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Sunday’s Sermon – We Are Witnesses – Acts 10:34-43, Luke 24:1-12 – Easter

April 21, 2019 Leave a Comment

“Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” This question, or one like it, marks the beginning of virtually every courtroom scene as a witness takes the stand. The answer implies a commitment to truth beyond just casual conversation. It is meant to spark the conscience, bringing an intentionality and gravity to the circumstances of the testimony. The stories shared by witnesses matter, and they are among the most powerful of all testimony, with each sharing their truth.

The story of Easter is one of witnesses. As Luke tells it, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women are amazed at the sight of the empty tomb and the news that Jesus is risen from the dead. It was unimaginable, and likely unbelievable to their eyes. As they try to wrap their heads around such a concept, they are helped by a jogged memory; Jesus had hinted at this before. They connect the dots, and the story, the whole story of Jesus of Nazareth, comes together. And together they bear witness to the most amazing revelation of all time.

But what happens when they share the news? The disciples brush it off. The word in the Greek is leros. It is translated by the NRSV as “idle tale,” with the dictionary offering “nonsense” or “empty talk” as additional options. The root is connected to our word for “delirious,” and Greek it is usually reserved to describe the ranting of a person suffering from delirium.  This is not a word to be taken lightly. Karoline Lewis even suggests it may have been intended akin to how we would utter an expletive when someone tells us something that is so inconceivable that we’re sure that they are just making it up. It is a word used in the New Testament exactly one time – here in Luke 24.  The eleven disciples, despite all that Jesus had said, and despite the compelling testimony from these women, did. not. believe. them.

Skepticism about such highly unlikely news as a man coming back from the dead is certainly a reasonable doubt. Eyewitness testimony is tricky. Studies show that it is heavily relied upon, but is highly unreliable[i]. It seems the more we learn about science and how the brain works, the less we can take into account how someone remembers any given event as factual truth. From the disciples to modern ears, our first response to news this radical also may be to write it off as nonsense. But, seeing as you’re here this morning, there must be something that draws you in a bit more. Maybe you too are poking your head into the empty tomb, you know, just in case there might be something to this report.

The power of the testimony of the women at the tomb was more than just an absence of a body. They were testifying to the fullness of the story of God’s incarnation and promise. They had remembered (verse 8) all that Jesus had taught them about who God was, is, and will be. Just as the tomb was broken open, so was the silence they had kept since standing at the foot of the cross. The story of a Savior could no longer be kept quiet. It had to be told, proclaimed, preached. This is the gospel. Good news that is worth repeating.

Our text from Acts is a continuation of their witness, with the author of the gospel of Luke describing how belief in Jesus Christ as Savior spread. Peter’s sermon, given here after his lifechanging, eye-opening dream and exchange with Cornelius, is his Easter testimony. In it, he recounts not just the empty tomb, but a complete and concise summary of Christ’s life and teachings. As Nancy Clare Pittman offers:

The boundless gift of the empty tomb cannot be separated from the words and actions of Jesus. Resurrection, after all, is not some buoyant ideal, unconnected to the real world. It is an invitation to live as Jesus lived, a doorway to a life in which meals are shared with enemies, healing is offered to the hopeless, prophetic challenges are issued to the powerful. Only now it is not Jesus who does these things – it is we ourselves who see at last the subversive power of the resurrection in order to live it now[ii].

The witnesses of Easter are not just recounting facts to us almost two thousand years later in these passages; they are inviting us to take our place in the story, in God’s story, so that perhaps we, too, might become witnesses to the resurrection. You may think about witnesses as just being in the courtroom but the truth is, we encounter testimony and witnesses almost every day.  Have you ever looked up reviews for a product you are thinking about buying, or asked friends where the best place to go for brunch is? You are looking for witnesses. Have you shared a recipe, talked about a show you just discovered on Netflix, or passed along the name of a plumber or electrician? You have given testimony.

