Hymns of praise then let us sing – unto Christ, our Heavenly King. Who endured the cross and grave. Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!
• From “Jesus Christ is Risen Today,” The Hymnal 1982 p.207

There’s nothing like going through a crucifixion to find out who your true friends really are. Where had all the crowds gone? Just a week earlier the whole town had turned out waving palm branches to greet this itinerant rabbi with shouts of “Hosanna” (which translated means “save us”) as he rode into town on a donkey. There were all kinds of people that were there that day; from storeowners, to tax collectors, from highly religious folk to those simply curious to see what the hoopla was all about. His mother and his disciples were also among the crowd who knew deep down that something wasn’t quite right. They had heard Jesus talking of coming to Jerusalem to die – they surely hoped not, but that’s what he did.

His sermons, teachings, and actions that not only spoke of but demonstrated God’s unconditional loving acceptance of all the wrong kinds of people didn’t sit well with the political and religious leaders of the establishment. He spoke of a rival kingdom he called the “Kingdom of God,” with a God who was above all and over all, this infuriated the political establishment. He said that when it came to who God’s chosen people were, he highlighted those who were looked down on by the religiously pious. He told stories about the last, the least, and the lost, stories that made foreigners, the poor and needy, and yes even women the heroes and heroines. This was like a new manager of a country club giving away free memberships to the homeless while the ‘good people’ had to pay for their memberships.

Jesus didn’t just tell stories he backed his stories with action. For example, he ate and drank with people who were disrespected and looked down upon – especially tax collectors who extorted money to line their own pockets. This drew harsh criticism from the religious folk of the day who said with derision ‘what kind of religion is he pushing, why he eats and drinks with sinners!’ To their critiques Jesus said: Only those who are sick need a physician, I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance (Matthew 9.12). Those relying on pedigree and pecking orders were very disappointed to say the least. To the self-promoters and ladder climbers of society Jesus didn’t have much good news. With 20/20 x-ray vision he saw beneath the surface of every person’s soul and revealed that they were all hallow, each with a common disease – call it “My Will Disease.” To all winners, he told them that what they really needed was to lose. To those who had acquired much he said to give it to those less fortunate. He said the greatest among us would be those who serve.
This was a very difficult message to stomach and making matters worse his actions appeared to authenticate his message – unfortunately for Jesus he was a credible witness to God’s kingdom and was convicted by both church and state, and given the death penalty.

Along the way he met people from all walks of life: Jew, gentile, rich, poor, healthy and diseased, men, women, and children. He came to reveal to them all and to all of us that we are all God’s chosen, all are chosen especially those who have been told by society that they are not.

On Sunday morning after Jesus’ crucifixion on Friday the fake news was everywhere: Jesus – the King of the Jews dead at 33 – Jesus of Nazareth proven to be a fraud – Religious huckster gets his Due.

The male disciples who had been with Jesus for three years were nowhere to be found and had gone into hiding. All that remained were a handful of his faithful women followers, that included the three Marys: Mary his mother, Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and Mary Magdalene.

Early that first Easter morning Mary Magdalene left the others in their grief and went to the tomb where Jesus’ body had been placed. To her alarm the stone had been rolled away from the tomb and Jesus was nowhere to be found. She quickly ran back to where Peter, John and the other disciples were hiding and told them that the tomb was empty and that someone had removed Jesus’ body. They ran back to the tomb and confirmed Mary’s story. They still didn’t get that he had risen and they went back home. Mary Magdalen – heartbroken remained outside the tomb weeping. Mary had met Jesus during a time in her life where everything was falling apart, and she was on a downward spiral towards her won destruction. No one had to convince her that she was a sinner. Jesus had forgiven her and healed her soul – she owed him her very life.

But once again, her life seemed to be at a dead end what would she do now without her Savior? She takes one final look into the empty tomb and was startled to see two angels – think cherubim and seraphim sitting on the place where Jesus’ body had been and they asked why she was weeping. She tells them that she is looking for Jesus.

She then turns and sees Jesus but doesn’t recognize him who asks her why she was weeping and who was she looking for. She repeats what she had just told the angels and Jesus speaks her name “Mary!” – when she hears him call her name, she instantly recognizes that unmistakable voice and replies “Rabbouni” – (master – teacher!) She wants to just camp out there with him but he tells her to go and testify to his other disciples what she had seen – she runs back to them and says: “I have seen the Lord!”
Mary becomes the first witness to the resurrection and in later church tradition would come to be known as “The Apostle to the apostles”

In the end it’s not about knowledge, creed, or intellectual assent but experience. Others had arguments about God, while Mary of Magdala had an experience of God and no argument or false accusations could take that away. The risen Lord had done in the resurrection what he had been doing bringing dead things and dead people back to life again. If this were not true the Christian faith would have died out centuries ago.

This, dear friends, was the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection and remains so to this day; those credible witnesses who haven’t had to luxury to sit back and argue or debate, but are those who have felt their own poverty of soul and spirit, and their need for the Savior. The Good News of the Gospel is for all who have ever failed, felt their weakness, doubted their self-worth, or known themselves to be sinners. For of such as these is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

We have come tonight at this moment, The Great Easter Vigil, because Jesus, who had been killed, has come back to life. God has Resurrected his Son, and because of this fact, we have been brought into the presence of God, and through Jesus, we have become aware that God loves us, and with grace, restores to us our ability to hope; we are no longer alone.

