Year C Easter 2 2022 Dear Holy Spirit

Year C Easter 2, 24 April 2022

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Dear Holy Spirit”

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Acts 5:27-32

When the temple police had brought the apostles, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man's blood on us." But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

Revelation 1:4-8

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Dear Holy Spirit,

Hi. I need to talk with you about something. I need to clear the air. You have been messing with me, and I am not sure what to say. Where do I begin?

Last week when we had our Easter service, it was like a huge weight was lifted. Like the worry and anxiety of the last few years was delivered from us, like my ears were clogged and had been for so long that when they opened up it was like I was entirely different. Wow. Thank you.

I start there because it is what struck me first, but from that high point for me, for our church, you cut to the quick inside me. You give me a glimpse of what we can be, what we should be, and then you start shining your light around in my insides and start showing me what it will take. What it will cost me. What it will cost all of us to be the house of faith you would have us be.

For so long, Church has been something we do, but it is not about buildings or programs, but it is about transformation. Each and every one of us formed into the likeness of Christ. It is about making the dead rise, the blind see, the hungry fed, the naked clothed. It is about BEING the church, not something we put on our calendar.

When I wake up, I need to be breathing you in and out as much as I do oxygen. SO funny that the word we use for you Spirit is the same word as breath and wind in both Hebrew and Greek (RUACH and PNEUMA). I do not have to think to breathe, but when I focus on my breathing that intention becomes my focus and something changes. Something changes inside of me. I want to get to the point where my being in you is innate, as much a part of me as my breathing, but when I focus, when I give you my intention, great and holy and good things take place.

And like I said, you are messing with me and it would be a lot easier to slip into complacency and rest on my laurels, my education, my ordination, but I am not just a priest, I am a follower of Jesus. I am not some spiritual coach. I am a player on the field, too, or at least I should be. Player/Coach, or Follower/Priest.

For the sermon this Sunday, it even says in the readings that every one of us should be a priest in this new Kingdom that Jesus established. John of Patmos relays this in a prayer:

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Somehow, someway, I am to get up this Sunday and talk about what you are leading me to say, and I am not sure what you are asking me to say. Maybe I need to get up and just be honest, opening up the top of my head, opening up my heart.

In our collect on Sunday, it says this beautiful statement: 

in the Paschal mystery [You] established the new covenant of reconciliation…

This Lent we studied your covenants through the ages, from Adam all the way to John’s vision of the promise of the New Heaven on a New Earth. Three things kept coming up: Paradise (lost or unveiled), Progeny, and Presence. So in Jesus, in this new Covenant of Reconciliation we are invited into the indwelling Presence, and that’s You again. In our reading from Sunday on Acts, you are messing with Peter like you are with me. When the religious authorities call him to task, telling him to stop preaching in Jesus name, he brings you up. 

"We must obey God rather than any human authority. …[W]e are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

He cannot ignore or dismiss you. And that is my very problem, too. Something’s got to give.

And it looks like it's going to be me.

You keep calling me deeper. Our theme when COVID started, “Lead Holy Spirit into the Depths of God.”  You took us seriously on that one. If the last two years have not been the depths, I cannot imagine what would be. Guide my steps as I attempt to lead your people into and through these places you keep leading us. 

And thank You for not letting us know in advance how much the recent past would cost all of us. So many dead. So many hurting in so many ways. Spiritually. Emotionally. Financially. The toll was so huge, and yet You have been with us through these ups and downs. Through it all, you keep giving us these FaithPoints that keep us on Your path and following Christ. 

When Jesus appeared to the disciples after his Resurrection, all 11 but Thomas, he breathed on them. There it is again, breath, wind, spirit, and he shared You with them. Breathe on me, Breath of God, as the hymn says. Breathe on me, Breath of God. Do I mean that? Do I really want that? If I do, there are no more excuses, no more going back to the way it was before.

Knowledge, while a gift, is a dangerous thing, a Danger to the status quo. If I know something I have a new Responsibility, because I now have the ability to respond. And you keep teaching me day by day, and Lord help me, I have to respond.

 

Ignorance may be bliss, but it is no longer a choice.

