The Fourth Sunday of Easter ---- 26 April 2015

1 John 3:16-24

16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17 How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? 18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 19 And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; 22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

·    When we come this far into our celebration of Easter, the stories of the resurrection of Jesus take on a feeling of repetition. There might be a feeling that we want to hear something new, that the continued celebration of Easter is possibly too prolonged. In the world around us, Easter is over and the stores have moved on to the next holiday, which in our present case is Mother’s Day (which some people say is just an excuse to sell greeting cards.)

·    In any event, our celebration of Easter is actually longer than our observance of Lent – 50 days for Easter rather than 40 for Lent. The season of Lent does not stand alone, but serves as a preparation for the Easter season. Even the date of the beginning of Lent is based on the dating of Easter Sunday; you figure out the date of Easter Sunday and then back up 40 days.

·    It is the message of Easter, of resurrection and salvation that give life and direction to the other seasons of the Church year. Without the Easter message and promise, we have a situation of a moral philosophy coupled to a sort of hero-worship/prophet movement.

·    This message of Easter and of resurrection effects us as disciples of Jesus, the Crucified and Resurrected One. It’s not simply a “feel good” sense of self, but a call to live differently. As Lent calls us to “repent” and to “reform our lives”, Easter calls us to live in a way that shows us that the Resurrection makes a difference for us.

·    It is John’s letter that tells us in simple terms (amazingly simple considering that it’s one of John’s letters) how we are to live. John tells us of Jesus’ commandment:  And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

·    That seems rather clear and echoes the Great Commandment that the first three Gospels have Jesus giving: Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’ (Lk 10:25-29)

·    I think we all know that this is easy to hear and rather hard to do. Yet that is what we as disciples are called to and how we are to live our lives.

·    It’s interesting how the writer of this Letter of John combines believing in Jesus and loving one another. Our history, especially our Lutheran history, puts faith and outward works at odds with each other. A lot of ink has been spilled over this controversy and a lot of debate has gone on and still goes on over the “faith and works” argument.

·    This is not always clear. Sometimes we need help to see that the two poles are not always at odds. The Reformed theologian, , G.C. Berkouwer, wrote of  how John’s letter brings faith and love together: “Faith is not a competitor of love and good works but rather a sponsor, and gives foundation to them because it acknowledges the grace of God.”

·      We need not go too far from our own tradition’s way of thinking to see what is going on here. Martin Luther is quoted as saying “we are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.” He also added this idea: “If we only teach works, we shall lose the faith. If we only teach faith, people will come to think that works are superfluous.”

·      These are powerful ideas. Faith leads to the doing of what is needed, often in a bold and courageous way. Faith sees not only the need, but the presence of Jesus Christ in the one in need. Faith knows that whatever we do will a thing done in the grace of God.

·      The letters of John were written to a congregation in trouble. It appears that it was split between those who held that salvation comes from secret knowledge and those who held fast to faith in Jesus Christ with all that that could mean. The writer goes on to say We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

·      No secret knowledge here. Just the love of God expressed in the faith that is motivated to love those around the believers.

·      When I was in seminary, old Brother Antony told a story about John the Apostle preaching. (I don’t know if this story was true or not. Brother Antony was from Ireland and may not only have kissed the Blarney Stone, but taken a big bite out of it.) John got up in the assembly to preach and he said just this: “Love one another.” Then he sat down. That sermon says nothing about doctrine or philosophy or theology in the church. It just points out how to live out the faith, day to day. And in truth, that is what makes us Christians and draws others to Christ.

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

The Third Sunday of Easter --- 19 April 2015

Luke 24:36b-48

36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate in their presence. 44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.

"Have you anything here to eat?"

·        This is such a simple question that it hardly seems worth commenting on… if it were said in any other circumstance. It sounds so much like something a traveller might say as they arrived at your house after a long and tiresome trip. It might be something a person recovering from sickness might say as they grew hungry, which I think we’d all agree is a pretty good sign.

·        It sounds like something a person might say during a commercial when watching a movie on the TV, just before they run off to the kitchen to return with food you didn’t even know was there!

·        This simple question has a different reason and a different value this time. Luke tells of one of the risen Jesus’ appearances to the disciples on the evening of the day of the Resurrection. The disciples there – which includes the two who had come freshly from seeing Jesus on the road to Emmaus – were terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost.  He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

·        What makes the difference here is seeing Jesus’ hands and feet along with the final proof: "Have you anything here to eat?"