Two women have witnessed the arrest, torture, crucifixion, and burial of their teacher, leader, and the center of their world. It’s all gone. They are now traumatized, grieving, confused, hopeless. They have risked coming out of hiding, while the disciples are still hiding in seclusion to avoid the Jewish authorities. The women have come to the grave where it all ended. What they found they did not expect. Suddenly comes a great earthquake and the appearance of an angel rolling back the stone of the tomb. The tomb is open and empty. ((What would you or I be feeling right now at the tomb?)) The guards at the tomb faint with fear, maybe dead. The women no doubt are terrified, which the angel notices and says to them, “do not be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised.” Then he gives them time to take it in. He shows them the place where Jesus had been laid, the burial clothes Jesus had been buried in, neatly folded. He tells the women Jesus is going to Galilee and that they are to tell the disciples to go there, and that Jesus will appear to them there. Now Matthew tells us the women experience “fear and great joy,” both emotions at the same time.

Two women, Mary Mag-da-lene and another Mary (whom Luke and Mark identify as Mary the mother of James), hurry to tell the disciples. But, before they even get out of the garden, they run into Jesus! They fall to the ground and hold on to Jesus’ feet. He isn’t a figment of their imagination or a ghost. They can touch him. He has substance.

What is the first thing Jesus does? He addresses their trauma and fear. “Greetings….Do not be afraid.” The commentator Melinda Quivik says the Greek word used here, “chairete,” is like saying “hello” or “good morning” to family members or friends. Jesus is putting the women at ease as he in very familiar fashion refers to them as his friends in this greeting.¹ He refers to his disciples as his brothers, not his students or followers or disciples. Now they are his brothers. To the women, he says, go tell his “brothers” what has happened, that he wants them to meet him in Galilee, where they will see him just as the women are now. Galilee, where they have spent all their time together as he taught people about the ways of God and healed people. “I will meet you at home.”

Trauma, grief, fear, confusion, hopelessness. Jesus addresses their fear and pain. They and all his disciples, and his mother, have all suffered as they saw him suffer. All their hope was lost. At his every resurrected appearance, Jesus addresses his followers’ traumatized emotions. His very presence and kind, understanding voice reassures and heals them. He is alive, and so are they. All is not lost; he has not left them. New life has just begun.

Fr. Thomas Keating, writer-teacher in Centering Prayer, says we all carry traumas—some small, some large—much of it from childhood just from the normal experiences of growing up, and in daily life events as adults. Right now, even watching the news can traumatize us. [[Have you ever been talking with someone, they say something that suddenly causes you to feel anxious, angry, or overwhelmed? But not because they said anything wrong; you don’t even know why you are reacting the way you are. We call that a “trigger.” You are now in touch with the hurt and trauma Fr. Keating is talking about.]]] We learned early in life ways to cope with negative experiences and learned how to protect ourselves; we still use them. These coping strategies often hinder our ability to openly relate to one another, and our ability to experience God’s presence, love and grace is compromised. From the world of psychotherapy, we know that severe trauma can create PTSD and severely compromise our emotions and coping. Jesus’ followers, and these two women, were exposed to that kind of trauma, and if Jesus had not intervened, it could have severely crippled their ability to manage life. Fr. Keating says it’s this sometimes small, sometimes crippling injury inside of us that Jesus seeks to heal and free us for a life of love, grace and joy, to make it possible to fully love others: family, friends, even strangers, without defensiveness.

Our new life has just begun tonight, once again, as we meet the resurrected Jesus in the garden, as we meet him in the Eucharist, as we gather with one another as the Church. Tonight God makes it Easter, life giving joy and release from hopelessness and fear. We bring our life-long traumas and all the things we are afraid of, our lost dreams and lost hopes, our loneliness and disappointments, into the presence of the resurrected Jesus, God’s gift to us of love and grace; and Jesus offers to stay with us and heal us from our brokenness, and to keep us company each day of our lives. Jesus is alive and present with us!! Yes, tonight God makes it Easter, life giving joy and release from hopelessness and fear, in the presence of the resurrected Jesus Christ.

1 Melinda Quivik, “Holy Week,” New Proclamation, Year A. pp.294-296, 2008.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
From “Anthem 2” in the liturgy for Good Friday, The Book of Common Prayer p.241

The last words of famous people are often poignant, purposeful, and memorable. Here are just a few examples:
Alfred Hitchcock grappling with his theology said, “One never knows the ending. One has to die to know exactly what happens after death, although Catholics have their hopes.”
Some were like Vince Lombardi whose thoughts turned to loved ones. Just before he drew his last breath he turned to his wife Marie and said, “Happy anniversary. I love you.”
Convicted murderer James W. Rodgers managed to hold on to his sense of humor to the last. When he was put in front of a firing squad in Utah and asked if he had a last request. He replied, “Bring me a bullet-proof vest.”
Some were holding on to faith like the Blues singer Bessie Smith said, “I’m going, but I’m going in the name of the Lord.”
Some were truly ready to leave like the actress Joan Crawford who yelled at her housekeeper, who was praying as Crawford was dying, “Damn it! Don’t you dare ask God to help me!”
My personal favorite was from Apple Computer founder, Steve Jobs, “Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow.”
The most famous last words of all have to be the seven last words of Jesus from the cross on good Friday. These words reveal the priorities of the Savior of the World and show us how to die well and to focus on the ultimate concerns of human life.

