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Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia! Join with me in saying
that again: Christ, the Lord has risen indeed, Hallelujah! The beginnings of a brave
New world start with Jesus’ resurrection. We may have felt, we've lived into
this brave New world for the last two thousand years, and perhaps, we've not
affected it as we had hoped. But there are always New beginnings, and we are
living into a resurrected life, whether or not, we choose to acknowledge the
truth of that.
Speaking of a brave New world, we have the wonderful Joy
of baptizing Sebastian Louis Scott, this morning. Truly a New life coming into
this world that we must keep the hope for and grow the love within. Love, love
is the greatest gift, fruit of Grace that Jesus gave to the world. The gift of Himself
to encourage our hearts to transform. Transformation, the concept of
transformation, we do mention it a lot, but do we really know how powerful it
truly is?
Every year, I love watching either the entire film of
Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth, or parts of the film. This year, I fast
forwarded to the moment of Jesus death upon the cross. This is the scene when
the clouds darken, and the curtain was torn in two in the temple and the skies
rain their tears upon the lifeless body of Jesus. His mother Mary is sobbing
uncontrollably over His body, while Mary Magdalene cries upon His feet, and
kisses His feet. Let me tell you, there is something about Mary. And I'm not
referring to the silly film that came out a number of years ago with Cameron
Diaz.
Mary Magdalene has been talked about, written about for
centuries now, but perhaps, what has become a clouded truth about her, is her
devotion and power as a disciple of Jesus. A little snippet of history, but in
the Medieval era, the people who were compiling variations of the Bible made
her more of a whore, and a depraved person, than what the truth may have
actually been. And it's partly because women were not supposed to have a
significant role, in that culture at that time. The Bible is written with a
patriarchal narrative voice, they weren't being sexist per say, only when it
comes towards the Medieval era and onward, women were perhaps, conveniently
removed, or their witness quieted.
What is beautiful about the Franco Zeffirelli Jesus of
Nazareth film, of the greatest story ever told, is that it shows her strong
character. She was a woman of passion, for she loved Jesus deeply and Jesus both
loved and saved her deeply. That's a very important thing to think about: Jesus
both loved and saved her deeply. Can we say that so much for ourselves? Those
are the questions of faith. Those are questions that are formed by our faith
Journey. John's Gospel, which is actually for the sunrise service for Easter
morning, has the most powerful and full picture of that moment, the triumph and
the glory of realizing that the tomb is empty.
There's a beautiful Cursillo song, that I wish was in our
Hymnal, though it does sound like a campfire song. It goes Hallelujah, He is
coming, Hallelujah, He is here. And it talks about walking down the road meeting
the angels and then seeing Jesus Resurrected. This was one of the scriptures I
performed when I was studying scriptures by heart. I actually performed a good
chunk of Mary Magdalene discovering the tomb open and Jesus gone. Let me tell
you, I really felt like I was there, and I felt the power of that moment and
truly realized how much God loves and has saved me. Isn't that the most
beautiful part of faith? Of realizing your journey, of transforming your heart
to God? For me it was.
Tomorrow is another very special day for my family and I,
for it will make one full year that we have been here in Las Vegas Nevada! Let
me tell you, as soon as we passed the border of Utah and saw those mountains
off in the distance and that sign saying welcome to Nevada, it was truly a
wonderful Joy. It was a brave New beginning, in truly a brave New world!
I'm proud to say now I don't need to use my GPS on my phone every single place
I go to… just probably going way up North at the top of the city or going super
far East where I haven't been before yet. It's an ongoing new chapter and every
moment has been treasured.
For little Sebastian Louis Scott, a brand new wonderful
Journey is just literally beginning. The water and the Word connect us to God's
promise and faithfulness. Baptism isn't an “initiation” rite to becoming a
Christian, it is a memory of the well of life, blessed and given to you. You
are God's creation and through Jesus Christ our Lord and savior, you are a New
creation. Realizing that New creation is what the resurrected life is truly all
about. It is internalizing that first Creed: Jesus Christ is Lord.
