June 6, 2010
Corpus Christi (The Body of Christ)
1 Cor 11:23-26

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Notes:

You’ve heard the saying “You are what you eat.” Eat healthy foods and you will be healthy. Eat unhealthy foods and you will be unhealthy foods. Its a constant reminder that what you put in your mouth can literally shape your body. What might that mean for us, as Christians who celebrate Holy Communion – a sacrament that is eaten, fills our bodies and shapes who we are individually and as a church.

Today we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi which means “The Body of Christ.” We celebrate Holy Communion throughout the year but on this day we give this sacrament our special attention. It is here at this table that we fulfill Christ’s command to “Do this.” We follow in the tradition of the early believers which, as the book of Acts tells us, “they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers…day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.” (Acts 2:42,46)

It has many different names by various Christian traditions. Holy Communion, The Blessed Sacrament, The Lord’s Supper, Ordinance, Eucharist (from the Greek word for giving thanks). The Body of Christ. On this day of the feast of Corpus Christi I want to encourage you to mediate on the meaning of this name for Holy Communion: The Body of Christ.

For the first few years of seminary I attended a rather small Disciple church in Pasadena California. This church made it a habit to have pot luck lunches following Sunday service quite frequently. I don’t think a month went by without a pot luck dinner. If there was a congregational meeting – pot luck lunch; if there was a presentation from the missionary who was giving his report – pot luck lunch; For the guest preacher – pot luck lunch. If there was no reason or occasion to have a pot luck lunch – they had a pot luck lunch.

You know the rules of pot luck. Everyone brings a covered dish to share; enough for about 6-8 people. You had to make it yourself, buying something from the store is cheating. At least buy it from the store and put it on a nice plate. Well, I was in school and had no job. I rode my bicycle everywhere, including to church. Even if I managed to put a simple dish together there was no way I would have be able to bring it with me. Every time pot luck rolled around I had nothing to offer.

But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t welcome – by no means. That’s the other rule of pot luck: everyone is welcome and everyone is fed. Though I showed up empty handed they set me home with all the left overs. A church member or the pastor loaded up my bike in the trunk of their car, along with all the pot-luck left overs and drove me home. The bounty from one of those lunches almost always feed me for a whole week.

The Corinthian Church was not living like the Body of Christ, and their celebration of the Lord’s Supper showed it. Listen to the words Paul has for the Corinthians, which come just before we hear the Words of Institution from our second reading. 1 Corinthians chapter 11, beginning with verse 17:

[Read 1 Cor 11:17-22]

There was a division in the Corinthian church between the wealthy and the poor. The wealthy had to work little and the poor worked long hours. The wealthy got together before they met as a church and had their fill of food and wine. By the time the poor were finished with their long day of work there was little left for them. They were not celebrating the Body of Christ because they were divided. Paul later says, in verse 29 “For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves.” Paul tells us that the sin of the Corinthian Christians was a failure to discern the Body of Christ; a failure to recognize the other, weather poor or wealthy, slave or free, male or female, was a brother or sister in the Body of Christ. They failed to eat together, they failed to be the Body.

It is the difference between, as Paul puts it The Lord’s Supper and an individual supper. The Lord’s Super, Holy Communion, Eucharist, is not a Big Mac, Made-to-Order, individually wrapped, fast food, to go; me and my personal relationship with Jesus. No, it is more like the family meal of Thanksgiving (the literal meaning of the word Eucharist). A slow cooked, sit-down, family and community event. At the table where families celebrate their families, and in the eating of Thanksgiving/Eucharist itself creates family.

Saint Augustine, in a sermon to newly baptized Christians, shares these words:

“So how can bread be his body? And what about the cup – how can it (or what it contains) be his blood? My friends, these realities are called sacraments because in them one thing is seen, while another is grasped. What is seen is a mere physical likeness; what is grasped bears spiritual fruit.