The First Word
    “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Jesus first priority wasn’t another sermon, another teaching, the performance of another miracle, or figuring out how to produce more, acquire more, or spend more. It wasn’t about attaining a job promotion, or earning the adulation of the crowds who were gathered. It wasn’t regret over not having a ‘final fling’ with Mary Magdalene. No, his first priority and primary concern when dying was for his enemies. He prayed to God for the forgiveness of the very ones that were nailing him to the cross, for Pilate the politician caught in the middle between justice or keeping his place in office, for the religious folk who scapegoated him as a heretical enemy to their faith, for the pagans, epicureans, and friends of Barabbas, for the whole cast of the tragic drama before us he prayed: Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.” Jesus didn’t want to die holding a bitter grudge but instead he let go, he let it go, he let them go.

The Second Word
    “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Between two thieves indicted, convicted, and sentenced to death Jesus the sinless One is hung on the cross. One thief hopes Jesus still has a trick or two up his sleeve to get him out of this mess, but soon realizes he’s out of luck and joins the crowd in taunting Jesus. But there was another thief whom tradition calls Dismas whose name means “sunset” who saw beneath the surface to the Savior and his only hope for the next life. “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He makes Dismas a promise today you will be with me in paradise. Jesus reveals that the cross is his throne where he has power to pardon the most hardened criminal. Echoes of the third chapter of John:
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (3.17).

The Third Word
    “Woman, behold thy son…and then he said to John, “Behold thy mother.”
Jesus at the time of his death made his earthly family a priority. Jesus had a human mother, who by this time in her life was a widow. Jesus was her source of care, protection, and income. Before Jesus could leave, he would need to see to his earthly obligation to his mother. A big part of dying is to see that the living under our care is cared for after we are gone. Jesus gives his mother the respect she rightly deserves as the Mother of God who was in unimaginable distress having her own soul pierced by the death she was witnessing.

The Fourth Word
    “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
The sky has grown opaque with darkness, clouds that totally blocked the sun, as if to obscure (if it were possible) God’s eyes from the horrible spectacle of God’s Son who had not committed a single sin but now is becoming sin – taking it all upon himself and drinking the bitter cup that he had asked God to let pass from him while he had prayed in the garden. Have you ever felt the absence of God? Have you ever felt abandoned by God? Jesus has an he gets it when we feel the absence left only with doubts. He endures this for our sake as john the Baptist had rightly said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the world.” Not just the little sins (the verbs of sin) that we all commit, but by taking away Sin itself the noun of sin – the entire entity and phenomenon. Anything that could ever finally separate us from the Love of God was taken upon, taken into Jesus and destroyed!

The Fifth Word
    “I Thirst”
I have been honored to accompany many folks in their final hours and moments and I can tell you they all got thirsty. Dying is hard work and as the body starts shutting down thirst is one of the last things to go. Jesus’ suffering was real! Christ was no ‘will ‘o the wisp,’ not a ghost, but one who was fully human, as well as Divine. In the end we all will meet the same fate and Jesus hallows these suffering and dying moments by going through the process himself. As Swiss theologian Hans Uhrs Von Balthazar wrote: “Jesus’s love [that] bears our brokenness as his own, moving though still deeper darknesses, and bearing it to the end. At the center of the Christian faith is one who is not alien to tragedy, a savior not complacent in the face of suffering”.

The Sixth Word
    “It is Finished”
Jesus the Divine Son of God had been sent to earth to complete a mission that only He could accomplish; God incarnate coming in human form that touched the whole of human experience and thereby gathering up all of the human experience and redeeming it all from the powers of darkness and death. Redemption bridges the gap, ultimately saving us from final death, curing us from the sense of estrangement from God, our neighbors, and our own selves. We too have been created by God and sent to earth to fulfill our unique calling and mission to the glory of God. May we be able to say those words and find their fulfillment in our lives – it is finished.

The Seventh Word
    “Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit”
Having fulfilled the purpose of his earthly journey and finished his mission. It was time to let go. He could trust in the God who had been with him every step of the way even in those moments where he felt truly abandoned, the faithful and true God would be there for Him at his earthly end. Jesus who had brought heaven to earth, now was fully qualified to take up all things earthly to heaven and to redeem it all!
The seven last words speak of Forgiveness, Promise, Loving Care, Being held safe in our abandonment and doubt, Divine solidarity in human suffering, Redemption of all our offenses, Rest from Earthly Labors and finally – Eternal Life!

Give mercy and grace to the living; pardon and rest to the dead; to your holy Church peace and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
• From the closing prayer of the Good Friday liturgy, The Book of Common Prayer, p.242

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” Amen. – From John 13

Holy Week began this past Sunday (known as Palm Sunday,) with Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey to the shouts of Hosannas from the crowd waving and strewing palm branches on the road.

