Year A Easter 4 2023 Sheeple

Year A Easter 4, 30 April 2023

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Sheeple”

Collect: O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; *

I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *

and leads me beside still waters.

3 He revives my soul *

and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake.

4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; *

for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *

you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.

6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

John 10:1-10

Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, and if you look at the readings for today you can see why. In the Acts, the people of the Resurrected Lord flocked together, caring for one another. In I Peter, we look to Jesus as our model and guide. And the other two passages are so explicit. We read Psalm 23 so readily, but it is so ubiquitous we so often miss the meaning of it. And John 10 shows, for me, the purpose of Christ’s coming and resurrection.

Today I want to turn my attention to what it means to have a Shepherd, what it really means to be a sheep. There is a derogatory term that has come into play, sheeple, people who are, and I quote, “compared to sheep in being docile, foolish, or easily led.” Our egos have us reject this notion of being sheep, but that was not David’s intent or Jesus’ in their words.

David had been a Shepherd, so for him to say the Lord is Shepherd is a big deal. He knew the ins and outs of sheep. All they required, how to care for them best. And in the Psalm he walks his way through living one’s life in the Lord’s flock, and the eternal reward of doing so. David would have gladly worn the label, Sheeple, if it were in the Lord’s flock. But if you look into the promises made, it describes a place of security and abundance. Death comes, but there is no evil in death. Enemies are present, but we have a place at the Lord’s table and have nothing to fear. It does not deny the harder parts of life, but it alleviates them. It gives us a place to turn through the twists and turmoils of living. And then, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord, for ever.” Sounds pretty good to me.

You may have heard my sermon on my favorite verse, John 10:10 which ends today’s Gospel reading, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” So much of my theology and ministry is based on my view of Jesus’ promise to us, his flock. Jesus lived in the rural area in the north of Israel, the Galilee, and would have known the pastoral life of a shepherd well. Sheepherders need carpenters, too.

Jesus alludes to the security and abundance David spoke of in Psalm 23. So often we hear these words, but do not take the steps to embody them and live them out. 

Abundance is a mindset, and it is an ethical and theological foundation of so much of what we do. If our God is a god of Abundance, providing all that we need and the safety to live in that abundance, how can we not respond graciously and generously?

We may have lots of excuses, note excuses not reasons, by the way. Abundance goes against our experience. Being in want. Having things run out. Entropy is a universal law. Things fall apart. Dishes break, and don’t go back together. Heat expands and does not return. But the stories we tell at church are miracles. Entropy retreats in the face of Resurrection. The blind see. The deaf hear. The dead rise again. Our God is a God of Abundance, and Entropy flees. Maybe that is what a miracle is, when Entropy stops having sway.

I realize all I have just said is a statement of faith. Drivel to those that do not share it. Aspirational for many striving to grow in their faith.

Christ’s love was (and is) Gracious and Generous. We are called to Jesus’ example and understanding that God is good and abundant in Grace. As was read from I Peter, 

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.

That is our goal. But how do we get there?

It comes down to basics. Even though these words we look at today are 2,000 years old, they still ring pretty true. Scientifically accurate even.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made, Scripture tells us. [Ps. 139:14] But we are hardwired for relationships. In our neural programming it is so etched into our hard drives between our ears we do not even know it. It is a part of us. As I often point out, we cannot tickle ourselves. We are meant to live socially. But even more, our very brains are wired to be in relationship.

Studies have shown that a baby’s heart rate slows in utero when it hears its mother’s voice. Think about that. Before birth we are in relationship with our mother that we have not even met! 

7 to 12 year olds were played less than a second of women’s voices saying nonsense words, and over 97% of them were able to tell which one of them was their mother. [Source] The power of a voice, especially one in an abiding relationship, cannot be dismissed. And Jesus says the same thing of himself:

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.”

We know his voice, and he knows us by name. It is one thing for us to know and love the Lord, but one of the powerful images repeatedly throughout Scripture is that God knows us. GOD KNOWS YOU! By name, by the number of hairs on your head, by likes and dislikes, by good and bad, and in knowing you God LOVES YOU! Wow!

“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands…”  Isaiah 49:16

“But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid…” Luke 12:7

“Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.” Revelation 2:17

If the Lord is our Shepherd, we know him and he knows us. 

“For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” I Cor. 13:12

What a promise. But even more, it is not something yet to be. It is about that abundance here & now. Right here and right now.