So, what would you say if asked about your faith, or what you believe about God or Jesus? Would you have a story spilling out of you like Mary Magdalene and Peter? Or, would you be more like a child who climbs in the car after school and answers the question “so, what did you learn/do at school today?” with a shrug and a “don’t know.” Articulating our own faith and experience of the risen Christ can feel overwhelming. And that’s normal. Amazement was the reaction of the women at the tomb at first, too. But the call of Easter is to move from our amazement into becoming witnesses. All of our “alleluias” should lead us into proclamation that Christ is indeed alive. The Resurrection isn’t just reporting on an event from the past; it’s a celebration of an active and present God in the world even today.

All around us are signs of resurrection and new life. The soggy ground has been nourished and softened, with fresh sprigs of green pushing through the soil. This week the world gasped and grieved at the sight of a fire in the cathedral in Notre Dame, France. As stories circulated about the immediate efforts to restore this iconic site, a movement began to raise awareness about some lesser-known houses of worship in Louisiana. About a month ago, fires consumed St. Mary Baptist Church, Greater Union Baptist Church, and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church within 10 days in St. Landry Parish, fires set in hatred by an arsonist to these African-American churches. As of last Sunday, a GoFundMe fundraiser had raised just below $50,000. After some politicians, activists, celebrities and journalists heard of the story in the wake of Notre Dame, the idea of helping out a bit closer to home caught on. By Wednesday morning, the total raised topped $1 million[iii].

A tragic story that could have been a blip on the radar, is now a story of hope as these communities rise up from the ashes. What made the difference? People willing to serve as witnesses and share the story.

Today, we gather to hear news once again of the empty tomb, and to remind ourselves of the greatness of this story. As those who have experienced the risen Christ, even here, even now, we too are witnesses to the transforming power of God. The question Easter asks of us is are we ready to take the stand and give testimony to that good news. May we find the words that speak truth to our experience of God in the world, and may our promise be sealed and affirmed in the words with which we greet each other this day. Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed. Amen.

~Sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, Heritage Presbyterian Church, April 21, 2019 (Easter Sunday)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[i] For additional insights, see articles such as https://www.simplypsychology.org/eyewitness-testimony.html, https://theconversation.com/new-research-reveals-how-little-we-can-trust-eyewitnesses-67663, or https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-the-eyes-have-it/. Accessed 4/16/20.

[ii] Nancy Claire Pittman, “Homiletical Perspective: Luke 24:1-12,” Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 2, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[iii] https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/04/17/after-notre-dame-fire-gofundme-ensured-black-churches-burned-louisiana-got-million-too/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.929af710b4f3

Filed Under: Church blog Tagged With: easter, emptytomb, goodnews, resurrection, sermon, story, truth, witnesss, womenatthetomb

Sunday’s Sermon – God Still Laughs – Genesis 18:1-15, Psalm 126 Holy Humor Sunday

April 8, 2018 Leave a Comment

There are a lot of words we use to describe God: Creator, Omnipotent (All-Powerful), Lord, Loving, Present, All-Knowing (Omnipresent), All-Seeing (Omniscient), Ruler, Amazing, Victorious, Wonderful, and the list goes on. Many of them come from our understanding of God revealed in the stories of Scripture, and of course our own experiences of the divine. And yet, with an immense vocabulary and wealth of resources, there is one word I think we don’t often include in our list of acclamations for who God is: funny. If such an adjective strikes you as odd, you’re probably asking “does God have a sense of humor?” If so, what does that even mean? Our image of God tends to be more serious, more stoic, more dignified that a God who rolls around giggling. And yet, over and over again, scripture tells us about a God who sends God’s people out with shouts of joy and jubilation. To be filled with such joy must mean that there is also a brightness and lightheartedness to God. And given the immense playfulness of the works of God’s hand, I would argue God has got a funny bone or two. Take a look at creation. From the aardvark to a colorful array of flowers, God has a creative touch that crosses over into whimsy or even ridiculousness. Given God’s interaction with people throughout the biblical narrative, I would also argue that God has to have a good sense of humor in order to put up with the ridiculousness that humankind has created.

