Readings FIRST LESSON The first lesson is from the book of Isaiah, Chapter 65, verses 17 through 25 SECOND LESSON The second lesson is from the Gospel of John, Chapter 20, verses 1 through 18 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken him away, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to God. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen him”; and she told them that he had said these things to her. |
This Week's Sermon Date: April 4, 2010--Easter Title: Resurrection, Again Message Delivered By: Rev. Dr. Joe McMurray One early Easter morning, a man was driving along a highway and saw a rabbit jump out across the middle of the road. He swerved to avoid hitting the rabbit, but unfortunately the rabbit jumped right in front of the car. The driver, a sensitive and religious man, as well as an animal lover, pulled over to see what had become of the rabbit. Much to his dismay, the rabbit was wearing a sash across her chest that read, “Easter Bunny.” Worse still, the rabbit was dead. The driver felt so awful that he began to cry. Just then, a young college student driving down the highway saw the man, and he appeared to be sobbing uncontrollably. She pulled over to see if she could help. As she stepped out of the car, she asked what was wrong. "I feel terrible!" He explained, "I accidentally hit the Easter Bunny with my car and I killed her!” The woman consoled him, but then suddenly looked up and said, "Don't worry. I think I may be able to help!” She ran back to her car and returned with a spray can. She walked over to the limp Easter Bunny’s body, told the man to stand back, and began to spray the contents over the rabbit. Suddenly and unbelievably, the Easter Bunny jumped up, waved her paw at both of them, and then hopped off down the roadway. She actually seemed to be bouncing down the road. The man was dumbstruck. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing! But before he could utter a sound, the rabbit went about ten feet down the road, stopped, turned around, and waved at them again. Then it bounced further down the road. After ten more feet, the rabbit stopped, turned, and once more, waved at them. This behavior kept repeating until the rabbit finally bounced out of sight. Well the man was astonished, perfectly convinced that a great Easter miracle had taken place right before his eyes. He walked over to the young woman and asked, “How did you do that? What is in that can?” The young woman turned the can around so the man could read the label. It said: “Never Fail Hair Restorer. Brings life back to dead hair. Hair will bounce like never before. Also adds permanent wave.” Anything to bring an Easter smile to your faces. Will you pray with me? God, we have walked the difficult path of Lent. We have bourne witness to the events of the Passion during Holy Week. And today we celebrate the miracle of Resurrection and all that it means. May we continue to live the mystery of the risen Christ, to know him, to listen to him, and to follow him in thought, in word, and in deed. And may my words and all of our thoughts be filled with honor and praise to you. Amen. Have you ever had one of those moments in your life when time just seemed to stand still? Something strange happened that took you right out of the physical and emotional space you were in. You almost felt as if you had been transported to another place. It may have lasted only a moment, or several minutes, or perhaps several hours. Yet somehow, you knew you were changed by that moment, even though you couldn’t explain exactly what it was you felt or what had happened. Perhaps this is what Mary Magdalene experienced, and more than once on this occasion. Mary was taken by surprise. After all the turmoil and tragedy she had witnessed, this was the last thing she expected—she expected she would find Jesus’ body in the tomb. Mary expected that if she did not know where the body of Jesus was, surely the disciples would know. She expected that those who addressed her outside of the tomb were passers-by, not angels. She expected that the man she saw near the tomb was the gardener. This is the nature of surprise—something we do not expect. In the Book of Isaiah, God says: “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.” That is what Resurrection does—Resurrection changes everything. All things are new. Mary Magdalene’s life was changed by knowing and being close to Jesus. But her life changed forever when she witnessed Resurrection. Resurrection means new life. Even in a newborn child, there is something already there, already developed. There is a spirit present—the Spirit of God is present in new life. Sometimes we don’t see it, even in nature, we seem to be caught by surprise, but when we witness new life, it’s as if it was always there—because in some form, it was always there. It has simply been Resurrected into something new. Resurrection means continued growth. Even as we age, we continue to grow. There is a miracle that happens within us—a miracle such that even when the cells in our bodies die away, they are replaced with new cells that are vibrant, active and alive. Resurrection means movement of the spirit. The life force within us, the Spirit of God within us rejuvenates our faith, and renews our hope each and every day. Resurrection means being given another chance. Emotions and feelings can sometimes paralyze us into thinking that the past is our identity; that we have wasted or squandered the God-given opportunities of life. But God stands at the ready; always prepared to redeem us. God is ready to make room for us. God is eager to give us another chance through Resurrection. Resurrection means transformation. When we experience deep and personal, spiritual growth, we have been transformed from what we once were into a being that is more mature and more spiritually developed. We have, through the grace of God, been given the gift to enable us to change dramatically. This type of change, that transforms us from one existence to another, is Resurrection. It is not as rare as we think it is. We say it is rare to remove ourselves from the pressure of having to do it; if we