Next in Holy Week came Spy Wednesday where Judas agreed to spy on Jesus and promised to betray him to the religious leaders for the price of 30 pieces of silver. This was not a fortune; it was equal to a month’s pay for a common laborer. It was also the price under the law of moses, that a slave owner would be paid if their slave were killed by an animal – a possible foreshadowing of Christ’s betrayal and death.

On Thursday evening of Holy Week Jesus and his disciples were gathered to celebrate what would come to be called “the Last Supper” where Jesus and his disciples would share a final Passover meal. In the Episcopal Church and throughout the Anglican communion this night became known as Maundy Thursday.

Maundy is a peculiar word formed by combining the letters from old French and Middle English words, and is derived from the Latin phrase mandatum novum and means “a new commandment.” It was during the reign of King John in the 13th cen. that a long-standing tradition started where the Monarchs of England would wash the feet of the poor and give them money. The coins that were given to the poor were known as “Maundy Money” and this tradition continues to this day with King Charles III. It has lost some of its original meaning by the discontinuation of foot washing, and the maundy money is now given to worthy recipients for their acts of Christian service to church and community.

But let’s return to that first Maundy Thursday night some 2026 years ago. This would be a night like no other for Jesus and his disciples. Jesus was going to say and do three things that up to this point had never been said or done before. First, he would give them a new commandment, secondly, he would wash their feet, and third, he would create a new variation on the traditional Passover meal which would become Holy Communion for the Christian after Christ’s ascension.

The new commandment (the mandatum novum) was and still is:
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”

If you have listened to many sermons, you will have probably heard the Greek word Agape’ used to describe the sacrificial Love God has for us. This word Agape’ is a noun. Something that is fascinating, when you look up the Greek for Jesus’ new commandment – one might expect that the word Agape’ divine love would be used but it’s not what was used. The word for love in Christ’s new commandment is Agapao and it’s a truly beautiful choice for Agapao is not a noun – it’s a verb! It is God’s love – set into motion, and demonstrated by action. So, this took the command to love our neighbor as ourselves to whole new level:
‘I give you a new commandment that you show sacrificial love in action towards one another. Just as I have shown sacrificial love in action towards you, so you should show sacrificial love in action for one another.’

The next thing that happens is so shocking that Peter resists and only after protesting does he give in. Jesus humbles himself and taking on the form of a servant, wraps himself in a towel, gets down on his knees starting with Peter and begins to wash his dusty weary feet, and said: “Unless I wash your feet, you have no share with me.” A practical duty that all pedestrians of the day had to do for themselves Christ would show that he was not too good to do for his disciples:
“So, if I your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”

We do this action of foot washing every year on this night to remember that we are called to show sacrificial love in action. Why only once a year? Well, most of us drive cars, trucks or SUVs and don’t need our feet washed unless were in the hospital. However, we have found that there are many ways to show sacrificial love in action: When we are home sick and the soup patrol knocks on our door with piping hot soup and bread we have been shown love. When we are perplexed, distraught and was given a listening ear and wise counsel we have been shown love. When someone gives us rides to the church when we are unable to drive ourselves, we have been shown love. When in the secrecy of our homes we pray for one another, we have shown love. Whenever we are sinned against and choose forgiveness rather than hold a grudge we are showing love in action.

This is one of the things that makes the Church different from a social club or community service organization; we don’t get to pick who we come to church with, or who we will be sharing communion with at the altar. Some of us can be difficult, we have disagreements, and can be hard to understand, but these are the very ones that we have been called to show sacrificial love in action to. It really is all about love – Agapao! By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you show sacrificial love in action for one another! Amen.

At the beginning of Passover Week in Jerusalem around 33 ace, Jews from around Jerusalem and from the whole Greek Roman world began gathering for Passover, in the City of David, the home of the Temple. Pontius Pilate, local Roman Ruler, called in Roman Army reinforcements to the city to police and control the crowds. From the West gate of the City, Pilate led an army of Roman soldiers in full battle dress, weapons on display, riding on war horses as a show of force to the City demonstrating Roman was in command. This Pilate did each year during his reign¹

Later, at the beginning of Passover week, Jesus came to town. We just re-enacted this entry this morning. Jesus rode in through the East gate of the City riding on a donkey, and a donkey colt, with his disciples following behind him. They and some of the crowd beside the street waved palm branches, symbols of “liberation” while others threw their cloaks on the road ahead of Jesus as a sign of jubilation and kingly respect. No army, no weapons, no war horses. Matthew notes that the Hebrew prophets of old foretold this very scene, donkeys and all, that this would be how the Messiah would enter Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9).

So, what is the symbolism here? Jesus rides donkeys. Donkeys were symbols of gentleness and humility, as opposed to Pilate riding in on a war horse, symbol of power and military might. Donkeys: Donkeys are gentle creatures, affectionate, cute, and rather funny to be around. Linda Blagg, who has two donkeys, says they can read your soul, and know your heart. They will do anything for you, unless you do something harmful or against their nature. Then they might kick you with their powerful hindquarters. Christians have noted that donkeys have the image of a cross in the fur on their back, a dark streak beginning at the mane, the cross-beam intersecting at the withers. They are much like Jesus himself. In all ways, the opposite of a war horse. The people shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” The word “hosanna” once meant “save us” in Hebrew and Aramaic, but by Jesus’ day, it was reduced to a cheer, more like “yeah!”² We’re told the City was in turmoil because many did not know who Jesus was or what his entrance was all about.

