The Church of St.
Paul & Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
April 21, 2019
Easter Day
The Baptism of Jack
Boone Nwachukwu
Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians
15:19-26
John 20:1-18
Light
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Our Easter began
last night as we came into this sacred place from the world outside, a world
that is so often overshadowed by sin and suffering.
Easter began last
night as we came into our half-lighted and shadowy church, coming here with all
of our baggage and coming also with all of our hope and expectation.
And then the
Paschal Candle was lit – and the light of Christ once again filled this old
building – shining so bright - brighter even than the golden cross hanging
above the ruins of Notre-Dame – shining so bright, driving away the shadows of
fear and despair.
Finally, at last, it
was Easter!
Alleluia! Christ
is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
And
you know, thinking about it, in some ways, our Easter began not unlike the
first Easter.
In
the dark of early morning, Mary Magdalene arrived at the tomb. The memory of
her beloved friend and teacher’s death was still so fresh, still so shocking,
still so heartbreaking.
There
were deep shadows in her heart – the deep shadows of sorrow and grief, the deep
shadows of fear and loneliness.
It
was dark that first Easter morning.
There
were shadows all around – all around the garden and within Mary Magdalene’s
broken heart.
We
can imagine the piercing shock that Mary felt when, after everything that she and
the other friends of Jesus had been through - after everything - she
discovers that the stone had been removed from the tomb.
Such
horror.
How
can it be that things are still getting worse?
Mary
ran to tell the disciples and, in turn, Peter and the Beloved Disciple raced
each other back to the tomb – where they discovered the disturbing and
mysterious scene – and then they returned home.
Let’s be honest: throughout
this whole story, the men were not much use at all.
But,
for some reason (hope? fear? exhaustion?) Mary, with her overshadowed heart,
remains right there, in the shadows of the garden.
And,
suddenly a man appears and at first Mary doesn’t recognize him – maybe because
of the shadows of the garden or maybe because of the shadows of her heart – or
maybe because after all the terrible things that have happened she just doesn’t
expect there to be any good news at all, let alone the best news ever.
But
then she hears his voice – she hears Jesus call her by name.
And
then, she knows.
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
And,
while I’m sure she wanted nothing more than just to stay right there in the
garden with the Risen Jesus, just gazing at him and marveling at all that had
happened, she follows Jesus’ instructions and goes to the disciples who were
still hiding in the shadows of fear and grief – she goes to the disciples,
bringing them the Light of Christ, saying:
“I
have seen the Lord.”
Alleluia!
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
And
for all of these many centuries, in good times and not so good, the Light of
Christ has shone bright – and continues to shine so bright in this beautiful
place, right here and now this morning.
And,
in just in a few minutes the Light is going to shine a little bit brighter when
I have the privilege of baptizing Jack.
Ever
since he was born – or really even before that, when we eagerly anticipated his
arrival – Jack has been a blessing and a joy – and he’s also been quite
fortunate to be born to such wonderful parents – to be born into such a
beautiful family.
Jack
has already been a blessing and a joy and God loves him so much and we love him
so much.
But in a few minutes – right here in this room
– right back there at the font – when I pour some water over Jack’s head, he’s
going to become part of the Body of Christ and God is going to promise to never
let go of him, no matter what.
Near
the end of the Baptism I will hold a candle before him - which I fully expect
will capture the attention of his bright eyes – and I will say to him:
“Jack,
you are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others so that they
may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
And,
with that, together with all of us here in his community, Jack will take on the
work of every Christian.
He’ll
take on the work begun long ago by Mary Magdalene when she went to share the
Light of Christ – to share the Good News – to share the best news ever – with
the disciples.
Jack
will take on the work of a lifetime.
He’ll take on the
work of breaking bread and praying with all of us – the work of asking
forgiveness when he messes up – the work of sharing the Good News by what he
says and by what he does - the work of loving his neighbors as much as he loves
himself – the work of striving for justice and peace for all people, especially
the poorest and most vulnerable.
In just a few
moments, I’m pretty sure without even realizing it (though you never know),
Jack will begin his Christian life – and he will remind us of who we are,
whose we are, and what we are supposed to be about.
And, I know that,
together, we will continue to shine the light of Christ into a world that is
still so very shadowy, a world so desperately in need of light.
Together, we will
shine the Light of Christ so bright that at least some of the people in our
broken and sad world will shout for joy:
Alleluia! Christ
is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Amen.
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