"Believe...And Be Amazed" - Easter Sermon, April 21, 2019
Community UMC, Quincy
“Believe…And Be Amazed”
Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019
Rev. Andrew Davis
Luke 24: 1-12
A little over a week ago, I was driving through the Sierra Valley on the way to Reno for lunch with my clergy mentor and was amazed at what I saw (which doesn’t take much to amaze me)…as the valley spread out from the butte past Beckworth, there was a beautiful, green carpet beginning to grow after what has been a long winter, wildflowers, and quite a few calves out in the pastures of a couple ranches near Vinton, even while the mountains around the valley still had snow on top. Closer to home, along my driveway at home, the daffodils are in full bloom, while the apple tree in my back yard is beginning to bud and will be blossoming before long, along with the yellow bushes behind Safeway and the little purple flowers and daffodils in ‘Shirley’s Garden’ by the High Street entrance of our church, and trees, flowers, and bushes are in full bloom around the neighborhood. I always look forward to spring each year because it means that there is abundant new life everywhere we look. It reminds me of the line in the late Natalie Sleeth’s “Hymn of Promise,” that goes “in the cold and snow of winter/there’s a spring that waits to be/unrevealed until its season/something God alone can see.”[1]As we celebrate the Risen Christ on this Easter morning, it is a day of new life, hope, and being amazed at the empty cross and the empty tomb.
In our Gospel lesson from Luke’s account of the resurrection that we just heard, we encounter a group of women who stayed with Jesus during his crucifixion and death, as the rest of the disciples ran away and hid. As the women approach the tomb in the morning after the sabbath, they come with spices and oils to anoint Jesus’s body…except when they arrive at the tomb, instead of finding Jesus’s body laying inside as they would have expected, the tomb is empty. Perplexed as they were at this sight, they are told that Jesus is alive, as Jesus has conquered death and fulfilled what he said in Galilee earlier in his earthly ministry. They remember… they believe… and they are amazed!! Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary Mother of James go and tell the disciples, who don’t believe what they’re being told at first. However, Peter, the one who denied Jesus after his arrest, goes to the tomb to see for himself whether the tomb is empty or not. As Peter sees the empty tomb, he believes and is amazed at what he sees. Ultimately, the rest of the disciples will see Jesus too, as Jesus will make post-resurrection appearances to the disciples and open their eyes, in which the rest of the disciples will come to believe and be amazed before Jesus ascends to God.
On this Easter morning, we bask in the glow of the resurrection, yet even in the midst of the joy and hope that this morning brings, we have been through some tough times these last few months and have been through or seen tragedy at one point or another. This past week has been filled with reminders that the powers of death, sin, and destruction are still very much at work in our world today. This past week, we watched in horror as the 800-plus year-old Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris went up in flames. We marked the 24thanniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, the 20thanniversary of the mass shooting at Columbine High School near Denver, CO. And, we have had to witness and endure seeing other tragic events that have happened in our nation, world, and closer to home. Amidst tragedy, destruction, violence, unrest, or disaster, we have the risen Christ to turn to in such times and can see the risen Christ through the helpers, through those who bring aid, and through those who are out to do good. I don’t know about you, but that’s something that brings me to believe and be amazed in the power of the risen Christ, seeing people doing good.
On Tuesday morning, while perusing my Facebook newsfeed, I came across an image of a cross in the burned-out Notre Dame Cathedral, and a beam of light shining through the burned-out shell of the building. In the midst of fire and destruction, the cross was still intact. So, I can imagine the sense of awe that the women felt when they encountered the empty tomb that early morning just like seeing that intact, empty cross and the beam of light in the midst of destruction. Death, destruction, and sin did not have the final word in Jesus’s time and neither does it today. Even in the challenges and difficulties we will face in life, the risen Christ is with us when we are willing to believe and be amazed like Peter was when he looked in the empty tomb.