So now, if you want to understand the body of Christ, listen to the Apostle Paul speaking to the faithful: You are the body of Christ, member for member. If you, therefore, are Christ’s body and members, it is your own mystery that is placed on the Lord’s table! It is your own mystery that you are receiving! You are saying Amen to what you are – your response is a personal signature, affirming your faith. When you hear “The body of Christ” you reply “Amen.” Be a member of Christ’s body then, so that your Amen may ring true!

But what role does the bread play? We have no theory of our own to propose here; listen, instead to what Paul says about this sacrament: The bread is one, and we, though many are one body….Be what you see; receive what you are.” (Sermon 272)

Being the Body of Christ also implies we continue the work of Christ. Like yeast causes a loaf to grow, we are

called to expand Christs body, drawing in the whole world to his family.

Inviting the World to Dinner

Every Sunday for the past 30 years Jim Haynes hosts a dinner in his home in Paris. People, including total strangers can call or email him to book a spot. The first 50 or 60 people who call can come, double that if the weather is nice and they can overflow into the garden. Each week a different friend prepares the feast. People from all corners of the world come to break bread together, to meet, to talk, to connect and often become friends. All ages, nationalities, races, professions gather here. Recently a dinner featured a typical mix: a Dutch political cartoonist, a beautiful painter from Norway, a truck driver from Arizona, a bookseller from Atlanta, a newspaper editor from Sydney, students from all over, and traveling retirees. Since there is no organized seating, the opportunity for mingling couldn’t be better. He has a good memory, so each week he makes a point to remember everyone’s name on the guest list and where they’re from and what they do, so he can introduce them to each other. If he had his way, Jim says, “I would introduce everyone in the whole world to each other.”

In some ways the Lord’s Supper is like that. It brings together people of all corners of the world, all ages, nationalities, races, and professions. But our Supper goes beyond a casual encounter at an ordinary table. We gather here because Christ makes us one, and through this meal we are made one in his Body.

Soon we will approach our family meal, our Thanksgiving dinner, our expression of family, The Body of Christ.

When you receive the plate, I encourage you not to simply pass it, serve it to your neighbor. Declare “The Body of Christ.” Both in the elements themselves and in your neighbor Be what you see. When you receive the plate I encourage you to not just take. Instead respond “Amen.” Saying that it is true that this is the Body of Christ. Receive what you are. Be the Body of Christ.

May 30, 2010
Trinity Sunday
John 16:12-15

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Notes:

Today we celebrate the Holy Trinity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As far as I know, this Sunday is the only one which is devoted to a Christian doctrine. Other special days on the Christian calendar may focus on events such as Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost; but on this day we recall the doctrine of the Trinity: One God in Three persons.

Of course, preaching a sermon on a doctrine presents certain challenges. I can’t simply tell a bible story about the Trinity. The Trinity is alluded to in scripture but never spelled out for us. We see references to The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit in scripture; but it is not until the Council of Nicaea that the doctrine in formally defined. Still, the creed never attempts to explain the exact “hows” and “whys” of the concept of God. It simply states what is. That the father is God, the Son is God, the Spirit is God, that they are all God and yet three distinct persons. The Trinity remains a mystery. That doesn’t mean it is something that we don’t know about, but rather that is right in front of us and yet we cannot fully understand. As with most Christian doctrines, the Trinity was defined in response to heresy – or bad ideas about God.

Bad ideas like “Jesus is not God.” There were (and are) people that taught this false doctrine. Some who deny that Jesus is God like the idea that Jesus was just a very faithful man who God had favor on and gave him a promotion. The problem here though is that if Jesus was not God – then who was he to save us from our sins? God and God alone is worthy to save.

Our gospel reading today contains part of Jesus’ farewell speech to his disciples in the garden of Gethsemane. He tells them “I have much more to say to you, more than you can bear.” Jesus did not teach his disciples everything that he could have taught them. There was still so much more. But even as Jesus was preparing to leave them he promised the the gift of the Holy Spirit.

But consider the good news of the Trinity as God in a perfect relationship. Our God is not some distant deity who is unconcerned human affairs. God knows what it means to be in relationship, a perfect relationship. 3 persons, interdependent, mutually affirming, supportive so much that they are one!