Our text from Genesis is a perfect example. Following a beautiful display of hospitality, three strange visitors in the night announce that Sarah, well beyond child-bearing years, will have a son. It is a laughable proposition, impossible you might even say. The only thing to do when hearing such an outlandish assertion is to laugh, which, of course, is what Sarah does. God enters the scene to confirm this news from the messengers, and calls attention to this response. After all, is anything too wonderful for God? God reminds Abraham and Sarah that with God, even the impossible is possible. Sarah resists a bit more, denying her laughter in fear. But God has heard it and won’t let it slide. “Oh yes, you did laugh.” I don’t think God was so much reprimanding her for laughter, but rather recognizing that sometimes the mysterious works of God are so beyond our comprehension that we have nothing left to do but laugh. And with that, in the holy presence of accompaniment, I imagine that God laughs with us. Perhaps it’s more of a knowing chuckle, a pat on the head, an “oh, if you only knew what I know” kind of laughter, but it reflects the gentleness with which God holds us that can guide us into a future where dreams indeed can become reality.

Laughter has the power to move our lives forward even in the midst of difficult times. In the story of Sarah, it is laughter that paves the way . . . to a son she names Isaac, which means “he laughs.” I wonder if the same can be said about the Easter story. Last week, we explored the curious and abrupt original ending of Mark’s gospel, which leaves us hanging in verse 8 as the women leave the tomb, not telling anyone anything because they are afraid. I wonder what broke their silence? What helped them overcome their fear?

Could it have been something like laughter? Comedian Stephen Colbert is quite open about his Catholic faith and the role it plays in his life, and in an interview in 2015, he connects the role of joy and laughter to our lives of faith in a compelling way. Take a look:

[VIDEO CLIP:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3XE6EK7MV8

Salt and Light TV’s full interview with Stephen Colbert can be seen at www.saltandlighttv.org/witness/colbert Premieres Sunday, September 13, 2015 at 8pm ET #ColbertWitness]

Laughter, then, is a holy act that connects us to one another and to God. Have you ever stood with family and friends, mourning the loss of a loved one? My experience is that, almost without fail, stories will start to be shared that erupt into laughter, which breaks through the tension of grief and opens the way to remembrance. Just a few years ago, I remember going through my grandfather’s house with my family, particularly a box of things he had saved as mementos from my life. There were pictures, of course, birthday cards and school projects I had sent him, and then, tucked into the corner next to my wedding program was a little organza bag that held our wedding favors from a candy bar for our guests, which may have been my grandfather’s favorite part of our wedding. As I pulled it out, smiling that he’d kept the little bag, I quickly did a double-take, noting that it was still filled with candy, and took it to show the rest of my family. Suddenly, in the midst of grief, laughter erupted mingled with tears that we are once both sad and joyful.

It had to have been the joy of the good news of the resurrection, that spilled out and gave the women and disciples the courage to speak the unfathomable truth that the one who was crucified now lived, even as they struggled with their own intense grief. Such moments reminded them that they were not alone, and the appearances of the risen Christ recorded in other gospels provide additional help to move their story, our story, forward. This Sunday is marked with Holy Humor because we need to remember that on Easter morning, God was laughing. Laughing at those who thought death could contain Jesus Christ. Laughing at sin and evil in the world’s attempts to control it. On Easter morning, God declares that God will always have the last laugh. The greatest reversal ever – resurrection – has been accomplished. It’s worth some laughter, because it borders on the ridiculous and absurd. And yet, at the same time, it’s true. It is the bedrock of our faith, the hope to which we cling.