·        Jesus was not asking because of being hungry after his labours or as part of the recovery from his pain and ordeal or even because he’s a bit ‘snacky.’ He’s showing his disciples that he is really there and that his body is very real. The implied knowledge is that ghosts don’t eat, so if he eats, he’s not a ghost. It is a proof to the disciples that he is resurrected in his body.

·        Our understanding that Jesus was raised bodily from death has quite a few ramifications.

·        The first is that death is not the end; death does not have the final word. That Jesus stands before his disciples shows that death has no hold on him and because of this, death has no complete hold on us.

·        The second is that the body is good as all creation is good. In the book of Genesis, after God creates something, God sees it good. The created world is not something to be avoided. It is just as redeemed from slavery to sin, death, and brokenness as we are. There has always been a strain of the overly-spiritual in some Christians’ way of thinking, as if to say that the body must be downgraded. But this is not so. We do not follow a disembodied Christ, but a Christ resurrected in the body. The goodness of physical creation and of our own human existence is affirmed and blessed in this.

·        Because of this, we are called to be involved in the things of the world, and live our Christian vocation through what we do in the world.

·        The third is that the followers of Christ will have to bear wounds and scars to be like Christ. The service of Baptism reminds us that when we were baptized into Christ, we were baptized into his death. His resurrection shows us a way of being for others, a way that involves the death of our own desires and demands. The lives of all the apostles and of the early disciples shows their dedication to their fellow disciples and to the world at large. It also shows their willingness to bear the wounds of Christ in so many ways, for the way of discipleship is always the way of the Cross.

·        Lastly (at least for our purposes here today), Jesus tells his disciples – ALL of his disciples – that they are to spread the Good News of new life and forgiveness to all the world. "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." This is the mission of the entire church, of every disciple of Jesus Christ, in so many different ways and styles.

·        These last few words at the end of Luke’s Gospel propel the story to Luke’s second book, the Acts of the Apostles where the Good News of Christ is preached all across the Mediterranean basin even to the centre of the world in that age – Rome itself. In the book of Acts, the timid Church becomes a bold proclaimer of all that Jesus did, even to the point of embracing one who had persecuted the church and even preaching the Good News in the centre of the world that opposes the Gospel.

·        Those simple words of Jesus – asking for a piece of cooked fish – and the eating of that morsel that follows has a lot to say to us in this Easter season… about who Jesus is and who we are, what he is and what his grace has made us to be, what he calls us to, and how we can follow him in his mission, that mission which is now ours.

The Second Sunday of Easter --- 12 April 2015

John 20:19-31

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." 26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

...he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."

• I don't know if you are, but I'm tired of hearing about Thomas and his doubts. That's a constant theme on this Sunday, and although it's a good one, I don't want to work with that this week.
• Instead we'll talk about scars.
• Scars – we all have them and for any number of reasons. The scars we have come about through any number of ways - accidents, mistakes, illnesses, surgery, whatever. I myself have scars from surgeries, from a very new spatula in a kitchen, from acne (which is one reason I wear a beard), and from various cuts and slices with sharp instruments.
• Of course, I'm only speaking of physical scars here. There are mental and emotional scars that we're not even going to consider today.
• No matter what the cause, scars are reminders and signs of past lessons. They are physical marks of where we've been and what we've done, for better or for worse. In many cases, they are a small price to pay for some vital life lessons.
• Scars are also signs that healing has taken place. Our scars are not open wounds, but are the left-overs of the body's natural way of healing our wounds. Science even says that when a broken bone heals, the broken space becomes stronger.
• So it is for us in our lives on earth. We bear scars, whether with pride or with shame, but we carry them all our lives – the healed reminders of our history.
• As the Gospel of John says today, the resurrected Jesus did not have scars to show. John wrote After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When Thomas joined the rest of the disciples the next Sunday – the week after the resurrection – Jesus says to him "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."
• It appears that Jesus' wounds are open. They are not bleeding, but they are the way that the disciples recognize him and one of the proofs that he is not a ghost or disembodied spirit. It seems that he will forever be “The Crucified One.”
• What caused the wounds of the Crucified One has passed. What those wounds mean will always present. His love and compassion, his willingness to go to such lengths for our lives, his willingness to share his own life with the world are all reflected in his wounds. This obedience to the will of the Father is also seen.
• The wounds of Jesus show us that death is defeated, that death does not have the final word, but that life and love do have the final word. Those wounds show us that the world does not belong to Caesar or any earthly power, but that the world belongs ultimately and finally to God.
• Although Jesus will never suffer again, why he sacrificed so much is not in the past; it is forever in the present, for us and for all the world.
• Jesus' gentle treatment of Thomas and his scepticism, his willingness to be touched and have his wounds probed is another expression of his compassion for all humanity. He knew and knows how unbelievable his resurrection can be and when faced with unbelief, he responds with a gentle admonition: Do not doubt but believe.
• Here we are, about 2000 year later than the events told of in the Gospel of John. Still the compassion and concern of Jesus for the life of his disciples – and we are among his disciples in this time and place – is shown in the words of the Gospel: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
• In those words, he is with us still. In the community of the disciples, the Church, he remains with us. In the sacraments that are his Word made flesh, he is present. All this is done, not for our guilt, but for our lives, that through believing you may have life in his name.
• We've all heard it before, but this portion of the Gospel was addressed specifically to us. Jesus is speaking about us when he tells Thomas: Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.
• This is the Good News in our own time, and it was written so we might believe and have life, for Jesus said earlier in John's Gospel: I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Easter Sunday/The Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord ---- 5 April 2015