Early Christians used the Greek term Perichoresis to describe this mutual indwelling of the persons of the Trinity. It is a word for dance. To think of our God, the one in three involved in a heavenly dance with one another.

When I say the Holy Trinity is like a dance I am not talking about Derek and Nicole who won Dancing with the Stars last Tuesday. The show features a professional dancer and a non-dancing famous person. Each pair dances in front of the judges and a couple is eliminated every week until one winner remains. When the couples dance it is a performance, and it is exclusive. It is about those two only; the audience is not invited to join the routine.

Remember that in the Holy Trinity we have three persons, not two. That changes the dynamic when we think of dancing. Instead of two people excluding others, all members of the Trinity are invited in the dance. Its more like a group folk dance. Each member of the group executes each move, the move in and out, and as the dance goes on you can still see each individual and yet they all move as one in the dance.

In California I went to the winter High School youth retreat for the UCC and Disciples in the area. According to camp tradition they always had a dance on the last night of the retreat. Normally they would hold a regular dance with modern pop music, all the cool kids dancing in pairs and all the un-cool kids sitting in the bleachers watching the spectacle. This year, the director decided to hire a square dance caller. The caller taught us the moves we needed, shuffled the groups and before you knew it the dance was in full swing. Campers and counselors moving in, out and among the group; grabbing hands, spinning around; even as amatures still moving as one group. And as we looked around we noticed that it wasn’t just the cool kids who were dancing; every camper and counselor present participated in the dance. Yes, partly because we made them – but mostly because the dance allowed for this kind of participation.

That is what it is like with God. Our God is a God of relationship, and that being the case he has reached out to each one of us; to be in relationship with us. Bidding us into the dance. We are in that dance with God, even if we have two left feet, even if we don’t have any rhythm, even if we feel silly about dancing….even if thinking about God is too much to bear. Open your hearts to God’s guidance.

May 23, 2010
Pentecost
Romans 8:14-17

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May 16, 2010
Ascension of the Lord
Acts 1:1-11

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Notes:

Ascension is the 40th day after Easter (Thursday of the week before) but we observed it this Sunday.

May 9, 2010
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Rev 21:10, 22-22:5

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Notes:

Yes, it was mother’s day; and yes I preached from Revelation – oh boy!

May 2, 2010
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Acts 11:1-18

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Notes:

Ann Nichols is a missionary to Zambia, a country in Southern Africa. She writes about her first home visit in a Global Ministries update letter. She has always vowed to eat whatever has been offered to her. This is especially important when families with limited resources prepare food specifically for guests like missionaries. She has eaten guinea pig, a hundred year old egg, roasted goat, and millet drink. But on her first visit to a Zambian home she was faced with a basket of worms. She suggests holding your breath if a strange food has a strong odor. But, she says, the roasted caterpillars looked like roasted caterpillars. They didn’t smell, but the chewy texture and the very idea of eating a worm was too much for her. She managed to get half of one down, but that was her limit. Thankfully she only put two on her plate.

In the Acts text Peter shares his own missionary encounter with his home church. Which is a bit strange when we think about it. In the opening of Acts, during his ascension, Christ commissions the believers to go out and be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. But there were believers who stayed behind in Judea. Peter heard this call and went to the ends of the earth, even to the Gentiles. To Caesarea to be exact.

Caesarea was a large Roman capital city and was a major port. It had all the major amenities of a pagan Roman city including theaters, temples to multiple gods and even a grand temple devoted to Caesar Augustus. It wasn’t a Jewish city, and certainly not a Christian city. Maybe not so unlike our modern cities – which have limited Christian influence.

In the middle of Peter’s report, the believers in Judea openly criticize him. They say “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” I thought this was kind of strange when I first read it. Were these believers criticizing Peter for being an evangelist? But take a close look at the criticism. They didn’t say “Peter, what were you doing spreading the gospel to Gentiles?” They weren’t even offended that Gentiles accepted Jesus. The criticism was “Why did you go in the home and eat with Gentiles?” This may be a bit difficult for us modern readers to understand. Whats the big deal we might ask, he just had a meal with them. But Peter was a Jew and eating with Gentiles was really a big deal.