Of all people who persecuted the early church to realize
that the most deeply, would be Saint Paul. We heard in last week's epistle
lesson from Philippians two— “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.” Paul's conversion truly taught his heart to know what that means. He
realized God's love, and he lived into God's love by giving of himself as a
pastor, preacher and teacher of the Good News for the sake of the Gospel. His wayward
Corinthians we're still driving him nuts over different things. This little
tiny snippet we have from First Corinthians is basically him trying to teach
them that Jesus truly Resurrected. They had a very hard time with that and it
was partly a cultural thing, because the Greco-Roman philosophy of the time had
a strange perception of death and life and could not understand Resurrection at
all.
Today we’re no better off, in some senses, thanks to the Enlightenment.
That seems to be a very contradictory word right there, “enlightenment,” just
what were we “enlightened” to? Some people have grown in skepticism and doubt
and nearly have become agnostics, under the guise of calling themselves
Christians. That's what we face today, that is our current culture. And it is
truly a brave New world to be a disciple, and still hold true to the tenants of
faith that we feel in our heart and know to believe that Jesus Christ is the
son of God, he died, was buried and rose for us to release Grace in the world,
thanks be to God!
Truth be told the current book I'm reading, I kind of hate because it's not really written too well… The author,
however, in his dizzying overuse of giant words basically is trying to tell
people that language has become our great barrier to God. What an ironic
thought! Words, language… becoming our barrier to understanding our faith
Journey and understanding the Gospel in the 21st century. The Word, definitely
released its fantastic power for the heart of Mary Magdalene. For she didn't
even recognize Jesus on the road at first, and thought He was a gardener. It
was only when He spoke to her that she immediately recognized Him!
What another great image there, as well, Jesus as the
gardener or being perceived as that. The Gospel writer John was Jesus’ favorite
disciple and John definitely had a grasp and great desire to preach the divine
nature and love of who would be Jesus. I think that's an amazing image that he
created incidentally, in Mary's walk down the road. For we can look at Jesus as
the gardener of our souls. From the well of life, we have been planted. We have
been given the seed of New Life to reap, and the Holy Spirit is our gardener.
The holy Spirit is our gardener, and Jesus Christ is our great
Shepherd. We realize this pathway of faith, once we truly take that bold, brave
New step into a New world that we can create. The thought of changing the world,
that sounds so overwhelming… Many of us fall away and say— what could we do to
make an effort, and make a difference? The truth is every life matters, all
lives matter, and the Grace of God has never saved us in vain(!) but saved us
and gave us the Great Commission to go forth with the Gospel, all of us, every
single one.
That Great Commission may have been officially created
with the story of Pentecost, in the book of Acts, but I would say that it began
with the resurrection. I would say it began with Mary's Witness. Witness, there
is that very powerful word that for us, two thousand something years later,
seems very distant, because we were not physically there. This doesn't mean
though, that we don't believe. This will always be our faith struggle: When the
world becomes more Godless and more driven for the self, and its own little
world, we will suffer as disciples. You can't sugarcoat the Gospel. You can't
sugarcoat the truth to being a disciple of Jesus. You, especially can't
intellectually write it away with personal politicking and bad theology. The
power of the Gospel is God's living and restorative Word and that is Jesus, the
Christ.
That little Mustard Seed of faith that you are carefully
trying to nourish…. even the fact that it is still alive, is due to the power
of the Resurrection. Take a look around us that little mustard seed of faith,
has just bought us a new building that we will be moving into on Mother's Day,
thanks be to God, Alleluia. That must have taken a great leap of faith for you.
You have been through a very difficult journey, but I have been here to love
and encourage you to keep the faith, keep that fire in your heart burning, and
go forth and share the Good News as the Body.
Mother's Day, as we know, is the day we celebrate our
mothers. We celebrate the women in our life, who did great things, were giving
and loving to us. Both Mary's in the Gospel gave wonderful things to the world.
Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, gave Jesus the entry into our humanity to begin
his ministry towards the cross and Resurrection, in order to release Grace into
the world. Mary Magdalene exemplified the brokenness of our humanity that
needed that glue of God's unconditional love to save her in more ways than one.
Being the first witness to the Tomb of Jesus, being the vocal disciple, it's
not only a quote “feminist” victory but truly shows you the power of Grace and
of God's word.
The prophet Isaiah for this Easter Day morning gives us wonderful
things to think about in regard to the power of God's love. He says the Lord
God will wipe away the tears from all faces. He will swallow up death forever.