We, like the women at the tomb, like the disciples, like Thomas, whose story in John’s gospel is typically read on this Sunday after Easter, are caught between the tension of a story that is unbelievable and yet the one in which we ground our belief. It is good and right that we should laugh at the very idea of it. Not because we think it’s stupid, but because our laughter is the only way we can overcome our fear of what if it is true after all. Just like Sarah, laughter allows us to breathe into the possibility for just a moment and experience the raw joy it presents. And in our laughter, God shows up, with that chuckle and nod that reminds us that with God, all things are possible. And we laugh again, because it all seems too good to be true. The news of resurrection – the promise of eternal life and unmerited grace – it overwhelms us with joy and laughter, a deep, resounding laughter that ripples throughout our whole body. That joy is what leads us to praise and rejoicing, to worship, to a deeper love of God who created us and spun this whole crazy world into being.

So this morning, we laugh, a little or a lot, in hopes of catching on to some of that divine joy that fills the empty tomb. And to remind ourselves, even when things get difficult or seem impossible, that God is with us, and God is still laughing at the face of that which would otherwise bind us. What good news of great joy, indeed! Amen.

 ~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
April 8, 2018

What is “Holy Humor Sunday”? On this day we celebrate the unbridled joy of the good news of Christ’s resurrection! It is “Holy Humor” Sunday, a tradition extending to some of the earliest Christian theologians who noted that God played a practical joke on the devil by raising Jesus from the dead. Easter was “God’s supreme joke played on death.” So the Sunday after Easter became a “bright Sunday” filled with joy and laughter as people played jokes on each other, sang, danced, told jokes and had fun. Our service this week features a lighthearted feel with a sprinkling of jokes, all geared to help us experience joy more fully as we worship God together!

Filed Under: Church blog Tagged With: easter, funny, holy humor, joy, laughter, resurrection, sermon

Sunday’s Sermon – The Open-Ended Tomb – Mark 16:1-8

April 1, 2018 Leave a Comment

You may be wondering, where is the rest of the story? If you were following along in the Bible, you might note that there are 12 more verses to go in Mark’s gospel; rich and wonderful stories about Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene, then two other disciples, and finally the 11 disciples as a group before returning to heaven. These are the stories we read in Matthew, Luke, and John, who add in additional proof-of-resurrection stories, like Jesus inviting Thomas to place his hands in the wounds, or even eating fish grilled over an open fire.  This is the ending of the Easter story we have come to expect, the risen Christ walking around, making appearances to those who loved him. It is from here that we can say we, too, have seen the risen Christ, and sing our Alleluias at the good news. But Mark’s gospel gives us a different ending to consider. The verses that are believed to be the original ending of the earliest gospel account, concluding with verse 8, reveal the perplexing discovery of the empty tomb and indication that Jesus “has been raised,” but the story ends in fear and wonder and silence. In Mark’s gospel, we don’t so much get a dramatic conclusion, but an open-ended tomb that leaves us in a cliffhanger.

Such an ending should put us on the edge of our seats. It brings an element of anticipation for what might happen next. It is what prompts us to let the next episode start playing if we’re watching a captivating series of our favorite show on Netflix. Of course we are going to continue watching – we want to find out what happens next. Some of the best series writing, whether it’s novels or television or a movie franchise, leave the ending open-ended. The Merriam Webster Dictionary gives us a good definition for what this means, defining “open-ended” as:

not rigorously fixed: such as adaptable to the developing needs of a situation, or permitting or designed to permit spontaneous and unguided responses[i].

Perhaps this is what Mark was trying to do – to evoke a response, for readers to join with the women at the tomb and experience the overwhelming emotions of what such a jarring revelation might mean for their lives. Some commentators argue that Mark leaves us in a moment of suspense on purpose, challenging us to consider how we might complete the story ourselves. That is, of course, our tendency when things are left without conclusion.

One of my favorite shows is The Big Bang Theory which airs on CBS. One of the main characters, Sheldon, has ongoing issues with things having the proper closure. In one episode, his girlfriend Amy tries to help him overcome it. Take a look:

[clips from “The Closure Alternative,” Big Bang Theory, Season 6, Episode 21, originally aired April 25, 2013.]