Many people expected in Jesus the return of the great King David who would raise a great army and push the Roman army out of Israel and free the people, with the cloaks thrown on the road as if a red carpet, the great cheers for the great king.³ But there is no army and no weapons. Because, as Jesus has been teaching throughout his ministry, the Kingdom of God is about relationships, not Earthly governments and armies. Luke 10 and Matthew 22: “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 love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 7: “do not judge others.” Matthew 18: don’t forgive others seven times, but “seventy seven times.” Matthew 25: “Come you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you…., for I was hungry and you gave me food…thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…, naked and you gave me clothing…, sick and you took care of me…, in prison and you visited me.” Matthew 20: “whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant….just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

The Kingdom of God is not in the world’s governments, nations nor their leaders. The kingdom of God is in people who express love, grace, and forgiveness to others, who seek to meet the needs of others. The Kingdom of God is in groups of people who share love, grace and forgiveness with each other. The Kingdom of God is in those who experience God’s love and grace and forgiveness and are transformed by God. A nation or government and its leaders are only Christian to the extent that they act in love, grace and forgiveness, acting in accord with the nature of God, demonstrating Jesus’ presence. Our Churches are only healing and life giving to the extent we let God make a home in us. But, fortunately for all people everywhere and in every walk of life, God gives out love, grace, and forgiveness.

We are here in the Church today giving ourselves to that transformation, seeking the life altering presence of God who can take our self-centered and often damaged selves and make us the loving and gracious disciples of Jesus Christ, citizens of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus did not come with an army to rid the world of other nation’s armies and power, but to transform people who would then transform their interactions with each other into love, grace and forgiveness, and who would behave that way in every area of their lives, be it family, business, government, or Church. Only then do our institutions begin to look like the Kingdom of God. Only then can wars stop being waged, only then can governments act as true servants to the needs of the people, only then will we treat all people with equality and dignity. Pilate’s Roman soldiers will not help create God’s work on Earth, nor any army. Laws generated in a
society not following the love of God will not bring safety and tranquility to the people. But, people transformed to love and grace Will !!

Today, Palm Sunday, and this week, Holy Week, connects us with the Creator of all existence, and God’s call to us to be in the Kingdom of God. A man riding on a donkey, serving the people in love, obedient to God, self-sacrificing, is the metaphor for the Kingdom of God.

AMEN…..

1 Men’s Bible Study, Saint Mark’s Episcopal, Little Rock
2 New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Vol. VIII, Matthew (M. Eugene Boring), pp. 402-403.
3 NIBC, Vol. VIII, p. 403

“I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord. Whoever believes in me, though they were dead, yet shall they live; and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Amen. – from John 11.25-26

In spite everything the Holy Bible continues to stay near the top on the best seller list, and one of the reasons is that it is chocked full of good stories. Oral tradition was how ancient peoples preserved, and transmitted their highest tribal values to future generations. By telling and retelling Through stories, poetry, and song, each new generation was introduced to what was most important. Finally after centuries and with the advent of writing they came to be written down. The Gospels are great examples of how a good story carries a lot of freight.

The story of Lazarus is one of those great stories and once heard it’s almost impossible to forget. If you were giving it a title, a good one might be: “A Dress Rehearsal for the Resurrection from the Dead”
The story includes Jesus’ three close friends from the village of Bethany: Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. They were all siblings and had been extremely helpful to Jesus and through ministry they became close friends.

This makes the opening scene so strange. Jesus receives word that his good friend Lazarus had taken ill and it was a serious situation. Rather than dropping everything and rushing to his rescue, he stays two additional days where he was and had this to say: “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” How strange.

As the end of the two days Jesus suddenly tells his disciples that it’s time to go back to Bethany. He tells them that Lazarus was only sleeping, and that he was going to awaken him. How strange. This is all quite disturbing to the disciples especially since the last time they had been in Bethany the villagers had attempted to stone Jesus and his disciples to death. In characteristic style, Thomas casts an additional pall on the proceedings and said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

