Easter Day 2009 – Year B (RCL)
Acts 10: 34 - 43; Psalm 118 1 – 2, 14 – 24; 1 Corinthians 15: 1 – 11; Mark 16: 1 – 8
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish, Portland, OR
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Acts 10: 34 - 43; Psalm 118 1 – 2, 14 – 24; 1 Corinthians 15: 1 – 11; Mark 16: 1 – 8
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish, Portland, OR
Sunday, April 12, 2009
CLINGING TO HOPE
Let us pray: Holy God, our lives are ruled by fear. It is fear which keeps us motionless in the face of danger. It is fear which keeps us passionless in the face of injustice. It is fear which keeps us imprisioned in our cynacisim in the face of so many who are needy. Your constant message to us in the person of Jesus was “be not afraid”. Help us to break from the bonds of fear and boldy proclaim your reign among us as the Risen One who is our hope. Amen.
(SUNG) ALLELUIA GOD IS COMING
ALLELUIA GOD IS NEAR
ALLELUIA GOD IS COMING
ALLELUIA GOD IS HERE.
What we buried on the last Sunday of the Epiphany is now risen and the great word for our joy and exultation is uttered again in our churches and in our hearts – ALLELUIA. All of this is because what the followers of the Christ buried in that tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimithea; the broken and bruised body of the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Light of the Nations and the Glory of God’s people was not there in the early morning hours of that Sunday; and because of that absence of a body – hope was reborn.
One of the major themes of the Gospel retellings of the Resurrection story is this one of hope rekindled amidst the despair of the events leading up to the discovery of the empty tomb. Each of the other three Gospels include stories of Resurrection appearances by Jesus among the women of the community, the apostles and the disciples. The Markan text, in its original form does not. The narrative story depicted by the author of Mark’s Gospel is famous for its aprubt ending. It truly does not have a full conclusion. Some scholars have speculated that Mark doesn’t really have a full account of the resurrection because Mark wants to portray the resurrection as a story that continues. There is no ending because this story is a true beginning – a new and never-ending story A story in which we are called to be just as much a part as those who experienced it for the first time. Many of these same scholars have conjectured plausible explanations for the text of this Gospel ending at verse 8a which reads “and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afriad”. One possibly reason is that the original ending was lost. Another was that possibly the author died or was otherwise prevented from finishing the work. Still another possibility was that the author deliberately ended the Gospel at this point knowing that the readers and hearers of this text would already know about the resurrection – and wanting to close with an emphasis on the human dimension of discipleship; the terror, the amazement and the fear juxtaposed against Jesus’ call to proclaim the Good News. All of these explanations are just that, conjecture, and we do not have any difinitive answers to funally lay to rest all of the questions; just as we do not with most aspects of our faith or our lives. In this Gospel text the young man dressed in white (who may or may not be an angel) tells the women that the disciples will see the resurrected Jesus in Galilee, but that is different from telling the resurrection story itself. Just as much as trusting in the narrative from this Gospel author’s understanding, we need to trust in the strength of our own understandings which are formed of much more than simple historical facts around the death and resurrection as it has been handed down to us in our sacred stories. Those understandings are a unique and sometimes messy conglomeration of scripture, teaching, hymnody and selective memory that shapes our individual vision of the resurrection experience.
Now, any preacher or religious professional worth her or his salt, knows that we are preaching to two different audiences on Easter day! The first audience are those of you who are visiting or searching this morning for the hope of the Easter message – maybe this guy has something different to say; maybe this one can convince me and relive me of my doubts or answer my questions more directly about this bodily resurrection thing. The second audience are you who have been coming week after week, year after year to hear the Easter message of hope and promise preached in this place – or in the other places of your lives that you call home. You’ve heard it all – death, despair, resurrection, hope…according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John! Well, for both of my audiences today – I don’t mean to disapoint you, but I have no concrete proof; no newly discovered Gnostic Gospel or writing from historians of first century Palestine to corroborate our Gospel author’s text. I have no answers beyond what I know to be true; that I have watched too many people cross over to not know that there is SOMETHING to which they cross over to, I’ve seen it in their eyes or I have watched it in their smiles and it takes only but the leap of faith to let go of what we know and grab onto what we do not. God is in our coming – as every mother knows; and God is in our going as everyone who has gone or been present with another who has gone knows. The fear is replaced by hope because of this day – this Easter Day!