He recalls a vision he had in which a sheet came down from heaven with all sorts of nasty food in it – or at least unclean, non-kosher food. And God said get up, kill and eat. This would have been quite strange for Peter to go to a Gentile house that did not keep kosher. It may be difficult for us to understand the importance of kosher – sometimes they sound like silly unnecessary laws. For example kosher forbids Jews from eating meat with blood in it, or a certain part of an animals leg; it also forbids eating certain animals. But each of these rules points to prayer. Jews couldn’t eat meat with blood because blood was used in ritual sacrifice, they couldn’t eat a certain part of the leg because they remember Jacob wrestling with God and striking him on that part of the leg. Jews could only eat animals that were acceptable for sacrifice. You see, kosher pointed to prayer, which pointed to God. Everything, down to the way they ate, pointed to God as a prayer. Think of it this way. I normally pray for my food, but sometimes when I am out at restaurants or with friends or certain family members I may refrain. And it feels strange, like I am giving up just a little bit about who I am for the sake of the other. That is sort of what it would have been like for Peter to go and eat with a Gentile and not observe kosher, but in a much bigger way. The Jewish people have been keeping these laws and rules for thousands and thousands of years and in the eyes of the believers back home Peter just abandoned that history.

My grandfather was a very proud United Auto Worker, for those of you who may not know UAW folks work on American cars, and they are very proud to work on American cars. He worked for GM for maybe 30 or 40 years before he retired. Granddad always told us that every time someone bought a foreign car, GM laid off 10 employees. Imagine how he felt when he found out that my dad bought a Toyota pick up truck. He was devastated, he was angry, and he felt betrayed. He gave me dad the silent treatment for several years following the truck purchase. He remembered that up till the day he died. For Peter to give up kosher and eat with a Gentile would have been somewhat like this kind of family betrayal in the eyes of the Jews back home.

But Peter listened to God when he called him to spread the good news outside the box. Peter didn’t say “Okay Lord, I will go preach the good news – but only to people like myself.” He didn’t say “Okay Lord, I will go and preach to people different than me – but don’t make me eat with them!” He didn’t say “Okay Lord, I will ever go to them – but don’t change me!” We normally think of evangelism as changing the non-believers, but how strange is it that here evangelism actually changes the evangelist!

This story raises some interesting challenges and questions for us. I do not believe that this is only a history lesson. I believe that God continues to call his church outside of their comfort zones – to go to those most unlike ourselves. How might we be called outside of our boxes today? Where is God at work in our communities? Where is God at work in people not like us? What if (fill in the blank) group of people came to accept the good news, here in Timberville? What if democrats, republicans, hippies, punk teenagers, people from the trailer park, people with a different skin color than ourselves, those who speak a different language…what if people like that accepted the good news? What would be the same for us? What would be different? How might we be called to welcome them? And how might we be called to change, like Peter?

Perhaps the most important question of all; as Peter is retelling the story to the believers back in Jerusalem he observes that the Gentiles accepted God just as we have, and if God does it – who are we to hinder God? How can we hinder God? – We can’t.

April 25, 2010
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Acts 9:36-43

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In Jackson, Michigan a son entered the family business. He didn’t just follow in his father’s footsteps, but his grandfather’s and his great-grandfather’s. Joshua Munro is a fourth generation doctor. The Munro family name has been associated with wellness in their hometown since 1889. Each of the four doctors got into medicine for their own reasons, but they all simply wanted to serve others. Joshua works with his father David, and though he is already 60, he has no plans for retirement. He says “why stop doing what you love?” Joshua and David continue the family business of healing and are grooming the fifth generation for medical work.

We, the church, are in the family business of healing as well.