If we take Jesus at face value, that he has come to give us abundant life, then that is what he means. That is life right now. The thief lives in the moment, the major part of Jesus’ metaphor. The thief lives in the moment. I can take this NOW. This can be mine NOW. Jesus’ concern begins in the now and continues into the ALWAYS.

The thief comes to fulfill their needs, or even worse, their wants of the moment. The shepherd, however, comes to fulfill the needs of his flock. The perspective makes all the difference.

The Shepherd knows our names, and calls us by them. The Shepherd binds our wounds so that we are healed. The Shepherd ensures we are fed. The Shepherd keeps us safe, even putting himself at risk to protect his sheep. The Shepherd leads our way to the fields so that we can live in the promised abundance. And when our days are done, the Shepherd brings us home. And when we get there he is the gate as well to let us in.

I want this. I want this security. I want this abundance. I want to be the Lord’s Sheep. I want to be counted among Jesus’ Sheeple. On top of that, I have been a paid minister for 36 years. In that time, I can attest that not in one of my churches have the members been “compared to sheep in being docile, foolish, or easily led.” Docile. Nope. Foolish. Nope. Easily led. I don’t have to say it. We are Jesus’ Flock, his Sheeple.

Drivel to those who are outside the fold, the greatest blessing to those who claim it.

This imagery is so strong. We cannot dismiss it. Our bishops guide our church, and what is their symbol? A shepherd’s crook. I am called a Pastor, which is just another word for Shepherd.

In my office, I have a lot of artifacts that I have collected over the years. From my time as a teacher, a church planter, and the many churches I have served over the years. When people step in they notice and often comment on the bric-a-brac. But they would not be there without a meaning and purpose.

Here is this week’s example. When I first moved to Ashland I got this. It is a sheep with a shovel. I see it and am reminded that I am meant to follow, and to be at work. Period. It is not an either/or. It is a both/and. Each and every one of us. 

If we count ourselves in the Lord’s fold, know this. We do not give up anything, except the sin that clings so closely and will only lead us to the path of destruction. Jesus came for us to have life and to have it abundantly. A big part of the Life Abundant is having a life of meaning and purpose, a life of making a difference. When we are led into green pastures and beside still waters, it is so we can be who we were born to be. We do not lose anything, and yet gain everything. So dear Sheeple of God, pick up your shovel and abide in that promised abundance! Thanks be to God! Amen

Year A Easter 2 2023 Resurrection is Life

 Year A Easter 2, 16 April 2023

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Resurrection is Life”

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.

1 Peter 1:3-9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith-- being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire-- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

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.

Before we begin the homily today I want to stop and thank the Altar Guild, the Choir, the Handbells, the Children’s Choir, the Egg Hunters and Layers, the staff, and all who pitched in to make our Triduum and Easter Morning so glorious! Getting to be in the Pavilion (Thanks be to Dale) for Easter Sunrise was a stated goal that came to be. It was not easy, but it was worth it. God is good, all the time, and we have so much to be thankful for. So much. So thank you, and thanks be to God.

As we look into the continuing unveiling of the Easter story, this week we have Thomas and his questions, next week the Road to Emmaus. So much to review every year in those events surrounding the Resurrection. As I said last week, the Resurrection changes everything. There was Before, and there is After. It is the crux point of history, and it changes everything.

Because it is so important, it gives us hope and faith as much as it raises doubts. Because it was so traumatic, it begs review. 

• Why was it that Jesus had to die? 

• Why especially in such a horrific way?

• What is the point of suffering, for Jesus and for us?

While we point to Resurrection two millennia ago, the questions have been bandied around for as long.

Are these doubts, or are they legitimate questions? I would tend to say that squaring them in our minds is why God gave us brains. There is nothing wrong in using what God has given you. Absolutely nothing. That is why we are called to love God with our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength. (And our neighbor as much as ourselves, by the way.)

My answer to those hard questions may seem simplistic. But I have turned the possible choices over and over in my mind for decades. Why did Jesus have to die? For me, because he did. In his prayers in Gethsemane, he asks for another way. Did one come? Do you think that God listened to Jesus’ prayers? I do. And this one most of all. If he did not get another cup from which to drink, Jesus had to die because it was his to do.

[Pause]

And like is so often mentioned in John’s Gospel when hard things happen, it is so God can and will be glorified.

