St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
April 16, 2017
Easter Day
Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Colossians 3:1-4
John 20:1-18
Turning Toward the Risen Christ
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
You
know, throughout history, God has been a God of unexpected turns – from
choosing the small and not very powerful Israel to be God’s people – to
deciding to come among us in and through Jesus of Nazareth, born to a couple of
nobodies in an out of the way place, a king who washed the feet of his
followers and suffered a shameful and torturous death on a cross.
Yes,
throughout history, God has been full of unexpected turns, but no turn is more
unexpected and earth-shattering than what we celebrate today.
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Although
the disciples had seen God perform many amazing acts, had seen God make many
unexpected turns in and through Jesus, they all thought the cross and the tomb
was the end of the story – that, as much as they had loved Jesus and as closely
as they had followed him, as much as they had hoped – in the end, Jesus had
turned out to be just another charismatic leader struck down and crushed by the
powers of the world.
And,
yet.
And,
yet we’re told while it was still dark Mary Magdalene returned to the tomb –
the tomb that had been sealed by the heavy stone.
John
doesn’t tell us why Mary Magdalene was there
But,
I imagine that, in the midst of her shock and inconsolable grief at the loss of
her Lord, she didn’t really know what to do with herself, so she returned to
this place of death.
And,
maybe, somewhere deep in her heart, she was hoping against hope that after so
much tragedy, God would somehow make one last unexpected turn.
At
first, she finds the empty tomb. Can it be that this horrible story has only
grown worse?
And
then, after Peter and the other disciple (who were no help at all, by the way)
went back home, there are two angels, and then, finally, without understanding
what’s going on, Mary turns away from this place of death, and turns toward
life, turns toward the Risen Christ!
“Mary!”
“Rabbouni!”
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Throughout
history, God has been full of unexpected turns, but no turn is more unexpected
and earth-shattering than what we celebrate today.
On
that first Easter morning, love defeats hate and life conquers death, once and
for all.
And,
yet.
And,
yet, we see war and rumors of war flaring up in too many parts of the world,
terrifying weapons being deployed and innocent life taken without a thought.
And,
yet, we see a rise in hate and hate crimes right here in our own country.
And,
yet, once again on Good Friday, we made our way through the streets of Jersey
City, visiting and praying at so many places of violence and death, carrying
shirts bearing the names of the 25 brothers and sisters murdered last year here
in our city.
Though
the war is won, hate and death continue to battle on.
So,
you and I, as followers of the Risen Christ, we’re called to turn away from the
places of death in our hearts, to turn away from our hatreds and grievances and
fears, to turn away from scapegoating certain people as the source of all our
problems, to turn away from holding on for dear life to the little we think we
have.
Yes,
we’re called to be like Mary Magdalene, called to turn away from the places of
death and turn toward the Risen Christ.
And,
we turn to the Risen Christ by doing our best to keep the baptismal promises
that are about to be made on Luca’s behalf, the baptismal promises that we are
about to renew.
With
God’s help, we turn away from the places of death and turn toward the Risen
Christ each time we pray and break bread together, each time we resist evil, each
time we ask forgiveness for our sins, each time we proclaim the Good News, each
we seek and serve Christ in absolutely everybody, especially those we don’t like one bit, and each time we strive for
justice and peace among us all.
Those
are some big promises and we’re sure to fall short, but with the help of the
God of unexpected turns, with the help of the God who raised Jesus from the
dead, we really can be more faithful, more generous, and more loving than even
we ever thought possible.
Maybe
now more than ever, we are called to be like Mary Magdalene, called to turn
away from the places of death and turn toward the Risen Christ.
It
won’t be easy, but there’s really nothing to fear, because…
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Amen!
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