Our scripture lesson from Acts recalls how Peter raised Tabitha from the dead. The book of Acts tells us how she was a disciple and a very good woman – she was devoted to good works and acts of charity. She lived among widows probably serving them, and perhaps a leader among this group. And then, as suddenly as she is introduced we are told that she had died. Just like that. You can almost feel the unexpected suddenness as the widows express their grief. They know that Peter is in a nearby town and so they hurriedly send for him, and he rushes to Joppa in response. In at what appears to be a funeral. The widows were weeping and showing off the clothes which Tabitha had made – much like we would show photos, art, and other items that remind us of the deceased.

It seems odd to encounter death in the midst of the Easter season, in the midst the good news of the resurrection. But it is a story which has some parallels elsewhere in scripture.

Elijah a Hebrew prophet of the Old Testament, and who also appeared with Moses and Jesus at the Transfiguration, has a similar resurrection story. There was a widow who had a son who became ill and died. Elijah cried to the Lord and asked that life be brought back into the son. The Lord listened and the child was brought back to life. The relieved widow also saw and believed.

In the text we’ve looked at today, Peter was bold enough to issue a command: “Tabitha, get up.” And she does. This is a story which sounds strangely familiar. Jesus uttered similar words in a similar situation for the only daughter of Jairus who had also died. Jesus made it to the little girl’s house, found her dead and said the words “Talitha, cum” which means little girl get up. Did you hear the difference, “Tabitha, get up.” “Talitha, get up.” the resurrection command is different by only one letter. The author of Acts whats us to know that Peter is following closely in Christ’s footsteps – continuing the ministry of healing and resurrection.

Peter rose the dead just as Jesus rose the dead before him, and as Elijah rose the dead before Jesus. Just as we are called to bring resurrection and healing to those in need this day. Though we don’t often see resurrections in this day. And because of that, it may be easy to think that healing cannot or does not happen, much less happen through the church. When I say that the church is the place of healing it may conjure up images of tv preachers shouting, slapping foreheads, and people falling over with their physical aliments relieved. But healing and resurrection is not always about the body. It is about restoring relationships – healing of relationship with God and others. The church is called to a home of relational resurrection.

While I was in seminary I served in the Army National Guard as a chaplain candidate. During our two-week annual training I held evening prayer services every night. It was not in the chapel, but out among the soldiers – in the field where they were. One evening as the sun was setting, I approached a group of 3 young soldiers. I asked if they were there to join me for evening prayer. They said they were waiting for another training to begin but that they would like to stay for the evening prayer. We had our prayer service as the sun faded from the sky. After it was over one of the young soldiers approached me and said “Those prayers remind me of the ones I used to know as a kid.” She then tried to recite the Lord’s Prayer for me. She had trouble and said she hadn’t said that prayer for nearly 10 years. We sat there as she wrote out the prayer, remembered it and recited it again for the first time in 10 years. Spoke to God for the first time in 10 years, reclaiming the healing relationship with God to call him father. This is the kind of healing the church is called to – the resurrection of healing relationships.

We are called to be a place of healing. Are we bold enough to follow Peter in the ministry of healing? Bold enough to respond to the calls of the world, and the calls of those within the church who seek healing? Let us be bold enough to echo the resurrection.

April 18, 2010
Third Sunday of Easter
John 21:1-19

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Well, Easter is over. I’ve finished my chocolate bunny, all the eggs have been found (you hope). The card and gift companies are already advertising the next major holiday – Mother’s day. The decorations are gone and the Easter Bunny has left the mall. So I guess that means we go back to business as usual for us. We’ll take down the Easter lilies, the white banners – Easter is over or so the disciples thought.

After sitting with Christ at the Last Supper, the terror of the cross, but also the glory of the resurrection – the glory seen first hand. He let them touch his wounds. Remember these disciples met with Jesus in the upper room not once but twice that he appeared to them. Jesus breathed upon them his own Holy Spirit. He commissioned them. Now a week later Peter – the leader of the disciples suggests they all go fishing. This isn’t a relaxing fishing trip for them, it is a return to their previous way of life to their previous jobs. They had been given a job by Jesus to go “As my father sends me, so I send you” and yet they went back to fishing… Without success. They thought that Easter was over.