This great banquet that Isaiah talks about is when all people come to God's
table in the Name of Love and the Power of Grace. One of the things, the
greatest things that Jesus gave us through Grace is the New law of Love. This
is a love that stretches us beyond ourselves, beyond our Earthly capacity where
we have a foretaste of a New Heaven and a New Earth.
In a little while, we will be stretching our waistbands
probably to the max at the delight of Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and all
those other people… but I challenge you to have your hearts “expand” and become
full on the rich meal of the Triumph and Glory of the resurrection of Jesus.
Our Easter Proclamation is that God transforms suffering into the promise of
Salvation and this is our ultimate affirmation through His suffering,
crucifixion, death, and Resurrection— Jesus has offered to the world God's Grace
and love, God's forgiveness and redemption, God's healing power and Hope! Again,
I say— Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia and amen.
The meal we will first be sharing together is the Lord's
Supper. It is called the Eucharist, which literally means Thanksgiving. This is
a sign of that great bounty gift of Grace, that Jesus gave us. When we partake
of the bread and drink from the cup; it is a meal that is to to sustain us,
spiritually. And this is an everlasting meal. Just like our baptism, we are
washed with water and the Word, to a lifetime's journey to begin. We are to
remember our baptism every day, and what we do or say when we are trying to be
good and faithful people.
Indeed, it is a brave New world out there… It is this reality
every day, for we may know that the sun rises and sets, but we may not know
where God will lead us next. Don't hear that with any anxiety, hear that with
the ears of faith. Where God will lead us next, we don't really know. We don't
have crystal balls, or tarot cards, we have the love of Christ in our hearts to
reveal that journey to us, in time. It's a shame we don't have that
reading from Ecclesiastes today, though, he was being sort of cynical…
strangely enough in his wisdom poetry. But there is something to be said about
what he says in chapter 3.
“For everything, there is a season, and a time for every
matter under Heaven. The time to be born, and a time to die. A time to plant,
and a time to pluck up what is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal. A
time to break down, and a time to build up. A time to weep, and a time to laugh.
A time to mourn, and a time to dance. The time to throw away stones, and a time
to gather stones together. A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing. A time to speak, and a time to lose. A time to keep, and a time to
throw away. A time to tear, and a time to sow. A time to keep silence, and a
time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate. A time for war, and a time for
Peace....”
Let us make it this time, this New beginning, together, a
victory for God. May we live into that Grace, acknowledge the memory of our
baptism as that Commission to begin a great journey together as God's Children
of Grace and promise. We have been given the Grace and our lives are learning
to keep a promise. There is a beautiful obscure song that Paul McCartney did
for his ‘Pipes of Peace’ album that he released in 1983. This was a part of his
continued grieving process for the loss of his longtime friend and musical
partner, John Lennon. The song is called ‘the other me.’ It says so much about
the past and the present, the old and the new, and is such a beautiful
realization of the struggle of the journey.
“The other me would rather be the glad one. The other me
would rather play the fool. I want to be the kind of me that doesn't let you
down as a rule. I know it doesn't take a lot, to have a little self-control…
but every time that I forgot well I landed in another hole. But every time you
pulled me out, I find it harder not to see that we can build a better life… if
I can try to find the other me.” Did you put yourself into those words? Don't
we feel this way at many points of our faith journey? We've been through the
valley of Lent to realize and begin to know the cross, now we are on the
Mountaintop of Easter... What is the New reality that you see in the horizon?
Let us pray,
Gracious and loving Lord Jesus, we thank You for the
Triumph and blessing of Easter.
We thank You for the joy of New Life.
May we grow to live into, and understand deeply, the Love
You have given us.
May the power of Your Grace show us that we are truly
living into a resurrected life.
Jesus Christ has risen indeed, hallelujah and amen!
April 1st,
2018; Resurrection of Our Lord; Year B; SOLA Lectionary
Sermon by:
Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins, OSST
Psalm 16;
Isaiah 25:6-9; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; John 20:1-18
The first video link is to the Holy Baptism of Sebastian Louis Scott: https://youtu.be/Zgk4eOaMHb4
This link below is to this sermon's delivery at First Congregational Church UCC @ 9:30am
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