Sermon; Easter 2 (Dcn. Sue)
Alleluia, Christ is Risen….The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.
Here we are on the 2nd Sunday of Easter in a 7 Sunday Season, and every Sunday, we celebrate the women going and being given a message.
Then like most of us, they run.
Well, I suspect some of us would be paralyzed by the news that Jesus wasn't there, but somewhere.
Whether we run or stop, we have the hope or even fear that a loved one is rather than isn't. Salome and the Marys were grieving, and shock overtakes them. Did they know he is the messiah? Did they realize what God had done for the Son of Man and all of humanity for all time? Did they realize all the love that has made a difference in their lives and ours? Did they know that forever they would be remembered as the women who went to the tomb? Sometimes ordinary human reactions are the most blessed. When we lose someone special, real grief breaks our hearts that we point to what the real deal is in our lives, and that is love. This is the Gospel. As I read last week from the Facebook Haiku Prayers, "Do not be afraid. Locked rooms and locked hearts, You make Your way into both. Help my unbelief.”
This is why a grieving Thomas tells his fellow brothers PASHAW and is skeptical of the apostles' words tell him. Unlike the women, the men chose to stand still in a room that was locked. Thomas is a skeptic of his buddies. But he is just like us. We live a mentality of we'll believe it when we see it. I'm not wishing this, but when the weather person says, “10 inches of snow or more,” even after this last winter, I pashaw. In my head, I immediately say, “I'll believe it when I see it.: When the weather person says a dusting, I worry. But back to Thomas, who is filled with grief, and he ups the ante. “I'll believe when I see the marks of the nails in his hands and my hand in his side.” Feeling is believing. We do this too.
I even said I'd wait for the 1.2 shot for COVID-19. Fancy pants that I am. I didn't wait, and I'm happy. I feel freer with just one shot, I'm not out of the woods, but I feel more secure. Doubt and skepticism are two great analytical tools to keep us grounded. It is when we become apathetic or even cynical is where we run into a real problem.
Belief suggests we have unbelief, and unbelief suggests a life or eternity in Hell.
I suggest there is a spectrum of belief. With even a grain of sand of belief, we are left with desire and seeking. Few go to the place of absolute unbelief. Even in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had this seeking and desire. When we were children, we had this seeking and desire. Who here hasn't heard the toddler ask Mommy and Daddy, “How Come,” or, “Why.” I have heard, "Aunt Sue, why." Papis, Meemas are not immune to this. Kids ask why. Even today, as we are on the walk with God, we, too, ask why.
As a Deacon, I seek to see the face of Jesus in everyone. I serve here at Saint John's to minister to the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely. I celebrate your ministries in these areas. We are beacons here at Saint John's. We have our own shelter. We support REACH. We feed the community, and we pray for this place; we strive to make a difference. We are seekers. Yet, like Thomas, we grieve what we might or have lost. Some of us have run away, some are coming back, some folks are staying put. The angel tells the women to go and tell the disciples Jesus is on his way to Galilee. What they do is run.
For me, I sense we are at the dawn of the new day as we move from COVID-19 into a new tomorrow. We are allowed to grieve, but as faithful witnesses of the risen Christ, we can also run with the Good News. Our standing still in the safety of this nave or where ever you may be now, we are compelled to go and be Christ's disciples. With Christ leading, we can seek justice for the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely. We are not Thomas, just weeks after Jesus's death. We are Christ's sisters and brothers who carry with us the message of hope. We are today at the beginning of making all things new for all.
All means all.
And we do this with all our blessed humanness. We wonder what tomorrow will bring. When we look to the future, we grapple with what was and what is. We can be skeptical, and we can have curiosity.
What we are called to do is to put our fingers into the messiness of our risen Lord, get our hands dirty, and go.
When we do, we will exclaim, "My Lord and my God." Our eyes will see, our hands will feel, we will know Christ's work on the Cross, and God's raising him has made us all new.
We are turning a corner not only with COVID-19, but we realize the systemic problems it uncovered. Like the sealed tomb now open, we on this side of the resurrection have the chance to run to tell and desire to touch the wounds to live out the Gospel message to all.
Amen