Again & Again: The Sun Rises

 Mark 16:1-8       Common English Bible

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they could go and anoint Jesus’ dead body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they came to the tomb. They were saying to each other, “Who’s going to roll the stone away from the entrance for us?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. (And it was a very large stone!) Going into the tomb, they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right side; and they were startled. But he said to them, “Don’t be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He isn’t here. Look, here’s the place where they laid him. Go, tell his disciples, especially Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.” Overcome with terror and dread, they fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Christ is Risen!

Christ is Risen indeed!

People since the dawn of time have looked for something beyond.

Death and sorrow just could not be the final word.

In 1994, on Palm Sunday, Kelly Clem (married to my seminary roommate Dale) and the congregation of the Goshen United Methodist Church in Piedmont, Alabama were gathered for worship.

As the children were singing, “The Lord Will Provide” a tornado destroyed the sanctuary, injuring 90 people and killing twenty.  Six of the dead were children, including four year old Hannah Clem, the daughter of Dale & Kelly.

Dale later wrote a book about that terrible experience in which he proclaimed that God does not send tornadoes to kill young children who are singing God’s praises. 

The same God behind the creation of the universe is at work even now, wherever there is crisis or sorrow or pain. 

Again and Again --- God is at work bringing comfort, hope, and resurrection.

It is not surprising that the earliest Christian celebration was not the season of Advent --- in which we welcome the birth of the messiah.

The earliest cycle to develop was the Passion story --- which over time came to be developed into what we know of as Lent and Holy Week.

Holy week was created to help us experience the fullness of Jesus’ passion story.

We begin on Palm Sunday

Celebrating the arrival of our Messiah

This year we processed not through our beautiful sanctuary bur through our neighborhood

Shouting Hosanna that our Messiah has entered our lives

By Tuesday Jesus has cleansed the temple and gotten the authorities attention

Jesus didn’t just cleanse the temple --- Jesus disrupted the status quo ---

Jesus challenged the dominate power structure of his day

Unsurprisingly --- they begin to plot ways to get rid of him

Thursday evening, we gathered with the Disciples in the Upper Room to celebrate what we call “the Last Supper”.

That same evening, we follow Jesus into the garden of Gethsemane where he is betrayed

Friday --- Friday --- we find ourselves at the cross

As we watch our Lord be crucified

Murdered

Executed

 

And the disillusionment and confusion kicks in.

How can the messiah die?

Especially on a cross?

Had not God proclaimed in the Torah ---

“anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse” (Deuteronomy 21:23)

Was Jesus cursed by God?

The disciples and followers of Jesus were confused and bewildered.

Then there is Saturday --- the world is silent while Jesus lies in the tomb.

The disciples have gone into hiding.

Some even heading home to get way from the authorities.

Their disillusionment seems to reach a crescendo on Saturday as their hope and dreams have all been dashed.

It has feels like we have been stuck in Holy Saturday for the last year --- waiting.

So many of our hopes and dreams have been smashed against the pandemic

The pandemic has been one long period of waiting --- and wondering.

We gather today --- as a testament to the reality that death and despair are NEVER the last word.

Tony Campolo reminded us years ago: 

“It was Friday. 

The cynics were lookin at the world and sayin’, ‘as things have been so they shall be. You can’t change anything in this world, you can’t change anything. 

But those cynics didn’t know that it was only Friday. It’s Friday but Sunday’s comin’!”

I hope that you were able to join us out on the front lawn this morning as we welcomed the sunrise.

One of my favorite activities is to attempt to capture the beauty of a sunrise on film

I have taken hundreds, if not thousands, of photos of sunrises over such places as the Sea of Galilee, Hawaii, Florida --- pretty much anywhere I can

I think I do it because it is easy for sunrises to become commonplace --- I mean think about --- it happens every day.

Most of us pay no attention to the rising sun.

The truth be told --- most of us just sleep through the sunrise or we are busy checking out our emails or social media to even notice

Despite our failure to notice --- the sun still rises every day

Mark’s version of that first Easter is both fascinating and frustrating.

Mark’s whole Gospel is fascinating and frustrating.

Mark has no miraculous birth story --- Jesus just appears on the scene as an adult.

And the resurrection story seems to end abruptly.

Sure, you can say to me --- there are more verses than what we read today.

Yes that is true --- but it is clear that those stories were added later.

Maybe they were added as a way of apologizing, or correcting Mark ---

Because Mark ends so unsatisfyingly.

Regardless --- Mark leaves us hanging.

Mark ends his Gospel with these words:

“Overcome with terror and dread, they fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”

Where is the joy?

Where is the hope?

The terror of watching Jesus murdered by the state seems to have been replaced with a new kind of terror.

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome arrive at the tomb and find the stone removed. 

Not only that, but they also meet a strange young man with a ridiculous story. 

Nothing makes sense to them --- they have come to anoint Jesus’ body.

Instead of providing comfort for the deceased Jesus --- they find themselves terrorized.

There is no comfort here.

Mark makes that clear when he says that they ran away --- unable to even speak about what they saw.

The good news is --- despite their terror --- despite their fear ---

Resurrection came anyway!

If you watched the new PBS series on the Black Church, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright offered a profound comment.  He said: 

“Jesus never conducted any funerals ---- Jesus conducted Resurrections!”

While the women gathered for a funeral --- God had other plans.

God always has other plans.

Again and Again --- we remember that the tomb is never the end of the story!

In November 1982, Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union died.  Vice President George Bush was sent to Moscow to represent the United States at his funeral.