(SUNG) ALLELUIA GOD IS COMING
ALLELUIA GOD IS NEAR
ALLELUIA GOD IS COMING
ALLELUIA GOD IS HERE.
Fear is one of the most basic of our human emotions and reactions when faced with the unknown. This fear is not always a bad thing. Armed with this fear our bodies and brains can prepare for possible danger – by pumping up the adrenalin and boosting the “fight or flight” reaction for our own protection and safety. The other possibility though is that our fear will lead to paralysis and inaction when our minds are not able to comprehend and simply will not allow any concrete action to occur. This, it would appear, is the kind of fear which the author of Mark’s Gospel depicts in the retelling of the events we hear this morning. In the previous chapter of this gospel narrative, the author had told us that Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses and Solome witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. Now, we are told, in the early morning hours after the Sabbath these same witnesses are come to the tomb to annoint the body of Jesus with scented oils and spices. It is now established that these women have witnessed the crucifixion, death and Resurrection of Jesus – in contrast to the male disciples who fled when Jesus was arrested, and to Peter (the leader upon whom the new community would be founded) who had denied Jesus three times. It is interesting to note that it is the women who are listed as witnesses – especially since Jewish law and tradition, does not accept women as witnesses in legal proceedings. Later critics of the new Christian community would use this circumstance of women as witness to bolster their argument around the lack of validity of the resurrection claim. One might be sure however, that the if the Church was looking to fabricate this story it would NOT have used women as witnesses to it; and this points rather to evidence that the story is true; as the women reported it.
The women approach the tomb wondering who will roll back the heavy stone which covered the entrance. They discover that it had already been removed (by whom we are not told, and we can sense from the divine passive tense of the narrative that it was not moved by human hands) and here we have another reason for the fear which is gripping these young women in the early morning hours of this most frightening day. Steeling their nerves, these women enter the tomb – not something that I’m sure I would have done; and encounter a vision which will change their lives and the lives of all who will come after them, forever. They see a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side – where they would have expected to see the wrapped corpse of the teacher, and we are told they were alarmed. Well, I’ll just bet they were. Consider what their emotional state must have been! They are caught up in terrible grief. It is very early in the morning. They have gone to the tomb expecting to encounter nobody but find themselves in the presence of a heavenly being. It is no wonder that they are afraid. Their entire worldview is being challenged. Angelic beings are found in places of death, death which was the final voice in all of their lives seems to have been silenced. The very foundations of what they knew and believed were not so foundational anymore. It would have been just about at this point (if not far earlier in the story) that I would have grabbed my boots and headed for the hills! So yes, fear is the normal reaction and it is that fear which is reported by the author of this Gospel account.
(SUNG) ALLELUIA GOD IS COMING
ALLELUIA GOD IS NEAR
ALLELUIA GOD IS COMING
ALLELUIA GOD IS HERE.
It is not, however, that fear which we are encouraged to live in – either by the resurrected Jesus or by those who in the narrative attempt to guide the action of the story. “Do not be alarmed” the angelic presence says to them, “you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised, he is not here.” In the other Gospel narratives the first words of the risen saviour are “fear not” and “do not be afraid”. Fear does not allow us the option to move forward in hope. Jesus calms fears and engenders hope as the emotion to carry forth the good news that death has been conquered and no longer has power over humanity. Hope becomes the great power which can override the fear.
The author of Mark’s Gospel concludes with the following statement…”terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” The literal translation of the Greek oudeni ouden would place an additional emphasis on this statement with the use of a double negative. The literal translation would be “nothing to no one” fear had so griped their bodies and their minds that they were unable to even express that fear to those whom they loved and trusted. Who then, was there to tell of their experience? All of the male disciples had fled into the countryside and these women alone where to be the ones who would witness the empty tomb. I think that what the author of this Gospel account may be trying to emphasise is that no one was left blameless in the events of the crucifixion, death and resurrection of the Messiah. It has become quite the de rigour to hold up the women who witness the resurrection story; and even they have failed in the long run – fear has crippled their response and the charge goes unfulfilled in the narrative. It is almost as if the Author is saying to those of us who read and hear the story. “The responsibility now lies with you – all have deserted Jesus and none are left to tell the good news – none but you who read and hear of these events.” That leaves the responsibility of evangelism – literally the telling of good news or gospel – directly in the hands and hearts of those whom the writer addresses. That would be you folks – and that would be me. It is up to us to assure that hope triumphs over fear. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu (who, in a shameless plug will be lecturing in Portland next month) says that “we are a people who are prisoners of hope.” We are the only ones left at the empty tomb. We are the witnesses of resurrection charged by the Risen One to spread the good news of that hope – to proclaim to all the world that we will see in Galilee just as was promised – Christ who is Risen, Christ who is Risen indeed.