It had to be because it was. You might come to a different place, but in this answer I have found my peace.

I think through the sermons and experiences of last week, and I am exhausted, but even more I am full. It was a powerful and enriching week. And I thank God for this Church and its powerful witness to Christ and his resurrection. This is a good, and joyful, and loving place. 

If you saw the Church’s Facebook feed, you may have noticed that Miriam and Kasey hosted a “Biscuits with the Boss” event for the day the first episode of a certain TV started about a month ago. “Biscuits with the Boss” was a regular part of the first two seasons. I have mentioned Ted Lasso before. It is funny and heartwarming, heartbreaking and touching, too. One of the characters is a Mexican football player that repeatedly reminds his Premier League counterparts that “Football is Life.”

We all could say the same thing, probably not about Football, but for all of us, “SOMETHING is LIFE.” There is something that gets us out of bed in the morning. There is something that primes our pumps. There is something that makes us feel alive like nothing else. It is so intertwined in your psyche and identity that you may not even think about it consciously, and neither do you question its worth. We love what we love.

But once you see what it is for you, you cannot unsee it. Like a trick for the eye, once you know what to look for you cannot miss it.

As we prayed for in our Collect this morning: 

“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…”

As I have said from this pulpit, my verse that I go back to when times are good and times are bad is Jesus’ statement of purpose: “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.” [Jn. 10:10]

For Jesus, “LIFE is LIFE.” That should not be a surprise when God says God’s name is “I am.” Or “I exist.” Or the verb “To Be.” As the Gospel of John begins, in its hymn to the Pre-incarnate Word: “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.”

 

Our Life is His Life. That is Jesus’ hope, desire, and modus operandi. His Life was to Give Us a Life. The opposite of the insult, “Get A Life,” Jesus came to “Give A Life.” To you, and to you, and to you, and to me. I feel like Oprah: “You getta a Life, and you getta a Life,  and you getta Life!” Pretty cool!

At the end of the story of Jesus lovingly meeting Thomas’ stated doubts, there is this wonderful editorial addition from the author of the Gospel of John:

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.

“So that we might have Life in his name.” That’s it. That’s the point.

The Apostle Peter put it this way in his epistle from this morning:

By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

The Life we get is New Birth into a Living Hope. We are given the gift of being able to see a light when it is pitch black, to hear a song when the winds are raging, to love when the whole world hates. It is said we can live about 4 months without food, 4 days without water, 4 minutes without air, but not 4 seconds without hope. 

In Jesus, I have hope, because “Jesus is Life.”

If you ever doubted that, the Resurrection should give you pause. He was so filled with Life that Death itself could not keep him down.

Thomas, the questioning one in today’s Gospel lesson, just did not see what Jesus’ driving force was. Rabbi, teacher, miracle worker, maybe the Messiah but his death took that away. He does not question Jesus and his Lordship. He readily admits that when the time comes. 

When Jesus said, “Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

But dead is dead, and he questions the learned experience that when things are dead they do not come back. We learn that from goldfish, and puppies, bugs we step on, and the like. Death is one of the first permanents that we learn.

But there is another. Fortitude is the fancy way of saying stick-to-it-tiveness. In the face of fears, in the face of doubts, one must learn to never give up. Even in their quaking fear, the disciples were still together. Thomas, even though it seems he thought they were pulling his leg, he did not leave or abandon them. Staying tough when things get hard is one of those lessons that seem to have fallen by the wayside, but says so much about who we are. Edgar Guest wrote this poem in 1921, and it still fits.

“Keep Going”

by Edgar Guest

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

And the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns.

And many a failure turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than it seems

To a faint and faltering man.

Often the struggler has given up when he

Might have captured the victor's cup,

And he learned too late when the night slipped down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are.

It may be near when it seems afar.

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit.

It's when things seem worst that

You musn’t quit.

Source, public domain

Today was a patchwork quilt of thoughts, friends. But I hope in stepping back you see the pattern that emerges from Thomas’ story. Doubts happen, and they are a part of having faith. It is especially appropriate to wrestle with doubt when things are beyond belief in hard and cruel times. And in our doubts, do not give up. Your doubts may just lead you to a higher plane of your belief. Keep on keeping on. Jesus will be there for you. Today and always, because as I said, “Jesus is Life!” Amen

Year A Easter WED 2023 Undercover Boss

 Year A Easter WEDNESDAY, 12 April 2023

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Undercover Boss”

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.