On the outskirts of town Martha intercepted Jesus to tell him not to bother with her brother, that Lazarus was dead. She who was freshly heartbroken had some pretty harsh words for Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (‘In other words, where the blank______ have you been!’) Have you ever been disappointed with God? Martha, although deeply disappointed in Jesus still held to a glimmer of hope and added:
“But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.”
Maybe, this worker of miracles might have one more miracle up his sleeve for her brother. Jesus seeing that she still has an ember of faith tells her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha agrees that Lazarus will finally be resurrected like all of the dead will be on the last day. Jesus says something strange:
“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Martha declares her faith in Jesus that he was more than a mere mortal:
“Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”
She runs back home tells her sister Mary that Jesus is just coming into town. Mary gets up quickly to meets Jesus and is followed by the villagers. She greeted him with the same disappointment of her sister Martha and said:
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Grief, pain, and suffering where had Jesus been, why didn’t he come before Lazarus died? The deep disappointment is Jesus was real. Mary, along with those who had followed began to weep profusely! This greatly distressed and disturbed Jesus, he asked where they had laid Lazarus to rest, and then something happened that revealed the deep truth about Jesus that he was not only divine but human. We are told that Jesus was no demigod and untouched, the gospel tells us, “He was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.” Then something extraordinary happens. Here the classic King James version of the bible reads just two words – “Jesus wept.” Jesus feels, Jesus suffers, Jesus loves. This moment when Jesus reveals his humanity and his great empathy for those in grief, is enshrined in the burial service of our prayer book which states:
Lord, you consoled Martha and Mary in their distress, draw near to us who mourn and dry the tears of those who weep. (BCP p.497)
Jesus, the human grieves, and thereby sanctifies all of our grief by his own, and is revealed by his weeping.
They walk to the tomb and Martha with an eye for detail and a keen sense of the obvious warns Jesus about the stench of Lazarus after four days of being dead. Again, the King James versions puts it poetically – “Lord, by this time he stinketh…” Jesus, a bit disappointed in Martha said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” The stone from the grave was then rolled away and the strong overpowering stench of death fills their nostrils – Jesus then calls out in a loud voice: “Lazarus come out.”

Lazarus slowly emerges covered in grave clothes embedded with aloes and spices and with his hands bound by bandages! The stench gives way to astonishment as the miracle is performed – Lazarus is very much alive! Jesus tells them to unbind him so that he can walk freely. Because of this great many believed.

Names were extremely important back in that day. Names often gave the person clues to their destinies. Guess what the name Lazarus means in Hebrew? “God Helped” I’d say Lazarus lived up to the prophecy that his name revealed.
What if God knows about the trouble of our lives – those situations that seem to have no solution and God appears to be silent on the matter. Maybe it has something to do with our intimate relationships, our finances or the lack thereof, or at school, or work, or something extremely personal that’s going on in our bodies.

As they say hindsight is 20/20, as we look at the conclusion of Lazarus’ story we can see God was working out the divine purpose for God’s glory. How might we apply this in our situations of trouble, distress, or grief?

Last week during the peace I was greeted by one of our children who handed me his artwork from children’s chapel it was a highly decorated word and one word only – Faith! What a reminder and I very much needed it that day!

Perhaps it’s time to use what little faith we have and believe in our great God, the God that is both human and divine, that feels all of our pain, and to trust that God + Our Difficulty = God’s opportunity to do something truly remarkable! Let it be Lord, let it be!

“For the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” – I Samuel 16.

As most of you know my wife Shannon serves in the VA health system as an Optometrist at Ft. Roots. Not only does she provide standard eyecare, she also is a “low vision specialist.” There are many reasons that her veterans have trouble seeing, some have diabetes, or have had a stroke, or have lost vision due to a combat related injury. She serves them faithfully, helping to provide treatments that improve their vision or provides them with the tools and technology to make the most of the vision they have left. Shannon is a tour de force, a source of healing, and sees to it that our veterans’ eyes stay healthy and that they are able see with the maximum vision possible.

In our readings for today we see the trouble when we have trouble seeing. They reveal to us that there is more than one way to see and more than one way to be blind – physically and spiritually.
In today’s gospel we see Jesus, the Great Physician, bringing healing to a man that was born blind. He does this by making a poultice, with dirt and saliva, and he then anoints the man’s eyes with this and then gives him a prescription, sending him to go and wash his eyes in a particular pool of water near Jerusalem called Siloam – Siloam literally means “sent.” Jesus who was sent from God, sends the blind man to the waters to wash, and as he obeys, he is instantly healed of physical blindness.

On the heels of this great miracle, we see the specter of another kind of blindness – spiritual blindness. The pharisees show us the underbelly of organized religion where they get hung up by a couple of things, religious pedigree and the law. First, Jesus wasn’t not properly trained (in other words trained by them) and second, Jesus made his poultice on the Sabbath Day, which meant that he had violated the sabbath by doing work. Bono of the rock group, U2 described this unhealthy form of religion when he said, “[unhealthy] religion is what happens when Jesus leaves the building.”

Rather than rejoicing with the healed man and his family, they reject Jesus and start an argument calling into question the man’s healing, denigrating the dubious source of an upstart rabbi from the sleepy hamlet of Nazareth, who dared to heal on the Sabbath day. Spiritual blindness blinds us to the miracles of life that are often standing right in front of us. The pharisees hold an angry meeting and then decide to have another go at the man and his family:
“So, for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man [Jesus] is a sinner.”  He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

For the man born blind, the proof was in the pudding, or shall I say, in the poultice, he was on cloud nine and was mystified as to why anyone, much less religious folk, were unable to rejoice with him! He not only had his physical sight restored but his spiritual vision as well – he could now clearly see God, those around him, and himself.

In our reading from the Old Testament, we see a kind of blindness of judgment that causes us not to be able to see each other. Strangely the cause of this kind of blindness was due to family rules and roles. How strange that sometimes it’s those who are the closest to us that have the hardest time seeing us for who we really are.