In this new covenant of Reconciliation, you are drawing the whole of creation unto Yourself. Reconciliation is about drawing us back into profound relationship, not just toleration. You do not want to just put up with me, or any of us, but you want Your Presence to come in, make itself at home, and have Your run of the house. You abide in me and I in You. 

Reminds me of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians, “we see in a mirror dimly, but then we shall see face to face.” We live in a time when that type of openness and clarity is more and more rare. People with their poised and fictional online personas, is there any who are truly who they say they are? Am I?

But as you live in me and I in you, I cannot hide. I cannot pose. It is so hard to be naked and unashamed. But according to Your covenants that is what you are aiming for, getting us back to the Garden, back to Paradise. And since I invited you in, it is nigh impossible to be about mixed purposes. 

But here we are, the end of the week and my mind is pinging. I could go in 1,001 different directions this Sunday when I am tasked to inspire the people and help them see Jesus, but again and again, it keeps coming back to You and me. Is it Your prompting or just me getting honest with myself after such a glorious Holy Week where I saw you moving in your people and me over and over again. My only honest response can be total honesty. You are living up to that prayer from over two years ago, and you keep leading me into the depths of God.

Thanks, thanks alot. I always tell people to be careful because they may just get what they pray for. 

In our Gospel this week I even noticed that I am in there. All followers of Christ are in there. Jesus even blesses us:

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.

Humbling to think that Jesus thought of me, and all of us who followed him these last 2,000 years.

Well, I am sure I will be wrestling with you again, and probably soon. On this side of heaven you will never be done with me. There is always some way that I can follow Christ more, and you are here to get me there. No sarcasm. Thank you. Thank you. Help me, as only you can.

In the Revelation passage it names You the Alpha and Omega, the A to Z. You got me from my earliest days, you have me now, and you will have me all the way to wherever Your path leads. On Judgment Day You will point at me and say to our righteous judge, “He’s with us.” Grace. Grace. Grace is what you are all about. You are always with us. I trust that, I may not like it at times, but I know You have my best interest at heart, for me, for the Kingdom, for Ever. Draw me in closer, call me even deeper, no matter how much I kick and scream along the way. I trust You, and want what You have to give me. And when I forget, please, lovingly remind me of that. 

Love, me. Amen.

Year C Easter Week WED 2022 The Long Game The Big Picture and Gestalt

 Year C Easter Week WED, 20 April 2022

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“The Long Game, the Big Picture, and Gestalt”

Collect: O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Exodus 12:40-51

The time that the Israelites had lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. At the end of four hundred and thirty years, on that very day, all the companies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. That was for the Lord a night of vigil, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. That same night is a vigil to be kept for the Lord by all the Israelites throughout their generations.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the ordinance for the passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, but any slave who has been purchased may eat of it after he has been circumcised; no bound or hired servant may eat of it. It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the animal outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. The whole congregation of Israel shall celebrate it. If an alien who resides with you wants to celebrate the passover to the Lord, all his males shall be circumcised; then he may draw near to celebrate it; he shall be regarded as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it; there shall be one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you.

All the Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. That very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, company by company.

Luke 24:13-35

Now on that same day, the first day of the week, two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?" He asked them, "What things?" They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him." Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?" Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over." So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?" That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

The Lord is Risen! The Lord is Risen indeed!

Good morning. We have as our Gospel text this morning the story of the Road to Emmaus, where two followers of Jesus are so caught up in the events that transpired as to not even notice that it was Jesus that was walking with them until he broke the bread with them at table.

Humorous from one perspective, but would we have been any different? Really? Human nature is what it is, and all too often we repeat the patterns that we set as human creatures.

In the Old & New Testament readings for the day, we see people wrestling with things above their pay grade. The suffering of over 400 years by the Hebrew children before being delivered from Egypt, and St. Paul arguing over celestial versus earthly bodies. And then our two followers of Jesus wondering about all the things that took place in the town. So many questions. People trying to make sense of all the things on their plate.