(SUNG) ALLELUIA GOD IS COMING
ALLELUIA GOD IS NEAR
ALLELUIA GOD IS COMING
ALLELUIA GOD IS HERE.
What we buried on the last Sunday of the Epiphany is now risen and the great word for our joy and exultation is uttered again in our churches and in our hearts – ALLELUIA. All of this is because what the followers of the Christ buried in that tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimithea; the broken and bruised body of the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Light of the Nations and the Glory of God’s people was not there in the early morning hours of that Sunday; and because of that absence of a body – hope was reborn.
One of the major themes of the Gospel retellings of the Resurrection story is this one of hope rekindled amidst the despair of the events leading up to the discovery of the empty tomb. Each of the other three Gospels include stories of Resurrection appearances by Jesus among the women of the community, the apostles and the disciples. The Markan text, in its original form does not. The narrative story depicted by the author of Mark’s Gospel is famous for its aprubt ending. It truly does not have a full conclusion. Some scholars have speculated that Mark doesn’t really have a full account of the resurrection because Mark wants to portray the resurrection as a story that continues. There is no ending because this story is a true beginning – a new and never-ending story A story in which we are called to be just as much a part as those who experienced it for the first time. Many of these same scholars have conjectured plausible explanations for the text of this Gospel ending at verse 8a which reads “and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afriad”. One possibly reason is that the original ending was lost. Another was that possibly the author died or was otherwise prevented from finishing the work. Still another possibility was that the author deliberately ended the Gospel at this point knowing that the readers and hearers of this text would already know about the resurrection – and wanting to close with an emphasis on the human dimension of discipleship; the terror, the amazement and the fear juxtaposed against Jesus’ call to proclaim the Good News. All of these explanations are just that, conjecture, and we do not have any difinitive answers to funally lay to rest all of the questions; just as we do not with most aspects of our faith or our lives. In this Gospel text the young man dressed in white (who may or may not be an angel) tells the women that the disciples will see the resurrected Jesus in Galilee, but that is different from telling the resurrection story itself. Just as much as trusting in the narrative from this Gospel author’s understanding, we need to trust in the strength of our own understandings which are formed of much more than simple historical facts around the death and resurrection as it has been handed down to us in our sacred stories. Those understandings are a unique and sometimes messy conglomeration of scripture, teaching, hymnody and selective memory that shapes our individual vision of the resurrection experience.
Now, any preacher or religious professional worth her or his salt, knows that we are preaching to two different audiences on Easter day! The first audience are those of you who are visiting or searching this morning for the hope of the Easter message – maybe this guy has something different to say; maybe this one can convince me and relive me of my doubts or answer my questions more directly about this bodily resurrection thing. The second audience are you who have been coming week after week, year after year to hear the Easter message of hope and promise preached in this place – or in the other places of your lives that you call home. You’ve heard it all – death, despair, resurrection, hope…according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John! Well, for both of my audiences today – I don’t mean to disapoint you, but I have no concrete proof; no newly discovered Gnostic Gospel or writing from historians of first century Palestine to corroborate our Gospel author’s text. I have no answers beyond what I know to be true; that I have watched too many people cross over to not know that there is SOMETHING to which they cross over to, I’ve seen it in their eyes or I have watched it in their smiles and it takes only but the leap of faith to let go of what we know and grab onto what we do not. God is in our coming – as every mother knows; and God is in our going as everyone who has gone or been present with another who has gone knows. The fear is replaced by hope because of this day – this Easter Day!
(SUNG) ALLELUIA GOD IS COMING
ALLELUIA GOD IS NEAR
ALLELUIA GOD IS COMING
ALLELUIA GOD IS HERE.