speak of it in impossible or miraculous terms, it releases us from the responsibility to try; it releases us from accountability to God and to one another that we can change; and it keeps spiritually lazy mired in the status quo so that we can always claim we are fine as we are and that it is up to others to change. Resurrection means starting all over again. When Lazarus was raised from the dead, his life was completely different. He could no longer look at himself, or his family, or his community in the same way. He had to start all over again. Lazarus could have remained in his burial crypt. But he chose to live again. In so doing, he was saying to God, “I am born again. I am alive again in the same body but with a new Spirit. I have another chance at living into the life I always had but never engaged.” Resurrection means finding a way to healing. Most people don’t connote healing to resurrection. And yet, in some ways, physically, emotionally, spiritually, parts of us have died in the past. We have even gone through periods of mourning over those parts of us that have been lost, or that continue to suffer. But when we ask for God’s healing, we are inviting God to change us beyond our own recognition. Sometimes, we are so diseased that that’s all we can see is the dis-ease within us. But we must want to be healed, in order to be healed. We must seek God’s mercy to create the opportunity for such transformation. And we must ask God’s grace that those dead or dying parts of ourselves might be Resurrected, healed, and brought to new life. Resurrection can mean so many things, and take so many forms, yet none can exist outside of God’s desire and God’s will. I wish you could have been here on Thursday evening for the Last Seven Words service. There were about 18 people here who witnessed something remarkable—and unexpected. Seven people shared some very personal, traumatic, emotional experiences from their lives—things that most of us in the room had never heard before. The strength and courage it takes to tell a story like that is inspiring. But the stories themselves were so moving – we were all riveted as, one by one, each person relayed a personal journey of faith parallel to the words Christ spoke on the cross. I won’t forget the experience. Right here in our midst, we can witness Resurrection. It happens all the time, and it’s a miracle each and every time. And it doesn’t just happen here. It happens sometimes in the least likely of places. A few years ago, the Governor of the State of Florida, Governor Crist and the Clemency Board voted to end a 140-year ruling that denied restoration of rights to felons who, though they had committed non-violent crimes, had served their sentences. This means that after their punishment and time served have expired, these people will once again have “the right to vote, to serve on juries, and to obtain certain occupational licenses.” There were many concerns presented to the Clemency Board as they weighed their decision. The State Attorney General disagreed at the time, saying, “Some people should just have this as a permanent lifetime punishment for the crimes they committed. Serving prison time and paying restitution isn’t enough.” The Governor responded: “The God-given inalienable rights of freedom given to Americans should be taken away while a person serves his or her punishment in prison and on probation, but should not be extended afterward. Don’t we owe them that second chance? We don’t have the right, the moral right, to add five years to that sentence, to add five weeks to that sentence, to add five minutes to it.” A letter to the editor from a disgruntled reader of one of the state-wide newspapers called this move by the Governor as “a waste of time, a pipe dream” because most of the people who have served time in prison are returned to prison because of another offense they will have committed. But who are we to judge? I ask you, who are we to claim that we know what lies in the hearts of people who have done wrong at one time in their lives, who have accepted their punishment, and some who have even made restitution? What gives us the right to guess how God works in others? In situations like these, I particularly remember the life and ministry of Jesus—who by his example, showed us how to serve one another, to treat one another with respect and honor, and in each of things to carry God love in our hearts. Someone I know wrote to me one Easter a long time ago, someone who taught me a very important lesson. She reminded of it at a time when I really needed to hear another Resurrection story. “My spiritual awakening began in 1992,” she said, “while in jail and sentenced to a residential drug treatment program. The awakening continued when I made a conscious decision on September 13, 1995 that alcohol and other drugs were not going to be a part of my life. The spiritual awakening grew when I opened myself to attend worship at MCC in 1998 and I flourished with the guidance of the pastors and staff and the rest of that spiritual community. “My spiritual development did not stop there though. It continues everyday, but without the guiding hand of MCC my journey would have been a different one. I have been resurrected. The music from Jesus Christ Superstar has been playing in my new home all week. The music is poignant, dramatic, startling in its intensity. “Holy Week is poignant, dramatic and startling. Jesus walked with the marginalized people of our society. He was crucified ... as many people who are living on the fringes continue to be crucified daily. No matter how much change has happened, some things remain the same. I learned from the powerful voices of my church family to embrace all of who I am as a person of faith—and to get up and dance about it. Because of that, today I am a liberator (and a "superstar"), living with my life with clear intention.” What an inspiration. And it’s a reminder that even the most difficult things in our lives can be changed if we work very hard and have the faith that they can be changed. May we continue to follow where God is leading. Amen.
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