I used to fret and worry about things like this. What COULD it mean? What SHOULD be done in response? Questions like that can keep one up at night, and give them an ulcer to boot. As creatures our minds are designed to make sense of the deluge of input into our brains and we make patterns that we can filter things down into the recognizable and known. It is the only way we can make sense in an often senseless world.

But in our questioning we start to get to causation, and in doing so we get into fault. And that becomes problematic.

If we allow ourselves to ask the question, why does suffering happen, whether the Hebrew Children for 430 years or Jesus on the Cross, we can get to some very unhealthy responses to make sense of things, mental constructs to help all of the details make sense. The easiest is that God is some monster that demands suffering or blood. Many of our Christian brothers and sisters do that in their view of the atonement. But I am going to offer an alternative this morning.

In my graduate school programming I was introduced to a way of viewing things, both personally and collectively in groups. Most of us, when asked “Why?” cannot give a single answer as to motivation and intent. We may see others as singular that way, but rarely for ourselves. We tend to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt, and multiple reasons if we can even name them. Most people are the same way, and organizations certainly are.

The idea I learned was called the Gestalt Theory, coming from a school of Psychology which looks at the whole, literally from the “configuration of things.” One looks at WHAT IS instead of WHAT SHOULD or COULD BE. It gets away from fault or blame or causation. That often takes so much time and work that we are unable to be about the tasks at hand. 

Why did Jesus die?

Why did the Hebrew Children suffer in Egypt?

Gestalt would say that whatever is, is what was supposed to be. This is not fatalism, because it builds on what is and does not just throw up its hands and walks away. Gestalt would say that Jesus died because that is what needed to happen in the big picture. God’s redemption of the Hebrew Children came about because of their state of suffering. God’s redemption was the action, not the suffering. It changes perspective drastically. 

Escaping the blame game, getting beyond the fault or causation approach, is liberating and lets us get to the work at hand. Whatever is, is. Whatever can be, is up to us, with God’s help. 

God plays the long game, like Jesus described on the road to Emmaus, when he “[began] with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.” And as we see God’s fingerprints on history, it drives us to the Kingdom preached and promised by Jesus. That is what is supposed to be, and we have opportunity to get there and be there. Thanks be to God! Amen 

Year C Easter 2022 Amor Vincit Omnia

Easter, 17 April 2022

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Amor Vincit Omnia”

Collect: Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Luke 24:1-12

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

In the beginning was the Word, 

and the Word was with God, 

and the Word was God. 

He was in the beginning with God. 

All things came into being through him, 

and without him not one thing came into being. 

What has come into being in him was life, 

and the life was the light of all people.

The light shines in the darkness, 

and the darkness did not overcome it. [John 1:1-5]

The Gospel of John opens with this beautiful hymn to the divine Logos, the word of God, through whom all creation is.

This is no simple thing he is saying here. He is opening with a prologue that gives us the story in a nutshell. It did not need a spoiler warning, but it gives away the whole story. “The Light shines in the darkness, but the darkness could not overcome it.”

That is the story in a nutshell. From creation to resurrection, it is the oldest story known. 

Good vs. Evil. 

Light vs. 

Darkness. 

Life vs. Death. 

Love vs. Anything Opposing Love.

Friends, we are living in a time being consumed by darkness: wars, pandemics, divisiveness. We cannot agree on a way forward as we cannot agree on what is right and what is wrong any more. God help us.

In a world so consumed by deliberate distractions thrown up to take us down alternate paths with alternate truths we come to a story given to us 2,000 years ago in the life of a simple man. A carpenter from a small town in a backwater province of a mighty empire. And yet, this story is the greatest story ever told, as it has been called.

In those 2,000 years, empires have come, and gone. Kings mighty and fearsome have lived and been forgotten, their names lost and gravestones long since eroded away to mere rocks again, their might mere dust in the earth. There have been times of feast, and times of famine. Dark Ages and Times of Enlightenment and Renaissance. It has all happened before and it will all happen again.

And through it all we have had a story, a story beyond belief or of absolute necessity, depending on your point of view. And as the world spins, yearly we tell this tale. When death has won against light and life incarnate, the author of life gets the last word. 