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.

You may have seen the TV show, “Undercover Boss.” This episode with the two followers on the Road to Emmaus could very well be called the first example of that particular show.

"What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" 

“…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 then proceed to fill in the “boss” with all the things that happened, and the Gospel about the Boss’s supposed resurrection, and the empty tomb.

I love that Jesus does not judge them, well not too much, besides this line… “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared.” But then he walks them through the Scriptures pointing out how here, and here, and here, and here, and here the Messiah was said to be the suffering servant that Jesus was. I would love to have a transcript of that if at all possible. Wow! What a Bible study that would be.

Thankfully Jesus meets us where we are, too, and meets us in the breaking of the bread as well. God, and Jesus, are not done with us yet.

The Road to Emmaus is such an apt metaphor for our spiritual walk. We come to it thinking that we know so much, but each and every day is new, and Jesus, even still, meets me where I am and brings me to where he wants me to be.

I think that is a big part of his instructions to take up my cross and follow him. I may think that I am in control and know what I am doing, but repeatedly I am Cleopas and the other follower, doing what I think is right, and then I find that Jesus is all up in my business and steering me to the right path no matter how oblivious I am. (Thanks be to God!)

Friends, know that on this side of heaven that you have further to go, more to learn, and more to let go of. If you have breath, God is not done with you yet, and who knows the learning that awaits us on the other side?

Have the faith to come like a child, adaptable, open to outcomes, willing to try and fail and get up and try again. It is adults who try something once and quit. Fatalism is a learned behavior. God help us!

As we are in the season of Easter, think about what in your life needs to die. Think on what needs to be Resurrected, to the honor and glory of God. We all have things, like the disciples walking away to Emmaus, that need to be dropped. And do not worry, Christ is there to get you back to where you need to be. Happy Easter! Blessings! Amen

Year A Easter Morning 2023 Declarations

 Year A Easter Morning, 9 April 2023

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Declarations”

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.

Colossians 3:1-4

If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Matthew 28:1-10

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

THE LORD IS RISEN!

The Lord is Risen indeed!

What a glorious set of days. Maundy Thursday when we were reminded that we are all welcomed and loved. Good Friday when we pondered the Cross, and the great love of Christ. Holy Saturday when we sat in quiet darkness, and the Great Vigil when we walked through God’s Salvation History from Creation through to Resurrection, and our part in it.

As a priest, I often say to other priests, “We are in a funny business.” We see people at their finest, and often at their worst. We are invited into holy moments around birth and death, and celebrate baptisms and weddings and all of life around and between.

One of the great responsibilities of being a Priest of the Church of Jesus Christ is Declaration. There are not a lot of things that “become” with the “pronouncement.” Royalty can declare. Presidents. Judges. And yes, Priests. 

According to the Ordination of Service, during the Examination by the Bishop, all priests are called to affirm this as their calling:

As a priest, it will be your task to proclaim by word and deed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to fashion your life in accordance with its precepts. You are to love and serve the people among whom you work, caring alike for young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor. You are to preach, to declare God's forgiveness to penitent sinners, to pronounce God's blessing, to share in the administration of Holy Baptism and in the celebration of the mysteries of Christ's Body and Blood, and to perform the other ministrations entrusted to you. In all that you do, you are to nourish Christ's people from the riches of his grace, and strengthen them to glorify God in this life and in the life to come.

That is a lot of responsibility, one I do not, nor does any priest I know, take lightly. But think of these things:

• Declare God’s forgiveness- that is when I pronounce pardon after the confession

• Pronounce God’s blessing- this is any time I bless anything, particularly after the Eucharist

• Administer Holy Baptism- which includes the declaration & marking one as Christ’s own forever

• Celebration of the mysteries of Christ’s Body and Blood in the Eucharist- Sanctifying the elements to be the Body and Blood of Christ

All these are so important, but you probably never thought of them as “Declarations.” But every time I say them I do, I remember that it is not me that is doing the work, but God is doing it, I pray, through me. The one time I do declare something that you readily pay attention to is at a Wedding Ceremony. “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

There is something that is fascinating and scary about the power to pronounce, before the pronouncement was one thing, and after the declaration there is a new ontology, a new way of being. That Before and After is what strikes me about the Resurrection today.

Repeatedly Jesus told his disciples what was to happen. “Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” There was a definite before, when Jesus was looking ahead to this happening.

