When in training to become a psychotherapist, the instructors assured us not to worry about missing a client’s main issue, because no matter how often we missed the point, the client was sure to steer the conversation back to their main issue—to the point.
I think we can apply this theory to our Gospel writers as well—there is an Easter message, and the gospels are going to keep reminding us of this, throughout all of these Great 50 Days .
Christ Rose from The Dead. This resurrection serves as the ultimate proof of what is possible through God.
And each week we remember his death and resurrection through the Holy Meal—through the breaking of the bread. This is important because we need to be reminded and we need to be nourished. Reminded that all things are possible through God and strengthened, strengthened to do the work, of being Christ’s body in the world today. —
So this Easter point, this Easter message begins with the Resurrection. With Mary Magdalene, Peter and John on Easter morning, Thomas and the rest last week, Cleopas and his companion on the Road to Emmaus, the story which occurs just before this weeks Gospel reading about Jesus sharing some fish with his friends back in Jerusalem one point is clear: the fact of the Resurrection was and is UNBELIEVABLE. And absolutely true. Unbelievable and true: yes this resurrection thing is awfully difficult to wrap our heads around, but we must try. As I reminded you last week, there is NOTHING WRONG WITH DOUBT, there’s nothing wrong with questioning or wondering. But, at the end of the day, each and every Christian needs to make some type of uneasy peace with the fact of the Resurrection. In modern lexicon we call this living with the tension. Jesus did indeed rise from the dead….but he didn’t do this to be some kind of carnival side show. Jesus Christ rose from the dead to prove the unprovable. He appeared to his friends to prove that all things are possible through God .To prove that no human inflicted wound, no matter how lethal, can keep us from the love of God. That’s the message within resurrection.
But it doesn’t stop there—it’s clear from what we read in the Gospels that we need to do more with that message of God’s Love as witnessed through the Resurrection than just proclaim it. We can’t just say it. We need to continue to wrestle with it. Wrestle with what this means for us today, for us tomorrow, for us next week…..and beyond. We wrestle with it just like those 1st century disciples did, by coming together in community—right here, every week---gathering around this altar, this table of the Lord to share in the breaking of the bread. For when that bread is broken, when we share this meal, our eyes will open, our hearts will be set afire and our minds will race with possibility, with the desire to spread this Ultimate Gift of Love to all whom we encounter. This Breaking of the Bread nourishes us to do the work Jesus has given us to do. The work that lies at the core of the Easter message.
This Holy Meal energizes and emboldens us to go out and be the church, to be Christ’s Body in the world. This is the work and it’s what we do Monday through Saturday in our daily lives. And just what is that work? Well it’s the same work as we the disciples did, the same work we hear about in the acts of the apostles: we preach, we heal and we just may do a little rabble rousing here and there. Now, you may think, I’m no preacher or I can’t heal people. But you see you are and you can.
We preach, we heal and we rabble rouse when we give a smile to a downtrodden person, when we offer a shoulder to a hurting friend or co-worker. We do that when we take a young person under our wing, giving them something they can’t get at hone. We do that by taking stock of our political opinions and actions, our charitable giving and volunteer work and say: there are hurts in this world, that need to be healed, there are wrongs in this world which need to be righted and this is how I’m going to address these things.
This is tough work. And to do it, we must be strong. Which takes us right back to this altar, to this table, to this meal and to this church. Bu showing up every week, by partaking in the breaking of the bread, by joining in fellowship , we are nourishing one another. Hear me: we don’t just GET nourished, we nourish, we strengthened each other.
There are two distinct points in the service when this nourishment of each other is most evident: The Peace and Communion.
At the Peace we don’t just say “Hi, nice tie,” or, “Hi how’s your sick aunt?” but we look at one another, we shake hands or offer a hug and say “Peace. Peace be With You,” just as our Lord did at each and everyone of His post-resurrection appearances: Peace be with You.” For what this offer of peace means is this: The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding , is yours for the taking. So look—REALLY LOOK at each other and offer this Peace.
The second instance is Communion. Many of you come to communion with your spouse, your partner, your parents, your children, your friend. But you are actually coming to communion—sharing this Holy Meal with everyone here—so as you come up to receive take a good look around: for we are one Bread, One Body. Our weekly celebration is eating together, praying together and then going out into the world sharing the Love that is Jesus Christ.
This is the Easter Miracle, this is the Easter Message: Jesus did indeed rise form the dead. Jesus does offer His peace to us. And Jesus expects us to be so nourished by this miracle, this peace that we are able to vibrantly and boldly carry that message to the world.
[Which brings us back to this work. I say it all the time: Go out and do this work.
But what I fail to make clear, I think, is that this work begins and ends RIGHT HERE. So I ask you to take stock of this community: ask what you can do to further spread the Good News of Christ through the Church of the Good Shepherd. I’ve sent a challenge to the vestry, a challenge they will soon present to you. This challenge is, simply put: to find a place for each and every person here in the nourishment of each other. Whether it’s pastoral care, helping set up and clean up for Sunday’s, reading a lesson, singing in the choir, pulling weeds, balancing check books, assisting in the food pantry, cooking a meal for the community, setting up coffee hour or something else none of us have even thought of, I want all of us here to be able to say to our friends: “You’ll never guess what I get to do at my church.” What would you like to do? What can you do that we don’t know about? You see, there’s plenty to do here but I don’t want us to be task driven, I want us to be joy driven. In other words, if you’re a dancer, I don’t want you bean counting. And if you’re a bean counter, I don’t want you dancing. So stay tuned, there’s more to come.]
Easter continues, and the message stays the same: we are one bread, one body, one community of faith rejoicing in the Love of our Risen Savior.
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