The focus of this story is this simple worker of wood. A quiet profession, one of focus and detail and patience. And then he turned outward to the world, proclaiming a message of love and grace. People started following him and believed the message that he shared. An alternate way of viewing God, each other, and ourselves was given to us. It gave hope to the hopeless, and purpose for the lost. It did not ignore or negate the past, but it redeemed it. Transforming the scars into marks of honor and glory. Here, even here, God can be glorified. 

He taught things beyond comprehension, revaluing what had been ignored and overlooked by all the “important” ones. 

The poor in spirit, the mourning, the meek, they’re blessed not cursed by God.

The meek, those who hunger for righteousness, the merciful, they’re blessed.

The pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted, all blessed in this one’s way of seeing the world. 

Even when we are despised and hated for following him and going out in his name, we are blessed even then. Our message and our truth will win out.

This was a dangerous message to the powers that be. It cut out their role as the middleman with God. The control was given to the people and access to the Almighty was turned on its head. This had to be silenced. This had to stop. This story was getting dangerous.

It sounds insane to say that a message of love, forgiveness, and grace was dangerous, but you cannot control people if they do not fear. Fear comes from division. Fear comes from not understanding. Fear comes, but perfect love drives out all fear.

And this story is focused on this one, this one who turned out to the world preaching this message. His name was Jesus, and he was so unique, his singular life is still being debated and diminished and demanded some 2,000 years later.

In I Corinthians 13, St. Paul paints a picture of what Love looks like, and it reminds me so much of Jesus. Not who we say Jesus is, making him in our own image, but how he was.

Jesus is patient; 

Jesus is kind; 

Jesus is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. 

Jesus does not insist on his own way; 

Jesus is not irritable or resentful; 

Jesus does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 

Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Jesus never ends. 

That image of humility and simplicity goes against the images tossed out by so many about how people should lead or go about their daily lives. Jesus’ message is as counter-cultural and revolutionary as the day he preached it. And that is what made it and makes it still so dangerous.

When Satan set the wheels in motion, making the Pharisees argue, making the religious leaders fearful, making Judas Iscariot resentful, making the disciples doubtful, making Pilate too political, making the Crowds who sang Hosanna on Sunday shout Crucify on Friday, he [Satan] knew what he was doing. He was set to make Jesus drink from this bitter cup he did not want to drink. And in his naivete he thought that dead means dead. Since the biting of the fruit in the Garden of Eden it had. It always had, but this time it was different.

As John starts his story, “The Light shines in the darkness, and the Darkness cannot overcome it.” Death does not get the last word.

It was a body that was broken and killed, it was not Jesus. Jesus never ends. And that light cannot be overcome, and what was dead arose alive. Jesus never ends.

And friends, created by this one and created in his image, it means that we do not either. NOTHING! Absolutely NOTHING can separate us from the love of God.

I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:38-39]

Not even death. NOT EVEN DEATH.

The Roman poet Virgil wrote a truth, and truth is true no matter the source.

Amor vincit omnia.

But for those of us who do not speak Latin,

Love conquers all.

Even death.

Friends, I cannot tell what the days ahead will bring. The doomsayers are out in force. Inflation. Nuclear War. Civil Strife or War. Racial Tensions. Inflation out of control. It is always darkest before the dawn. 

But yearly we have this day, so needed, some years more than others. We have this day when we remind ourselves that there is another side to that river, someone has crossed and came back to tell the tale. He said there was another side, and returned to prove it. What have we to fear?

Yearly we need an Easter, a retelling of this tale. A Maundy Thursday to remind us of our friendship and love with the one who makes the promises. A Good Friday to remind us that bad things, very bad things, happen and that life is hard. A Holy Saturday to honor our doubts and fears, they are both real and recognized by God who understands. An Easter Vigil to remind us again that this story was millenia long, and does not end. We are part of the story, too! And then we have today. Easter day!

The Lord is Risen! The Lord is Risen indeed! Alleluia!

And we are reminded that no matter how dark, no matter how bleak, no matter our suffering or even our death, Amor vincit omnia– LOVE CONQUERS ALL!