And this morning’s Gospel is the definite “After” where it changed everything.

There was a movie that came out in 1972 starring Robert Redford, The Candidate. He portrayed Bill McKay, a young, idealistic candidate, and the movie follows him through his campaign, and the ending is when McKay surprisingly wins the election. In the final scene, he escapes the victory party and pulls his campaign manager into a room while throngs of journalists clamor outside. McKay asks his manager, "What do we do now?" The media throng arrives to drag them out, and McKay never receives an answer.

That question is what we must ask of ourselves if we hold Easter to be true. “What do we do now?” 

What difference does this make? For those women embracing Jesus’ feet and worshiping him, it is All or Nothing. It is no different for us.

 

After our annual meeting, Kasey and I worked very hard to get an application in for a grant for the church. It would be a real game changer, and it would enable me to make several personal dreams come true. I hope and pray that we get the grant. It is a very long shot, no matter how hard we worked, no matter how much it would help, the likelihood is slim. It would be easy to focus on the near impossibility of it happening. That may give me comfort, to ease the possible pain of it not happening.

But what if it did? It would be a game changer for the church’s budget next year, and a life changer for me and my family.

That is where our hope lies, friends. No matter how dark it is, as people of faith we must envision the dawn.

Jesus told the women in the garden that morning to send his disciples on to Galilee. That is hope. And it would take a lot of faith. Jesus was dead. They knew he was dead. But, the question must be asked, what if it is true?

Or as McKay asked in The Candidate, “What do we do now?”

And that is the question that we must ask.

It is Easter. What difference does it make in your life? How are you changed for the better? Or is it another good story, like your favorite Hollywood blockbuster, that makes you feel good odd Christmases and Easters. Religu-tainment for a season.

Friends, only you can know the difference it can make. Only you have the power to accept the news first, and the life change it enables.

Jesus did not resurrect to make bad people feel good, or even become good. Jesus did not come so that we could get a barcode to get into heaven. St. Peter with his scanner, Beep, “In!” Beep, “In!” Beep, “In!” Beep, “In!” Eccch, “Down you go!” Do not belittle Jesus into thinking like that. Jesus came to make the Kingdom of God here and now, which continues on to there and then.  Jesus came to help us start that Kingdom living now. It will affect our schools. It will affect our politics. It will change the headlines we see each and every day. Imagine that, Good News in the Headlines. It will affect every aspect of our lives and how we life with one another.

Think of it this way, you have been invited to be in on the greatest thing ever attempted. Bigger than D-Day. Bigger than the Manhattan Project. Bigger than vaccinating the entire world in a couple years for COVID-19. God sent Jesus to begin a transformation of the walking dead to life eternal for anyone who wanted in on the action. It would take millenia, but God is patient. Jesus came to show us how to live a Kingdom life on this side of heaven. And so that we might know he is worth listening to, he did the one thing that not a one of us could do, rise from dead.

And two thousand years later, the story continues. It continues in you or you would not be sitting here today.

“But Rock+,” you may say, “if all that is true, why is the world the shape it is in? If God is in control, why does it feel like things are so bad?” Good question.

I have two responses. 

1. God wants us in on the game. God wants us to “Repent (aka change our ways) for the Kingdom of God is at hand (aka Here & Now).” Maybe that is just it. We are waiting on God and God is prodding, urging, begging us to be who God made us to be. He wants us to be God’s People in a hurting world.

2. If God were not God, I do not think we would have survived to now to complain about how bad things are. I think if left to our own devices, we probably would not be.

This Easter, do you have a Before and After story? Before I was this, and After I am this? Maybe you have never tried it on for size, the Resurrection, that is.

Might I offer up this today, from a line in Psalm 34 (v. 8) “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Scripture says it. Maybe you have a hard time believing all that we are talking about is silly frivolities, or as I said, Religu-tainment. But try on this experiment. Give it some time. Act as if the Resurrection were true. Make some changes in how you act and think. Make some changes in how you treat others. Make some changes in how you see yourself in the mirror. Make some changes in how you read the news and see the times we have been given. I believe if you Taste & See that the Scriptures will ring true. The Lord is Good.

I started today with the idea that as a priest I get to make declarations. And my favorite one is this. In response, say it like you believe it with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Alleluia! THE LORD IS RISEN!

The Lord is Risen, Indeed. Alleluia!

Amen