He just can’t help it. And neither can we. Want to drive a musician crazy? Put an unresolved chord at the end of a song. [Denise to play song]. Our text for today is abrupt and startling, not smooth and comforting. It may even be frustrating, driving us to avoid the awkwardness and challenge it presents by adding to it. That’s what later authorities copying Mark’s manuscript did, even, picking up after verse 8 to “fill in the gaps” and end everything neatly. In literary terms, it is called denouement, from the French root which means “to untie.” It’s the final conclusion of a story, when all the plot pieces find resolution. A classic example? Fairy tales that end “and they all lived happily ever after.” Or fables that drive home the point, “and the moral of the story is.” We even do it informally in conversation, “to make a long story short.” We like things to be neat and tidy, complete and resolved. This is true about our lives, and especially true about our faith.

In fact, I think that’s why so many of us struggle with belief and faith in general – it simply leaves too much unresolved; too many questions; too many openings and different ways of understanding, none of which ever seem to fully satisfy our need to know. Like children, our faith can prompt us to exist in an ongoing cycle of “yes, but why?” with each new revelation. In Mark’s gospel, this seems to be part of the design. His version of Easter morning doesn’t come so much with a “the end,” but rather a “to be continued.” On one hand, this is incredible news. It is the point of the gospel and gives meaning to the devastation we experience in the drama of Holy Week. The story lacks its meaning if the ending is simply, “and then Jesus died.” The power of Easter morning lies in our ability to proclaim that death is never the final answer. That darkness never wins, for joy indeed comes in the morning. God did not let the violence and hatred and sin of the world have the final say[ii].

But in the gospel of Mark, the resurrection isn’t the last word either. That means there is still more to come.  The open-ended nature of the tomb is that there is still more God is doing and will do in the world. Easter morning is about God’s future breaking into our reality. This is a future that breaks apart every understanding we have of how things are supposed to end. You know the saying “few things in life are certain: death and taxes.” Christ’s resurrection takes death off the table. This should be unnerving. It should be a little bit scary. It’s what professor Rolf Jacobson calls a, existential “holy crap” kind of moment, when we realize we might have to re-evaluate everything we know in order to wrap our minds around the meaning of life once again[iii].

It’s exhilarating to say “the story isn’t over.” But then that means, “oh, the story isn’t over.” Perhaps this is why the women were so scared at the tomb. If the story isn’t over with Jesus’ death, then all of those challenging instructions he gave to them about living in God’s kingdom here and now were still true. They are not “off the hook” from the demanding call of discipleship. In fact, the empty tomb thrusts them into an even more challenging way of being in the world: sharing news that seems impossible and too good to be true to a world consumed with death and easy conclusions. The resurrection gives them a new reality, not just hypothetical, but real and gritty.

Maybe that’s exactly what the gospel writer in Mark intends. For the resurrection to usher us into a new way of being. The mysterious young man at the tomb prompts this journey, telling the women to return to Galilee and find Christ there. In Galilee, they will be drawn again into this incredible story, and maybe this time have a sense of what it means. Jesus has gone ahead of them. God’s work is continuing, with or without them. The ending of Mark’s gospel is so jarring, so moving, that it compels us to dive back into the story itself and see what we might have missed the first time we heard it. Because suddenly, we hear the story of this man named Jesus walking around the hillsides and teaching and healing people in a new light – because we know that this truly is the son of God. The open tomb brings an open-ended invitation to be a part of what is happening next. The story of God raising Jesus from the dead is amazing. But it’s not the end. It’s only the beginning. It’s a cliffhanger. If God can overcome even death, there is endless possibility for what God can and will do next.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
April 1, 2018

—————————————————————————————–
[i] “open-ended,” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/open-ended, accessed 3/28/18.
[ii] Diana Butler Bass frames an understanding of the crucifixion in this way, “God did not send the “gift” of a dead child for salvation. God gave the gift of a child to the world to embody the way of shalom and to upend the empire of death. The Empire killed that child. But God wouldn’t let that execution be the last word. That’s the Easter story” Twitter Post 3/27/18, 7:58 pm, https://twitter.com/dianabutlerbass/status/978783309357559808, accessed 3/29/18.
[iii] Sermon Brainwave #412 Working Preacher, originally posted April 5, 2015, http://www.workingpreacher.org/brainwave.aspx?podcast_id=1003, accessed 3/28/2018.