Claim it my friends, and never let that go. In good times, in bad times, when all seems lost or when you are sitting on top of the world. Know that in the telling of this tale, yearly on Easter, and each and every day you take up your cross and follow him, the ending has been with us from the beginning. The Light shines in the Darkness, and the Darkness CANNOT overcome it, because LOVE CONQUERS ALL! And the message of Jesus is that God is Love, and LOVE CONQUERS ALL!

It always has, and it always will. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Year C Easter Vigil 2022 An Idle Tale

 Easter Vigil, 16 April 2022

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“An Idle Tale”

Collect: O God, who made this most holy night to shine with the glory of the Lord's resurrection: Stir up in your Church that Spirit of adoption which is given to us in Baptism, that we, being renewed both in body and mind, may worship you in sincerity and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Romans 6:3-11

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Luke 24:1-12

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

Perspective is Reality. What we think we see is what we see. If we think someone a fool, we do not give them the benefit of the doubt and whatever they say is foolish. We see what we think we see. We hear what we think we hear. We are conditioned to try and make sense of all the sensory input coming at us. In the flurry of so much, our brains jump to the most logical conclusion, and often, far too often, we stop with our understanding, our preconceived notions, instead of what truly is there before us.

The women who headed to the graveyard knew what to expect. Jesus had been quickly prepared to get him in the tomb before sunset. Wrapped in a shroud and placed in a newly hewn tomb, they expected to find his body, beginning to decay, so they brought spices to cover the stench and wait for the natural processes to take place over the coming year. A year or so later, the bones would be gathered up and put in a stone box just big enough to stick in the leg bones. This ossuary, as the box was called, would hold all the bones of the dearly departed, and then the tomb can be reused. That is why the Scriptures emphasized this was a new tomb, with a movable stone for later use.

Reading the text for tonight, what struck me was all the emotions surrounding the event. We see the preconceptions of these dear women caring for the Lord’s body, so horribly broken by whip and cross and awaiting mortification.

The beginning of the dawn had just started, the sun not yet peaking over the hills surrounding Jerusalem. When they arrived, though, things were not as they expected. The stone was already rolled away. What could be the meaning of this?

PERPLEXED. 

The first emotion mentioned is that they were perplexed. What they thought they knew was not there. The notions were being shattered, their bubbles burst. 

Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James (probably James the Less, by the way) and others had gone together in Luke’s version. Imagine the glances, the inquisitive and curious sounds, the whispers wondering what is going on. And then in peering in, we arrive at the second emotion.

TERROR.

There, where they expected the shrouded corpse there are two men, dazzling in their raiment standing beside them.

"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again."

How could this be? How could it not? The two messengers, we can call them angels as the Greek word we use for angels, angelos, is merely messenger, they reminded the women what Jesus had prophesied. He said as much that he would be handed over, killed, and three days later he would rise. Why do they look for the living amongst the dead? Why do we still?

And then they REMEMBERED.

Think of how you feel when the word that was on the tip of your tongue comes back. Think of when the nagging thing you could not remember slips back into your thoughts so it can be accomplished. Think of when a promise made that had slipped your mind, and suddenly you are receiving that which had been said, and that forgotten joy floods your soul. Think on all of these and multiply them by a thousand.

Excitement, exuberance, JOY. Unimagined JOY comes flooding in. And in the overwhelming emotion that came from remembering, they ran to tell those who are counted as the apostles, those 11 left of the 12. And even here, those who were supposedly closest to Jesus, we see again that their perceptions shaped their reality. They saw death and could not see anything more. The phrase here says so much, “But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.”

AN IDLE TALE. Utter nonsense. Poppycock. The disciples could not imagine it so it was ridiculous, and the women were dismissed. 

St. Paul talks about the foolishness of our story to those who do not understand in I Corinthians, Ch. 1:

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Tonight we have been walking through the whole salvation story, from creation through to Easter. The fingerprints of God are all over it if we look for them. For those of us with faith, our preconceived notions have slipped away and with new eyes, eyes of faith, we can see.

