of rejoicing!
Sure, it took some of them a little more ‘hands-on’ convincing, but the truth of Mary’s words soon were taken deep into the heart and soul of the company of Jesus’ followers.
//
We carry that legacy and we are the modern embodiment of the hope that a changed heart is not so easily set aside.
//
Rejoice for all that gives you happiness and hope and a promise for a world that is not so firmly set in its way that it can’t be:
• more inclusive,
• more welcoming,
• more respectful,
• more compassionate
Remember Jesus’ words:
'I give you a new commandment: that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.' (John 13:34-35)
Now if we can give rise to ‘that’ this Easter-and-beyond, it would truly be cause for rejoicing!
Amen?
AMEN!
***offering***
Friday, April 6, 2012
CEPHAS' STORY
Seeing Jesus for first time
Fishers of Men
Healings – wife’s mother
On the Road
Radical Openness
o Women, children, sinners, tax collectors, gentiles….
My Confession and Rebuke
My Nickname
Transfiguration
Last Supper
Judas’ Betrayal;
Three Times? Not Me!
The Arrest Changed Things –sacred became scared
My Betrayal
o So scared
o I can’t go to jail
o Just wanted to hide
The Cross
o All over
o They didn’t come for us – Jesus was who they wanted
o So embarrassed
o I’m no rock, I’m sand (like that story he told about the houses)
o Enough fishing for people – I’m going back to fish
o In paradise, Jesus must think I hate him…
‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than anyone else?’
‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’
‘Feed my lambs.’
‘Simon son of John, do you love me like family?’
‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’
‘Tend my sheep.’
‘Simon son of John, do you love me without condition?’
‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’
‘Feed my sheep.’
Fishers of Men
Healings – wife’s mother
On the Road
Radical Openness
o Women, children, sinners, tax collectors, gentiles….
My Confession and Rebuke
My Nickname
Transfiguration
Last Supper
Judas’ Betrayal;
Three Times? Not Me!
The Arrest Changed Things –sacred became scared
My Betrayal
o So scared
o I can’t go to jail
o Just wanted to hide
The Cross
o All over
o They didn’t come for us – Jesus was who they wanted
o So embarrassed
o I’m no rock, I’m sand (like that story he told about the houses)
o Enough fishing for people – I’m going back to fish
o In paradise, Jesus must think I hate him…
‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than anyone else?’
‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’
‘Feed my lambs.’
‘Simon son of John, do you love me like family?’
‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’
‘Tend my sheep.’
‘Simon son of John, do you love me without condition?’
‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’
‘Feed my sheep.’
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