Filed Under: Church blog, Uncategorized Tagged With: christisrisen, discipleship, easter, jesus, mark, open-ended, resurrection, sermon

Easter Sunday Sermon – Is Your Tomb Half-Empty or Half-Full? John 20:1-18

April 16, 2017 Leave a Comment

 

On this Easter morning, is your tomb half-empty, or half-full? If your tomb is half-full, your spirits are likely lifted on this holy day. You join in the hymns with gusto, dressed in your Easter finest. As you hear the story from John, you might feel like Peter and the unnamed disciple after racing to the tomb. You discover the empty tomb, see the linen lying there, and believe. And things are pretty good. Christ is raised from the dead. Alleluia! This is the story you came to hear. It is expected, and comfortable.

I am struck by the almost casual way the disciples responded to the empty tomb. Verse 10 tells us that after this discovery, the “disciples returned to their homes.”  Just a few verses earlier, they are racing to the tomb after hearing from Mary Magdalene that it is empty, perhaps robbed. We are even given the details about the footrace, as the unnamed disciple out steps the prominent disciple Peter. While John is clear that they see and believe, immediately following the announcement he abandons these characters, sending them home without any sense of continuing action or impact of this startling news. It is a positive experience, to be sure, but it doesn’t seem to alter a whole lot for them. They are optimistic and joyful, but perhaps their tombs are only half-full.

I wonder if the same can be true of us sometimes, even today. If we aren’t careful, we are likely to only half-way hear these powerful words from Scripture, with a story that is all too familiar. We sit through the expected one hour service, and then return home to a delicious Easter lunch or dinner, feeling upbeat without having been changed too much. It’s what many, if not most, Christians experience in their lives of faith. Kenda Creasy Dean, professor at Princeton Seminary, published an insightful book that labels this approach to faith with a label coined by the founder of Methodism, John Wesley: Almost Christian. The book is commentary on a study of the faith practices of over 3,000 teenagers about ten years ago, but Dean suggests the implications are just as true for the church as a whole. Dean notes that the teenagers were at once both very positive about Christianity, and at the same time apathetic about genuine religious practice. She cites the findings of the researchers in the study, Christian Smith and Melinda Denton, who call this new form of faith “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism,” which can be summarized in 5 claims:

  1. A god exists who created and orders the world and watches over life on earth.
  2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions
  3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
  4. God is not involved in my life except when I need God to resolve a problem.
  5. Good people go to heaven when they die[i].

It is certainly positive, and exemplifies some of the core values we have as Christians, the very values that Christ taught. But there is something missing. Such a faith doesn’t spark much interest, or seem to prompt us to delve deeper or even have a relationship with the divine. She suggests that perhaps it is this approach to faith that is the reason many teens, and adults, choose not to attend church after some time. It keeps us at surface level, and can quickly water down the power of the gospel message. It can prompt “Christians” to become cheerleaders without actually knowing anything about the game. On Easter morning, it can mean that we just go through the motions without really thinking about the implications of the story for our lives. Our tombs are half-full.

But maybe this isn’t you this morning. You hear the Gospel story and immediately become engaged. You see it as one of the most compelling stories ever told. It isn’t long, though, before you begin to raise some critical questions: Did Jesus literally, physically, rise from the dead, or was the grave robbed? Maybe the idea of a conspiracy theory isn’t that far off, and you find yourself a bit skeptical of it all. Or, perhaps your questions reside within the meaning of this narrative. Did he really have to die in the first place? Couldn’t God, all-powerful God, save us without all of this bloodshed? What does this story actually mean for me today? Your tomb is half-empty as you raise an eyebrow to the fact that our entire faith hinges on a story that can be hard to believe factually or understand symbolically.

