First Lutheran Church of the Trinity, Chicago, April 20, 2014
Gospel: Matthew 28:1-10
The Holy Gospel, according to Saint Matthew, the 28th Chapter.
(Glory to you, O Lord.)
After
the sabbath,
as
the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary
went
to see the tomb.
And
suddenly there was a great
earthquake;
for
an angel of the Lord,
descending
from heaven,
came
and rolled back the stone
and
sat on it.
His
appearance was like lightning,
and
his clothing white as snow.
For
fear of him the guards shook and became like dead
men.
But
the angel said to the women,
“Do
not be afraid;
I
know that you are looking for Jesus
who
was crucified.
He
is not here;
for
he has been raised, as he said.
Come,
see the place where he lay.
Then
go quickly and tell his disciples,
‘He
has been raised from the dead,
and
indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee;
there
you will see
him.’
This
is my message for you.”
So
they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy,
and
ran to tell his disciples.
Suddenly
Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!”
And
they came to him, took hold of his feet,
and
worshiped him.
Then
Jesus said to them,
“Do
not be afraid;
go
and tell my brothers to go to Galilee;
there
they will see
me.”
This is the
Gospel of Our Lord. (Praise to you, O Christ!)
Christ
Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!) x
3 or 4
Please be seated.
(pause).
We've
spent the season of Lent doing what we do during Lent:
Looking
for and acknowledging the crosses that litter this world with
suffering and oppression, looking within ourselves for those things
in us that keep us from showing forth God's love and compassion and liberation in the world;
Attempting to look at our neighbors in need or without homes;
not simply
avoiding eye contact for avoiding-discomfort's-sake,
but
offering greetings, or perhaps help,
acknowledging
our common humanity, and perhaps,
even,
our common divinity.
(pause)
We've
spent Lent burying our Alleluias,
locking them into trunks,
crying
out in anger
or
longing
or
despair,
or
with sighs too deep for words...
asking, honestly:
"How
can we sing a resurrection song,
when all we see are crosses being
planted,
graves
being dug,
loved
ones being crucified
and
dehumanized
and
criminalized
all
around us?
How can we sing Alleluia when we see so many tombs?
How can we sing of
joy, when our children walk the streets in fear,
or
“at risk” ?
How
can we sing Alleluia when all we see are tombs?
(pause).
Christ
Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!) x
3
After
the sabbath,
as
the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary
Magdalene
and
the other Mary
went
to see the tomb.
“Do
not be afraid.”
He's
gone
on
ahead
of you.
(pause)
We've
spent the season of Lent doing what we do during Lent:
“Forgive
my sins” we've pleaded.
Forgive
our sins!
O God! I have most grievously sinned.
Have
mercy, we've shouted!
We've
sinned against you and others.
Just
as others have sinned against us.
(pause)
Dear
God, please forgive them too.
(Love your enemies, Jesus reminded us early in Lent. Bless those who persecute you.)
(pause)
But
more than that, God,
remind
us.
Remind
us.
That
Jesus didn't come to make bad people good.
Jesus
didn't come to make profane things holy.
Jesus
didn't come to make incorrect people
finally “get with it.”
Jesus
didn't come to make the heretics orthodox.
Or to turn Jews or Muslims or Buddhists into Christians.
Jesus
didn't come to tell us the true meaning of the Sacraments.
Or to send those we don't really like to Hell.
(pause)
No.
Says Easter.
Jesus
came to bring all of us,
and all of Creation,
bloodied,
beaten, dying,
crucified...
Op-pressed,
re-pressed...
Jesus
came to bring all of us
back
to life.
Jesus came to Resurrect.
(pause).
Christ Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!) x 3
After
the sabbath,
as
the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary
Magdalene
and
the other Mary
went
to see the tomb.
“Do
not be afraid.”
He's gone
on
ahead
of you.
(pause)
We've spent the season of Lent doing what we do during Lent.
(pause)
But
now, today, Easter Sunday,
we're doing
something
else.
Christ Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!)
Today,
we look death, the devil, and the grave right in the eye,
We
see the crosses,
we
see oppression,
we
see wars, and greed, and hate, and racism, and xenophobia, and homophobia, and love-o-phobia, and every
other kind of phobia and fear...
We see that which would kill or decay..
And we
look them in the eye!
Christ Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!)
We
look into the eyes of
hate
that stems from fear,
and
violence that stems from fear,
and
the hoarding and the greed
and
the
dehumanization-of-our-sisters-and-brothers-whom-God-calls-us-to-love-deeply-as-family,
that
stems from fear...
We look them in the eye,
and
with those newly baptized today,
we tell Sin, Death, and the Devil,
I renounce you!
And we
call down the angel of the lord to sit on them until they cry
“uncle!”
Christ Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!)
Today we certainly recognize the crosses and the tombs for what they are,
but we approach them,
and we cover them,
with the sign of another cross,
the cross that leads to life,
the cross that leads to Reunion, Reconciliation, and Resurrection,
We cover them with the cross that leads to Life.
And we sing, despite the world,
Christ Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!)
Christ Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!)
Christ Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!)
After
the sabbath,
as
the first day of the week was dawning,
Mary
Magdalene
and
the other Mary
went
to see the tomb.
“Do
not be afraid.”
He's
gone
on
ahead
of you.
We
look at the darkness,
(It's not that hard to see, even in the daylight)
but
today we see that the day is dawning,
that today is the first day of a new creation
When
absence overwhelms us,
We
hear
“fear
not.”
I
know you look for the one who has been crucified.
But
he is risen.
Go, and do like wise, for a world deeply in need.
Christ
Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!)
Christ Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!)
Christ Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!)
Fear
not.
He
has gone ahead of us.
And there is much, much, left for us to Resurrect.
(pause)
We see the world as it is, but we sing Alleluia!
We sing despite the world.
We sing to transform the world.
We sing to Resurrect the world.
Christ Is Risen! (He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!)
Amen.
Sing ELW #709:
When
Our Song Says Peace
(Richard Leach, b. 1953)
1 When our song says peace and the world says war,
we
will sing despite the world.
We
will trust the song, for we sing of God,
who
breaks the spear and sword
and
stills the storm of war.
2 When our song says free and the world says bound,
we
will sing despite the world.
We
will trust the song, for we sing of God,
who
opens prison doors
and
sets the captives free.
3 When our song says home and the world says lost,
we
will sing despite the world.
We
will trust the song, for we sing of God,
who
brings us home at last,
and
gives a song to all.
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