Jesus makes one final appearance to his disciples in John’s gospel. Perhaps disappointed at this final denial. But the love of Christ covers this denial. And yet Christ appears again. The disciples do not yet recognize that mysterious figure on the shore. The disciples nets remain empty and Jesus suggests a change. It was in this miracle, the miraculous catch of fish that the beloved disciples recognizes the Lord, and he exclaims the good news. Being reminded of Christ’s love, Peter dives into the sea and swims to Christ. God’s love has a way of making you act in ways you might think are otherwise crazy.

Later, Jesus takes Peter aside for a private conversation. “Simon, Son of John” Jesus begins. We are reminded that the only other time Jesus calls Peter in such a way was when he was called as a disciple in the first place, and Jesus renames him as his own “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called The Rock.” Jesus calls Peter now again, with new meaning. We remember Peter in the garden when he denied Jesus three times. Now Christ calls Peter, renewed in discipleship, with the love of Christ that conquers his denial.

Jesus asks “Do you love me?” What kind of question is this? I wonder if there was any hesitation on Peter’s part. Was he taken aback at the question? How might we respond? Do you love Jesus? Peter answers “Yes, of course, you know that I love you.” And Jesus follows up the question with a call, a command, or perhaps a recommissioning: “Feed my sheep.”

Peter in many ways represents the church for us. At his confession that Jesus is Christ, Son of the Living God; Jesus announced that this was the faith upon which he would build his church. Now it seems that Jesus is handing over the responsibilities of caring for his people over to Peter, and as an extension to the church. Yet, Jesus is clear here that he is not simply handing over the flock as if in a will. No, Peter is called for the care of something still not his. Much like you might hire a baby sitter. They feed and care for the children, perhaps help them with their school work – but they do not become new parents. Also this new responsibility of Peter’s is rooted first in Love. Before he gives the call he asks “Do you love me?” The authority of the church is not rooted in power, it is rooted in love.

We are the church, and Christ calls us to feed his sheep, tend the flock, to love one another. Christ called the church, with all its worts and sins are called in Christ’s love to love each other as the flock of Christ.

Let me ask “Do you love Jesus?” Feed his sheep. Feed one another. Do you love Jesus? Tend his sheep, tend one another. Do all this with the love of Christ which he has first given you.

April 11, 2010
2nd Sunday of Easter
John 20:19-31

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Did you know that some people still don’t believe in that the moon landing actually happened? They say its a hoax. Moon landing deniers will say that the technology simply didn’t exist, that the campaign was part of American pride in being the first to win the space race, or perhaps a distraction from the United States involvement in Vietnam. There are countless photos, videos, and even moon rocks and yet faced with all this evidence deniers still exist. They say its faked. Our Gospel today tells us the story of another kind of denial. We common call him “Doubting Thomas.”

We are reminded at the beginning of this text that it takes place on Easter, or rather Easter evening. Surely the disciples had heard the news by now that Jesus’ tomb was empty, witnessed by Peter and John. They had also heard the eye witness report from Mary that she had seen the Lord – but so far she was the only one with that privilege. The disciples, even the two who went to the tomb, had not yet seen the Lord with their own two eyes. But now, in the evening they receive the same blessing Mary received earlier that day in the garden. They heard the reports with their ears, but they required something more.

Before they saw him they heard his voice, just as Mary first heard him call her name before she knew it was Christ. “Peace be with you.” They were so caught off guard that they did not reply. He showed him them his wounds. They saw and believed. For them seeing is believing. But there was one disciple who was not with them – Thomas. We are not told where he was or why he wasn’t with the others.

Upon hearing the news Thomas declares his unbelief saying “There is no way I will believe unless I see it for myself.” From there we most commonly remember him as doubting Thomas, even though the text never gives him this title, instead we are told he is simply called “The Twin.” The other disciples upon hearing of Thomas’ unbelief did not cast him out of the community or tell him he could longer be a disciple. He stayed with them.

A whole week went by, the week following Easter. Which brings us to today – the second Sunday of Easter until Jesus returns to present himself to Thomas, who we know of as the doubter. Jesus replays his appears to the disciples from the week before. “Peace be with you” he says again. Again, he shows his wounds to Thomas who was not there.