Walter Bruggeman speaks of this in his prayer titled “We are Baffled,” which begins like this:

Christ is Risen

He is risen indeed!

We are baffled by the very Easter claim we voice.

Your new life fits none of our categories.

We wonder and stew and argue,

and add clarifying adjectives like “spiritual” and “physical.”

But we remain baffled, seeking clarity and explanation,

we who are prosperous, and full and safe and tenured.

We are baffled and want explanations[ii]..

As people of faith, we don’t check our intellect at the door. We believe that God gave us minds and reason with the intent that we use them. And yet, this story doesn’t fit our paradigm. The Easter story makes us think, and often presents us with gaps that we can’t quite connect.

In some ways, this is the dilemma of Mary Magdalene in our text. Her assessment that the body had been stolen begins the narrative, and seems just as likely, or perhaps more likely, of an explanation for the empty tomb. Something valuable has been taken from her. I imagine she is not only sad, but also is a bit angry – outraged that someone would steal Jesus’ body. Her weeping is equally understandable – she has lost her teacher and friend. It is in this upset and confusion that she brushes off the questions of one she presumes to be a gardener. Her faith is shot, outweighed by the seemingly insurmountable evidence in front of her as she is overcome with grief, stricken by the painful reality that comes with hope lost. Mary Magdelene’s tomb is half-empty, with questions and lament echoing off the walls.

Brueggemann continues in his prayer, noting the many like Mary Magdalene who struggle with the shock of this news because they are so surrounded by struggle in their own lives. He writes:

But there are those not baffled, but stunned by the news,

Stunned while at minimum wage jobs;

Stunned while the body wastes in cancer

Stunned while the fabric of life rots away in fatigue and despair;

Stunned while unprosperous and unfull

And unsafe and untenured[iii].

Perhaps life and all of its challenges has taken a toll on you, body and spirit. You have come this day, hoping to hear the good news, hoping to be filled and transformed, but struggle to share in the joyful Alleluias because things are just so hard for you right now. You are held by grief in its many forms, and see through your tears that the tomb is half-empty.

Is your tomb half-empty or half-full? C.S. Lewis said:

Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important[iv].

Eater reminds us that we can’t do faith halfway – whether our perspective is half-full or half-empty. Because the tomb that Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the disciple whom Jesus loved, isn’t half-way anything. It’s fully empty.

This is the good news of Easter. That God loves us so much, God doesn’t stop halfway. God doesn’t just make promises of new life and covenant and then halfway do them. In fact, God doesn’t do the bare minimum for anything. No, instead God sends Jesus into the world to show us what full living and complete love is all about: baskets that overflow with leftover fish and bread on a hillside after everyone has eaten from a boy’s small shared lunch, water that turns into the highest quality wine at the end of a wedding reception, countless men and women not made to simply feel better, but healed completely, a lame man walking, a blind man who sees. The stories of fullness are throughout our scriptures, leading to the ultimate story we read this morning – an empty tomb that is full of good news.

 

There is good news for those of us who see the tomb as half-full. We know that simply seeing God as a god who does nice things leaves us wanting more, especially during those challenging times we experience. We long for a God who fills our tombs to overflowing – who calls us into something more than being “Almost Christian.” And the good news is, we have such a God. Kenda Creasy Dean reminds us that:

The God portrayed in both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures asks, not just for commitment, but for our very lives. The God of the Bible traffics in life and death, not niceness, and calls for a sacrificial love, not benign whatever-ism[v].

Through the resurrection, God challenges us to not settle for a half-full faith that keeps us comfortable, but rather to seek something that is all-encompassing instead and live fuller lives that are fully transformed by God’s grace.