Peter in his grave emotional state, especially since his tripartite betrayal, held on in hope. If this “idle tale” is even possible, his utter self-abasement could be relieved. He ran, he ran in hope that they were right, he ran in hope that there might be chance that what he had done might yet be forgiven, he ran wanting to see if Jesus could truly be alive.

Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

AMAZED. 

Have 2,000 years jaded our ears? Are we still amazed that the “Idle Tale” could be true? Could it be? Could it truly be? 

Tonight we gather to say yes. Yes, the foolishness of the world is the truth of the Risen Lord. Tonight we baptize children into the faith we hold, dying to self, and rising to new life in him. I invite you this night, not to just a mental acquiescence,  but to a conversion of heart, and soul, and mind. I invite you, me, all of us to be AMAZED.

Friends, our Joy is contagious. In our hurting world focused on wars and inflation, in famine and disease, will we make the choice to be Amazed despite the world considering our tale to be idle? Is it really, and we show it more than we ever say it, the Greatest Story Ever Told? Tonight we have heard that story from beginning to New Beginning. Will we be idle or will our tale? We may be the only Bible some people ever read. What do they see? Amen

Year C Holy Saturday 2022 Three Incomprehensibles

Holy Saturday, 16 April 2022

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Three Incomprehensibles”

Collect: O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 4:1-8

Since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin), so as to live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God. You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry. They are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of dissipation, and so they blaspheme. But they will have to give an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.

The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.

Matthew 27:57-66

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, `After three days I will rise again.' Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, `He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception would be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can." So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

As we ponder Holy Saturday, this is the intermission in the story. The Triduum is a play in three acts, with Maundy Thursday being the set up of the conflict and we commiserate and identify with the main characters. Act Two is Good Friday where the worst happens and we do not see a way out, and here we are in the Intermission. Between Acts 2 and 3 we wonder what could possibly reverse the irreversible.

And as we sit in the silence and fear between what happened and what is to come I invite you to ponder three incomprehensible things with me.

First, how does something eternal die? How can the author of life be dead? One thing that everyone agreed on, is that Jesus died. In that there was no question. Everyone agreed. The Roman soldiers who could not understand how he was dead before they went to break his legs. They were surprised, but they did not question his death. The Jewish leaders knew the power of an idea. They detested Jesus and the power he represented. They knew that the disciples could endanger them still, that is why Matthew shares the part of the story when the leaders said: 

… We remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, `After three days I will rise again.' Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day.

They were scared that this was not over. They had to post soldiers to fight an idea. AN IDEA. 

But ideas have a hard time dying. And the Author of Life has a hard time staying dead. He promised as much, over and over and over again. Remember, when Moses asked the burning bush the name of God, God said I AM. That is and always will be present tense. God cannot be I WAS.

But for what reason does Life Eternal die? As a preacher I have an answer, but Holy Saturday is made for questions, it is made for pondering and musing. Still that first one in your craw.

Second incomprehensible, where did Jesus go? In our creed we say that he descended to the dead. Now we have to rethink the afterlife. The Scriptures are not Dante. The afterlife in the Hebrew mind is Sheol. A place of consciousness but not necessarily a place of reward or punishment, a gathering place for maybe a judgment day to come. (It depends on which school of Judaism you ask.)

Peter alludes to this “descending to the dead” we say in the creed. He says of the Dead: 

They will have to give an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.

Where did Jesus go? To preach to those awaiting the Messiah. They had been judged “in the flesh” and had died. As he had. But he preached the Gospel to them, so that “they might live in the spirit as God does.” Even death itself cannot keep us from the love of God. Thanks be to God! As St. Paul said, “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” Nothing.

And that is where we come to the third incomprehensible, does Love really over a multitude of sins?

At the end of the New Testament reading, St. Peter says:

“The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.”

That is not just with one another, but it is with God, too. Christ came to preach that Good News, that Gospel he preached to us and to the Dead. God is Love, and wants us all to come home.

Ponder those, this day. This day of hiding inside, trying to wrap our minds around what took place yesterday. How could Life Eternal die? Where did Jesus go? Does Love cover it all, sin and death and all of the above?

That is enough for any day, and my craw is full. Amen