King Saul, had failed in his calling to lead the people of Israel, and God desired to give his people a new king, from the house of Jesse. So, God alerts the prophet Samuel to God’s plans and he is sent to the House of Jesse to anoint the man of God’s choosing. Samuel shows up and lets it be known that God intends to select a new king from among his sons. Jesse had eight sons and one by one they are presented to the prophet who is listening ever so closely to the Spirit, and he keeps hearing “no, that’s not the right one.” These guys sure looked the part and had clout and standing in the family but each time they were rejected by the prophet. Samuel gets to the end of the line of sons and asks is this all of your sons? Jesse reluctantly says well yeah, my youngest son David, is out tending the sheep. To the surprise of everyone, Samuel asks them to bring David to him. He is the runt of the litter with a baby face and Samuel receives divine confirmation that this is the chosen one. On the cover of your bulletin there is a rendering of the moment when Samuel takes out a hollowed-out horn filled with anointing oil, a blend of olive oil and aromatic spices and pours it one the head of David. Look at the faces of the brothers, some are aghast, some have looks of disgust and a couple of them can’t even bare to look – spiritual and physical blindness.

Of all of Jesse’s eight sons, God picks the youngest, with the least experience, the runt of the litter, who wasn’t even considered to be in the running, sent by his father to the fields to tend sheep. His family looking on his outward appearance saw him only as the runt, not even in the running, but when God looked at him, God saw the future ruler of his people:
“For the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” – I Samuel 16.

Short of a miracle there is no cure for physical blindness; spiritual blindness, and the blindness of judgment are curable but we must ask for that cure and the grace to see as God sees ourselves, our families, and our neighbors. Our God, who is known as the Good Shepherd and the Great Physician stands ready to heal and to lead us toward a more loving, compassionate, and abundant life.
Let us Pray:

Gracious God, open the eyes of our hearts to see the immense, unwavering love You have for each of us. Remove the scales of doubt, insecurity, and shame that blind me to my identity as Your beloved child. 

Lord, open our eyes to see others through Your eyes. Help us to look beyond surface appearances, differences, or faults, and to recognize Your beauty and potential in every person we encounter.

 Give us grace to see the world as You see it—full of Your grace and possibilities. Let Your love be the filter through which we see ourselves, our neighbors, and the brokenness of the world, that we may be instruments of Your peace and compassion. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”¹

1 https://www.google.com/search?q=prayer+for+open+eyes+and+open+hearts+to+see+God%27s+love+for+ourselves+and+others&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS701US701&oq=prayer+for+open+eyes+and+open+hearts+to+see+God%27s+love+for+ourselves+and+others&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCjE4MTEzajBqMTWoAgiwAgHxBZZx6reT9LmD8QWWceq3k_S5gw&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ:
inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection;
who lives and reigns with you, and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen. – The Book of Common Prayer p.816

One hot day in a middle eastern town called Sychar, a meeting took place between two people who couldn’t have been any more different. Jesus was a single, Jewish, male and a rabbi. The ‘other’ was a woman of mixed race called a Samaritan (a person who was half Jewish and half Arab). Jesus had been walking in the desert heat and was physically tired and thirsty, and sat down by a well. It was noon and suddenly a single woman appears to draw water from the well. Jesus asks her for a drink of water.

The first problem is that meetings like this between one man and one woman weren’t allowed in either Jewish or Samaritan cultures. The second problem is that Jews weren’t supposed to have any contact with a Samaritan and weren’t to touch them or anything that had been touched by them, so drinking or eating would have been a huge taboo. Knowing all of this made the shock of Jesus asking her to give him a drink even more startling. So already in this encounter we have a couple of strikes against anything positive coming out of this meeting. First you have the gender difference male and female. Second, you have the racial issue one a Jew the other of mixed race. And there was a third strike – a huge one, the woman was immoral and rejected by her own people. We know this because Samaritan women of good repute travelled as a group to the well to draw water in the morning, in the cool of the day. The woman standing before Jesus was coming at noon, in the heat of the day, and travelling by herself the sign of her status as an outcast.

As the author Richard Rohr puts it “Jesus knew how to break the rules in the right way.” The relationship is what mattered to him, he knew that this woman of Samaria was greatly loved and valued by God, he wanted to be able to share this great love, and for this he was willing to break all the rules of society. He was willing to cross the gender barrier, he was willing to cross the racial barrier, and he was willing to cross the sin barrier of her moral failings to make a connection of eternal proportions. Jesus’ crossing of the divides had made both of them vulnerable to the censure of both of their cultures. Jesus revealed the divine knowledge that she had a thirst beyond physical water but like all humans she had the need for living water that alone could satisfy the thirst of her parched soul.

In his presence thousands of years of prejudice melted away and what was left was a person made in the image of God. Jesus saw her, the real her that went beyond her gender, race, or religious status – the woman who was thirsty for the love and unconditional acceptance of God. Jesus let her know that he knew of her moral failings, she had been married five times and the man she was currently with was not her husband. Jesus knew all of this about her and more and still he saw her as God’s beloved daughter.