Believing in the risen Christ won’t necessarily make the problems, challenges, or difficulties in life go away, just as it’s not going to make tragic events or destruction go away either. When we are willing to believe and be amazed in the risen Christ, the good news is that we are not alone… we have our Lord who we can vent our troubles to, whose presence through the Holy Spirit can bring a sense of peace in the midst of turmoil. I know when I find my anxiety or fear at its highest point and in addition to having someone to talk it out with, I know that I can pray and have a sense of peace and know that those I can talk to are an extension of God’s presence too. And like seeing the helpers and those who do good in our world, we too can be helpers, do good, and be like Christ. On our journey of faith, we can ultimately come to have the mind of Christ when we believe in him, by having a change of heart when we know we’ve done wrong, and by going out into the community and world by rolling our sleeves up by bringing good news to the poor, the troubled, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoner, and many more ways of doing good in our world.
Having the mind of Christ and being the hands and feet of Christ in our community here in Quincy looks like volunteering at CAN, volunteering for the Hot Pot Lunch in the winter months, helping set up and clean up at Community Supper, donating to PCIRC, or getting involved in a service organization. It’s doing what John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement calls ‘works of mercy and works of love.’ When we believe and when we are amazed at encountering the risen Christ, we have an opportunity to accept the forgiveness of our sins, and believe in the one who died out of love for humanity and conquered sin and death because of his great love for each one of us when he rose from the grave.
Now, I know that not everyone does or will believe in the risen Christ or in God, yet it’s not my place to judge those who do not. Even if one may not necessarily believe in God or in the risen Christ, there is still God’s grace that is there, or more specifically, prevenient grace, which is God’s grace that is there before we come to believe in God or the risen Christ, and is grace that can be accepted or rejected. Regardless of whether we do believe or not, Christ still loves us, even when we may have our doubts, whenever we struggle, go through hardships, encounter tragedy, because none of that has the final word, just as death and sin do not have the final word. Yet it is NEVER too late to experience new life or hope when we decide to put our trust and faith in God through following Jesus Christ. Nevertheless,
To believe in the resurrection of Jesus takes a lot of faith and courage. But it is more than saying yes to the claim made by the women and, eventually, the men in the Easter story. It is at the same time saying “no” to the power of death and destruction that surrounds us. In place of the bad news we hear and the bad experiences we have, we make the claim that there is a sustaining power, God, who brings life out of death and reconciliation out of conflict, as the Bible tells us. There has been marvelous testimony through the ages that that is so, beginning with the earliest witnesses of Easter. To commit ourselves to their claim opens the door to new life for ourselves and for acts of love and reconciliation in the world.[2]
When he appears to the disciples after the resurrection, the risen Christ still loves his disciples even though they ran away, even though they didn’t initially believe the witness of Mary, Joanna, and Mary Mother of James. At the same time, Jesus could have chided the disciples for their behavior…but instead, the risen Jesus calls the disciples back into service. Even Peter, who denied knowing Jesus following his arrest comes to believe, and as we see in our reading from Acts, becomes an instrumental leader of the disciples and what would become ‘Followers of the Way’ which would became church. Nonetheless, we can be amazed in many ways in which our lives can be different when we believe in Jesus Christ and encounter the risen Christ. It does take a big yes and it does take courage on our part, and we will still wrestle with doubt and skepticism at times. We will still have our fears, doubts, challenges, and trials in life. Yet, despite their doubts, Christ never left the disciples and will not leave us either, as Christ loves us and lives in each of us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
As we celebrate new life and hope on this Easter morning, look around you as you go into this new week. Look at the signs of new life around you. Think of what brings you hope and life. And think about the ways you can be the hands and feet of Chris at home, in your workplace, at school, in the church, or in the community. Likewise, take a moment and think of a time when you have encountered the risen Christ in your own journey of faith. As we continue encountering the risen Christ, know that sin and death, tragedy, hardships, or any challenges or difficulties of life will NOT have the final word when we believe and when we are amazed by the risen Christ!!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, let the church say, AMEN!!
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