For Thomas, faith wasn’t something he did not have then he did have – it was something that he discovered. Something he discovered directly from the hands (literally) of Christ. Jesus gave Thomas just what he needed in order to believe – but in his own good time of course.

Thomas went only a week between hearing the good news and believing in the good news. Thats a pretty good deal if you ask me, I know of people who have gone years or sometimes not ever coming to that confession of faith.

This scripture speaks to us the reader. It tells us “blessed are those who have not seen and yet come to believe.” Blessed are we, right here and right now who have not seen and yet come to believe. Blessed are you have not seen and are on your journey to believe. Blessed are you who are discovering your faith like Thomas, the one who believed.

April 4, 2010
Easter Sunday
John 20:1-18

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It was still dark. A morning darkness – before the sunrise, before others have awoke. It’s a mourning darkness – Mary was heading to the her Lord, not to worship but to grieve at his tomb. The kind of darkness that was heavy, deep, and alone. Mary is still faithful to go to Jesus, though not with our resurrection faith; she was fulfilling her duty to the Lord who is dead and gone. It was still dark but Christ is risen.

But as she arrived at the tomb to pay her final respects – her heart stopped. The stone had been rolled away. The first thought that went through her mind was not, as you and I know it this day – “He is Risen, praise the Lord!” No, her heart sank “They took away my Lord.” It would have been like taking your eyes off your child for just a moment, only to turn back around and see that they are no longer in your sight. Your heart stops and your mind immediately worries about the worst. She thought that Jesus’ body had been stolen and now he was truly gone. Resurrection was the furtherest thing from her mind. Mary didn’t have a clue, but Christ is risen!

Even the two disciples Peter and John, upon hearing the news – not that Jesus is risen, but that the body is gone – ran their hearts out so they could see for themselves. They looked in the tomb and saw the evidence with their own eyes. This gospel account goes to some length in describing the funeral linens. The evangelist recorded this detail for our benefit as evidence for us of the resurrection. If his body was simply stolen or the grave robbed, the thieves wouldn’t have bothered to remove his funeral clothes much less neatly fold them at the head and the foot of the tomb. And yet the disciples remain blind. Scripture tells us “they believed” but not what they believed. They believed but they did not understand the scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. They believed but they went right home. They didn’t have faith in the resurrection, they believed Mary’s account – simply that the body of Christ had been stolen. The evidence right before them; they still lacked belief. They lacked faith but Christ is risen!

Then Mary, still overwhelmed with the shock of loss, with nothing left to do – weeps. In weeping she looks over again, one more time at the empty tomb. Like when confronted with loss, something of great value, perhaps like a [wedding ring, your keys, something valuable you couldn't live without]; after looking in every conceivable place you could think, tearing your house apart, looking where you would least expect, and when you believe it is truly truly gone – you look where you have looked already with just the glimmer of hope that it will be there. Mary looks again at the empty tomb. Angels are befuddled at her weeping because they know the truth that Christ is risen!

Then, finally through her tears she sees him, but she still doesn’t know it. She thinks he is the gardener. Again, befuddled at her weeping, because he knew the truth – asks her again “Why are you crying?” And yet she still did not know that he is risen – until he speaks and calls her by name.

In this Gospel declaration, the first account of the risen Lord, the words “He is risen” are not found. The good news is expressed not with words but rather the personal call by name. Then and only then, looking into Jesus’ eyes and hearing him call her by name did her loss turn to inexplicable joy – that he is risen.

When sin has us entangled and entrenched in its lies and its traps, and we are even blind to the Lord – he is still risen, he is still calling your name. And sometimes coming to this realization that he is risen is a slow or gradual process, one with peaks and valleys. But I believe in a resurrection of our faith just as Mary took time to see Christ for who he truly is, Christ offers himself to us each and every day, calling us by name that one day we may more fully hear our name and recognize the risen Christ before our eyes and we can join in the Easter proclamation – He is risen! He is risen indeed!