St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
April 5, 2015
Easter Day
Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
John 20:1-18
Unexpected Jesus
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Happy
Easter!
We
had a very rich and powerful Holy Week, the days leading up to this great
festival of love and new life.
On
Thursday evening we reenacted the footwashing, when Jesus showed his disciples
– shows us – what love looks like.
On
Friday we carried the cross of Christ into places of violence and despair in
our community – sharing the love of Christ and making holy plots of earth
stained by bloodshed.
And
then last night we began in darkness until the light of the Risen Christ was
brought into our shadowy church, until the love of the Risen Christ was brought
into our often shadowy world.
We
baptized two beautiful baby girls, Lena and Michelle.
And
then, finally, the lights came on and we cried out with great joy:
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen today! Alleluia!
And
now this morning we are here – and thanks to a lot of hard work – including a
quick clean-up of a quite a lot of candle wax last night - this old church has
never looked more beautiful or smelled more fragrant.
Gail
and our choir and our guest musicians have been making so much gorgeous music –
and there’s lots more to come.
There
are so many great Easter hymns – and we’re going to get to sing them today in
the next few Sundays of Easter.
But,
oddly enough, as I’ve been reflecting on today’s gospel lesson the hymn that’s
been stuck in my head isn’t an Easter hymn at all.
It’s
an Advent hymn that I bet many of you know:
“Come
Thou Long-expected Jesus.”
Today’s
gospel passage is one of the most poignant and moving in all of Scripture. Even
though I’ve read it – and now have read it aloud - many times, it still chokes
me up every time and often I have to hold back tears.
We’re
told that Mary Magdalene discovered that Jesus’ tomb had been opened.
Imagine
the horror of that for a second.
She
ran and got Peter and the Beloved Disciple who race to the tomb, look inside –
don’t know what to make of it all – and go back home.
But
Magdalene stays at the tomb, weeping.
Those
tears. It was all so terribly sad – everything that had happened to Jesus and
now the final indignity of a robbed grave.
But
then angels appear.
And
then someone else appears and asks Mary, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are
you looking for?”
We know it’s Jesus but we’re told that
Mary thinks it’s the… gardener.
Over
the centuries lots of people have speculated about why Mary is not able to
recognize Jesus, why she was unable to recognize the Risen Christ.
Some
say, she couldn’t see through her tears.
Others
say, the sun was in her eyes.
In
at least one painting, Jesus is pictured wearing a hat, which conceals his
identity.
But,
I think the most likely explanation – the truest explanation - is that Mary
simply didn’t expect to see Jesus. In fact, encountering a walking,
talking, somehow miraculously living Jesus was the last thing – the last person
– she expected to meet in that place of despair and death.
Unexpected
Jesus.
But
then, Jesus calls her by name, “Mary!”
And
Mary finally recognizes unexpected Jesus, “Rabbouni!”
“Teacher!”
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The
Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Now,
I’m hoping that we’re here today because we’re expecting Jesus to be here. And
I hope that we can feel the presence of Jesus in one another, in the beauty of
this place, in our beautiful Easter music, and most especially in the Body and
Blood of Christ, which we’ll receive in just a few minutes.
But,
speaking for myself – and, if you don’t mind, I’m going to speak for you, too –
most of the time, like Mary Magdalene I don’t expect to meet Jesus out there in
the world.
Unexpected
Jesus.
And,
yet, when we pay attention we do discover unexpected Jesus, especially in
places in places of despair and death.
So
often I’ve been at the bedside of someone gravely ill surrounded by suffering
family members and friends – places of despair and death, for sure – and yet,
somehow, unexpectedly, Jesus shows up, pouring out grace and strength during
these times of trial and sorrow.
Sometimes,
it’s only later that I recognize him.
I’m
sure many of you know what I’m talking about.
Unexpected
Jesus.
And
then on this past Friday, on Good Friday, when we marched through streets
littered with broken glass and ugly graffiti, when we paused at places where a
“beloved child of God” had been shot or where a “beloved child of God” had been
killed and hammered a nail into a large wooden cross to remember their
suffering, when we visited street corners that are quite literally places of
despair and death, well, I should have expected it, but sure enough Jesus
showed up there, too.
Unexpected
Jesus.
It
was beautiful to look at the diverse crowd from all different branches of the
Christian family who made the walk – it was moving to see some of our own
parishioners carry that wooden cross through our streets – it was piercing to
see and hear people hammer another nail into the cross – and it was
extraordinary to see the reactions of bystanders and neighbors, including a woman
looking down from her apartment window, sobbing.
Once
again, unexpected Jesus appears in a place of despair and death.
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The
Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
My
prayer is that during Easter and beyond, even through our tears, even when
we’re blinded by the glare of life, even when – especially when - we’re in places of despair and death, we’ll
expect to find Jesus right there – right here – loving us, and calling each one
of us by name.
Because
here’s the Good News of Easter – here’s the best news ever: unexpected Jesus –
long unexpected Jesus - is here.
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Amen.
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