This wonderful meeting is then disturbed by Jesus’ disciples showing up and they are disturbed to find him alone with a Samaritan woman, but oh what transformation had occurred. She seizes the moment of interruption to take her leave back to the city center where she tells all who would listen:” Come and see the man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” inviting the townsfolk to come and experience Jesus for themselves. As Episcopal priest, Kathleen Miller notes, “By her faith, her willingness to engage in spiritual dialogue and to believe in the abundant life Jesus offers her, the woman at the well emerges from the image of a thirsty, careworn outcast, to a hopeful evangelist!” Jesus had done for her what Jesus will do for anyone who’s willing to sit in his presence and listen, and to make ourselves vulnerable enough to receive the living water.
There is a powerful hymn in our hymnal written by Brian Wren, that we will be singing a bit later, that describes the Way of Christ in the world:
When Christ was lifted from the earth, his arms stretched out above
Through every culture, every birth, to draw an answering love.

Still east and west his love extends and always near or far,
He calls and claims us as his friends and loves us as we are.

Where generation, class, or race, divide us to our shame,
he sees not labels but a face, a person, and a name.

Thus freely loved, though fully known, may I in Christ be free
To welcome and accept his own as Christ accepted me.¹

We, dear friends are living in a divided world, one that is divided by differences of gender, race, socio-economic status, by religion and politics – and for all of these differences we are bombarded by various labels to stereotype them all turning a world of “We” into a world of “Us vs. Them.” This is not, was it ever the way of Jesus his way has been and always will be – love. Amen.

1 Wren, Brian A. “When Christ is lifted from the earth” The Hymnal 1982 (Church Publishing: New York) p.603

3:16

3:16…Sounds kind of like a secret code.
Our Scripture reading today ends with one of the most well-known Scriptures in the Bible Belt, John 3:16. You can drive down most rural highways in Arkansas and see this Scripture referenced only by its number John 3:16 or just 3:16 displayed on large and small signs, and everyone knows it refers to the Scripture we read today. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (vss. 16-17 NRSV). But, Nicodemus is about to show us this fact is not so easy to grasp.

Nicodemus, a leading Pharisee (we are told) went to Jesus in secret at night to talk with Jesus. Nicodemus, among other things, tells Jesus he realizes Jesus must have come from God in order to be able to do the things Jesus has been doing. Jesus responds, “Nicodemus, you have to be born from above in order to see the kingdom of God.” According to commentator Gail R. O’Day, the Greek word used here (anothen) requires two meanings in English to get the true meaning of this Greek word, “born again” and “born from above or, born anew.”¹ Part of the word is physical, and part is spiritual. Nicodemus is confused and does not understand. He hears one of the meanings, born again, to which he asks Jesus how might it be possible to enter the mother’s womb and be born again. Jesus tries to explain in three different ways what this means. He uses a second image, “you must be born of water and Spirit,” meaning we are born into a physical body but we also are reborn into a spiritual body. That doesn’t take either. So, Jesus tries a third image, being born again/ from above is like the wind/spirit. The Spirit of God fills us like the wind which you can feel but not see, experience but not control. Jesus is saying that entering the kingdom of God requires a complete reworking of our minds and emotions, and God manages the transformation.

It reminds me of the famous Dicken’s story, “A Christmas Carol” with Scrouge being the character transformed. Scrouge is portrayed as a self-centered, selfish, self-serving, mean-spirited man who uses people in his village and who work for him for his own personal gain. And the poor he wants out of his way: “are there no poor houses to put them away in”? “If they are sick, let them die and be done with it. It will reduce the surplus population.” Then during the night of Christmas Eve, he encounters the three spirits, and in the process, Scrouge is transformed into a caring, thoughtful, kind and generous man who suddenly experiences compassion for the poor, the sick and for his fellow villagers.² He was “born again” into a completely different person, “born anew” with a totally transformed spirit. Oh, we humans so love a story where mean and hurtful people change into loving, generous people, though we would like them to suffer a bit first.

Jesus will go on to say that this transformation is totally God’s gift to us because of God’s love for us. Jesus as God’s only Son is sent here as God’s gift of love to remake us into people ready for the kingdom of God, to die for us to complete the mission. This love is so radical that it is pure gift to us requiring only that we absorb the love into ourselves. Once this is done, God redesigns our minds and hearts as loved and loving people. Now we are born again/born anew and become citizens of the kingdom of God, first here on Earth where we help God bring love into the world and serve each other and the community, and then continuing on into God’s eternity once we leave human life.

So what do we act like or look like once this transformation is being performed? Paul, in his First Letter to the Church in Corinth, takes a stab at describing what people living in God’s love act like and look like in chapter 13: we become receivers of God’s love, and are made new into people who then love as Jesus does. That is, we become patient with people, we are kind to each other, we are not envious of each other (not of what they have or of their status in the community), we are not boastful or arrogant or self-promoting. We are not rude to each other. Instead of selfish or self-serving, we don’t insist that we get our way or that things must be our way. And, we are not irritable or resentful. We are truthful, we don’t engage in wrongdoing. In love, we bear the troubles of others, we believe in the good of others. And our love endures when others let us down (1 Cor. 13: 4-7). Not there yet?

Born again has been made out to be a possession we own, and a once and done thing. But this transformation is an ongoing deed by God in us, and God keeps us company while he continues this work.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not parish but may have eternal life.”

1 The Gospel of John by Gail R. O’Day. The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX Luke John, pp. 546-555.
2 Dickens, Charles. “A Christmas Carol.”

Scripture readings are from NRSV.