Fear is one of the most basic of our human emotions and reactions when faced with the unknown. This fear is not always a bad thing. Armed with this fear our bodies and brains can prepare for possible danger – by pumping up the adrenalin and boosting the “fight or flight” reaction for our own protection and safety. The other possibility though is that our fear will lead to paralysis and inaction when our minds are not able to comprehend and simply will not allow any concrete action to occur. This, it would appear, is the kind of fear which the author of Mark’s Gospel depicts in the retelling of the events we hear this morning. In the previous chapter of this gospel narrative, the author had told us that Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses and Solome witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. Now, we are told, in the early morning hours after the Sabbath these same witnesses are come to the tomb to annoint the body of Jesus with scented oils and spices. It is now established that these women have witnessed the crucifixion, death and Resurrection of Jesus – in contrast to the male disciples who fled when Jesus was arrested, and to Peter (the leader upon whom the new community would be founded) who had denied Jesus three times. It is interesting to note that it is the women who are listed as witnesses – especially since Jewish law and tradition, does not accept women as witnesses in legal proceedings. Later critics of the new Christian community would use this circumstance of women as witness to bolster their argument around the lack of validity of the resurrection claim. One might be sure however, that the if the Church was looking to fabricate this story it would NOT have used women as witnesses to it; and this points rather to evidence that the story is true; as the women reported it.
The women approach the tomb wondering who will roll back the heavy stone which covered the entrance. They discover that it had already been removed (by whom we are not told, and we can sense from the divine passive tense of the narrative that it was not moved by human hands) and here we have another reason for the fear which is gripping these young women in the early morning hours of this most frightening day. Steeling their nerves, these women enter the tomb – not something that I’m sure I would have done; and encounter a vision which will change their lives and the lives of all who will come after them, forever. They see a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side – where they would have expected to see the wrapped corpse of the teacher, and we are told they were alarmed. Well, I’ll just bet they were. Consider what their emotional state must have been! They are caught up in terrible grief. It is very early in the morning. They have gone to the tomb expecting to encounter nobody but find themselves in the presence of a heavenly being. It is no wonder that they are afraid. Their entire worldview is being challenged. Angelic beings are found in places of death, death which was the final voice in all of their lives seems to have been silenced. The very foundations of what they knew and believed were not so foundational anymore. It would have been just about at this point (if not far earlier in the story) that I would have grabbed my boots and headed for the hills! So yes, fear is the normal reaction and it is that fear which is reported by the author of this Gospel account.
(SUNG) ALLELUIA GOD IS COMING
ALLELUIA GOD IS NEAR
ALLELUIA GOD IS COMING
ALLELUIA GOD IS HERE.
It is not, however, that fear which we are encouraged to live in – either by the resurrected Jesus or by those who in the narrative attempt to guide the action of the story. “Do not be alarmed” the angelic presence says to them, “you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised, he is not here.” In the other Gospel narratives the first words of the risen saviour are “fear not” and “do not be afraid”. Fear does not allow us the option to move forward in hope. Jesus calms fears and engenders hope as the emotion to carry forth the good news that death has been conquered and no longer has power over humanity. Hope becomes the great power which can override the fear.
The author of Mark’s Gospel concludes with the following statement…”terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” The literal translation of the Greek oudeni ouden would place an additional emphasis on this statement with the use of a double negative. The literal translation would be “nothing to no one” fear had so griped their bodies and their minds that they were unable to even express that fear to those whom they loved and trusted. Who then, was there to tell of their experience? All of the male disciples had fled into the countryside and these women alone where to be the ones who would witness the empty tomb. I think that what the author of this Gospel account may be trying to emphasise is that no one was left blameless in the events of the crucifixion, death and resurrection of the Messiah. It has become quite the de rigour to hold up the women who witness the resurrection story; and even they have failed in the long run – fear has crippled their response and the charge goes unfulfilled in the narrative. It is almost as if the Author is saying to those of us who read and hear the story. “The responsibility now lies with you – all have deserted Jesus and none are left to tell the good news – none but you who read and hear of these events.” That leaves the responsibility of evangelism – literally the telling of good news or gospel – directly in the hands and hearts of those whom the writer addresses. That would be you folks – and that would be me. It is up to us to assure that hope triumphs over fear. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu (who, in a shameless plug will be lecturing in Portland next month) says that “we are a people who are prisoners of hope.” We are the only ones left at the empty tomb. We are the witnesses of resurrection charged by the Risen One to spread the good news of that hope – to proclaim to all the world that we will see in Galilee just as was promised – Christ who is Risen, Christ who is Risen indeed.
Alleluia.
Amen.
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