There is also good news for those who see the tomb half-empty. We don’t have to abandon our doubts and questions altogether, but try to find the intersection of what we hold to be true and what leaves us baffled. Our Easter work is to claim those questions as what propel us forward into a better understanding of the God we worship. Theologian Martin Copenhaver says:

In the resurrection God gave us such a miracle of love and forgiveness that it is worthy of faith, and thus open to doubt. The very doubts we may hold attest to the scale and power of what we proclaim. So the place to begin in the life of faith is not necessarily with those things we never doubt. Realities about which we hold no doubt may not be large enough to reveal God to us. So we say without apology or hesitation: what we proclaim at Easter is too mighty to be encompassed by certainty, too wonderful to be found only within the borders of our imagination[vi].

God takes our questions and doubts that are a very real part of our faith, and then fills in our half-empty tombs with the mystery of faith.

And, if our tombs are half-empty because of the weight of the world. Rest assured, God will meet us there at the tomb, just as the risen Lord met Mary, listen to our burdens, and respond with eternal promises. In the midst of our grief, God’s Spirit intercedes with sighs that are too deep for words (Romans 8:26), and fills our tombs with the presence of the Lord. The good news of the resurrection is, as Paul writes to the Romans, that nothing, nothing can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39). No grief, no hurt, no anger, no mistakes, no hardship, no persecution, nothing that has happened or will happen. In his resurrection, Christ got rid of every boundary that had the potential to separate us from our Creator, even and especially the boundary of death. This is the promise of eternal life and eternal love. This is the good news of Easter.

Today we celebrate the fullness of God’s presence in this world and beyond. We do this by singing joyfully, shouting “Alleluia,” and coming around the table for communion, proclaiming the saving death of our risen Lord as we sing, “Christ has died. Christ is Risen, Christ will come again,” and we trust that with God’s help, our faith will be deepened, and our spirits renewed to live into our belief. We hear those words of invitation from a God who invites us to come, half-empty, half-full, or somewhere in between, and celebrate the feast which he has prepared. We come, not because our faith is sufficient or because we have this Easter thing completely figured out, but because we long to be filled by the one who gives us new life. We come because we have seen, and because we want to see more, to be a part of what God is doing in the world. We come because we are no longer satisfied with our halfway ways of life, and want something more.

On this Easter morning, we rejoice that we worship a God who meets us halfway, empty or full, and then takes us from our halfway states into deeper and more meaningful relationships with God and with each other; a God who leads us into a life of fullness. This is the God we seek at the empty tomb, and indeed this is the God we find. Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen, indeed. Amen.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford

Easter 2017

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[i] Kenda Creasy Dean, Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church, (Oxford: University Press, 2010).

[ii] Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth, Prayers of Walter Brueggemann, Edited by Edwin Searcy, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003), 162.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] As quoted by Kenda Creasy Dean in Almost Christian.

[v] Dean.

[vi] Martin B. Copenhaver “Pastoral Perspective: John 20:1-18” Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, Volume 2, eds. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010).

Filed Under: Church blog Tagged With: easter, emptytomb, heisrisen, sermon

Food Pantry

Food distribution is scheduled the 1st Saturday of the month at 10:00 am and the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 12:30 pm.

The next Drive-Up Food Pantry is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21 at 12:30 pm.  Accurate pre-registration is strongly encouraged to ensure volunteers pack accordingly.
Please sign- up here!

For other pantry locations, go here
or text “FINDFOOD” 
to 888-976-2232

Church News

Volunteers are needed to help pack family boxes Monday, May 19th at 10 am in the Fellowship Hall. We welcome all volunteers.  

Food Pantry distribution volunteer opportunity Wednesday, May 21 registration here!


Worship Live Streaming and archives can be found by clicking the appropriate link under the worship tab.


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Upcoming Events

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Praise Kids Music on the 3rd Sunday of the month.

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Youth Group – the first and third Sunday of the month from 5-7 pm during the school year.

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