Mark 16:1-8

1 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. 6 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." 8 So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.

• The event of Easter is something hard to understand. Why did Jesus have to die and why did he have to die in such a fashion? What happened after he died? What happened when he rose from the dead? If he died to save us from our sins, what was this Resurrection all about? Is it a reward for his obedience? Or is there more?
• Some of those questions cannot be answered and I don't think that any of them can be answered in the fullness that the questions deserve, especially in the brief time we have together here today. I'm going to take a brief look at one of the questions.
• If Jesus died for our sins, why did he rise from the dead? Yes, he foretold this a number of time when he was with his disciples. He said he'd destroy “this temple” and rebuild it in three days, referring to his body as the temple.
• His rising can be seen as a validation of his mission to bring the Good News of salvation. It could be seen as a reward for obedience to the Father's will. It could be seen as something given particularly to Jesus because of his special place in God's plan.
• I really think there is more to it than that. Since we can't wrap our heads around this nor can we fully understand what has gone on, it's guaranteed that something more is going on here.
• If Jesus died for our sins, then he rose for our lives. If we are freed from our sins, we are freed to live a different type of life. It is not simple a declaration of each of us having a clean slate, as it were. We are not simply free to start over, but we are free to become more – more like Jesus, more like the children of God that we are called to be. And if we fail, we can be forgiven and find grace anew.
• No, Jesus' resurrection frees us for a new and different life. As one of the ancients of the Church, Irenaeus, said "[T]he Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself."
• By grace has this been done and by grace, this is being done in our own place and time.
• Jesus Christ rose for us just as he lived his life for us and his mission to us and the entire world. This mission continued in and through his own resurrection.
• His resurrection was not simply a reward for a job well done, but it is a revelation of what is to come for all of us. Whether we understand it or not, this is where our lives are bound.
• Resurrection is the promise for each of us. In this, Jesus has led the way just as he has led the way in how to live according to the love of God.
• So then Easter is the festival of the Resurrection, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the coming resurrection of all the faithful, just as say in our creeds. We have it as our continued hope, both for ourselves and for those who have fallen asleep in the Lord. This time of celebration of the resurrection of Jesus is very much a time of the celebration of the promise of the resurrection for each of us.
• So we have more reasons to rejoice today. Our Lord has risen from the tomb and the world could no longer see him and can no longer see him as they had seen him. Our Savior has risen from the grave and is no longer to be found in a memorial of stone or wood, but can be known in the living memorial that his followers are. Our God has shown power and might in the strangest of ways, turning death into life and defeat into triumph, making the cross a throne. Jesus, who was dead, is truly alive and is not limited to a certain place or time only, but can be found where-ever faith can look. Christ is risen and Christians rejoice, for nothing of this world or any other can entomb him again. Christ is risen and nothing of this world or any other can take us from his embrace.
• As we have been washed in the waters of Baptism, so many are being baptized at this festival. We can rejoice with them at the new life we all share because you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.
• Do not be alarmed; Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed!)