The entire funeral procession was marked by its military precision. 

There was a coldness and hollowness that enveloped it. 

Since the Soviet Union was officially atheistic, no comforting prayers or spiritual hymns were sung. Only the marching soldiers, steel helmets, and Marxist rhetoric were offered. 

There was no mention of God. 

Vice President Bush was close to the casket when Mrs. Brezhnev came for her last good-bye. 

Vice President Bush said:

“She walked up, took one last look at her husband and there—in the cold, gray center of that totalitarian state—she traced the design of the cross on her husband’s chest. I was stunned. In that simple act, God had broken through the core of the communist system” (Christianity Today, October 16, 1986)

Christ is Risen!

Christ is Risen indeed!

We gather today to remember, that the Son always rises.

Again and again, the tomb is not the end --- God has a bigger plan.

Over these last six weeks we have looked at how God is constantly trying to move us from the grave to the kin-dom.

We began by remembering that we are invited to be a part of this kin-dom.

God wants us to experience life in its fullness.

We saw how God meets us where we are.

How God calls us to let go of the things that hold us back --- things like shame, guilt or inaction.

How God shows us that they way to the kin-dom is through the cross.

How God, who loves us unconditionally, desires to re-shape us from the inside out.

How God empowers us to walk through the valleys of despair, deceit, and even death.

Because again and again --- God is always with us.

And there is always more to the story.

God is trying to change the way we look at the world.

In Paul Tillich’s sermon, “Born in the Grave,” he shares a story that was told at the Nuremberg trials. 

A woman was hiding from the Nazis in a Jewish cemetery in Poland.

She was not just hiding in the cemetery ---- she was actually hiding in a grave that had been dug.

While she was there, she gave birth --- in the very grave. 

With her in that grave there was an old man, who was also hiding --- he was dressed in a shroud. 

When the newborn baby uttered its first cry, the old man took the child, held it up to heaven and proclaimed: 

“Great God, hast Thou finally sent the Messiah to us? 

For who else than the Messiah Himself can be born in a grave?” 

Again and Again, God reminds us --- that the grave is not the end.

The Son rises --- today, tomorrow, and forever when we allow the Christ to change our hearts and see the world in a new way.

I know this sounds crazy --- but I would rather preside over a funeral than a wedding.

Too often, weddings are just the preliminaries to get to the party.

The couple really aren’t all that interested in the service, or even God.

They are just doing what they think they are supposed to do.

And want to get it over with as fast as possible to move on to the party.

Funerals, on the other hand, are all about the party!

The party that is the kin-dom of God.

It is at the funeral that we get to shake our fists at death and say:

Death --- We reject your lies!

“Where, O death, is your victory?

    Where, O death, is your sting?”

Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15)

Again and Again, the sun rises on a new day!

Again and Again, Jesus rises to offer us new life, and new possibilities!

CHRIST IS RISEN

CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!

Again & Again: We Draw on Courage

 John:12:1-19       Common English Bible

Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, home of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Lazarus and his sisters hosted a dinner for him. Martha served and Lazarus was among those who joined him at the table. Then Mary took an extraordinary amount, almost three-quarters of a pound, of very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She anointed Jesus’ feet with it, then wiped his feet dry with her hair. The house was filled with the aroma of the perfume. Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), complained, “This perfume was worth a year’s wages! Why wasn’t it sold and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He carried the money bag and would take what was in it.)

Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone. This perfume was to be used in preparation for my burial, and this is how she has used it. You will always have the poor among you, but you won’t always have me.”

Many Jews learned that he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. The chief priests decided that they would kill Lazarus too. It was because of Lazarus that many of the Jews had deserted them and come to believe in Jesus.

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him. They shouted,

“Hosanna!

Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

    Blessings on the king of Israel!”

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

Don’t be afraid, Daughter Zion.

        Look! Your king is coming,

            sitting on a donkey’s colt.

His disciples didn’t understand these things at first. After he was glorified, they remembered that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him.

The crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were testifying about him. That’s why the crowd came to meet him, because they had heard about this miraculous sign that he had done. Therefore, the Pharisees said to each other, “See! You’ve accomplished nothing! Look! The whole world is following him!”

What is the most challenging thing that you have ever done?

What required the most courage?

I remember clearly --- November 11 and 12th, 1989.

Nancy and I were the parents of a one-and-a-half-year-old baby --- living in a new community.

Late in the afternoon on November 11th --- it was a stormy night --- rain, lightening, high winds --- Nancy and I went to the Warsaw Community WMCA, gathering with a few volunteers to help set up chairs for the inaugural worship service for Celebration United Methodist Church.

We had made 35,000 phone calls ---- sent out thousands of letters --- drank more coffee with folk than I ever imagined possible --- with the hopes that interested people would show up.

The runway was not very long --- the conference provided enough funds for one year --- and then the funds would drop dramatically --- we were expected to become self-sustaining very quickly.

I will never forget that day --- even as I speak of it right now --- my stomach gets into knots.

I had no idea if it would work.

I was trying to start a more open congregation in a very conservative community.

As I made those phone calls --- what I heard over and over again was --- “you don’t want me – I am divorced.”  

Even though I had only been in town since June --- churches in the community were attacking me and this none-existent church from the pulpit saying that I was soft on sin – since I kept reaching out and welcoming those who had been kicked out of those churches, primarily for getting divorced.

As we finished setting up the gym with 250 chairs, I wondered --- no --- I worried --- would anyone show up?

By the time we finished --- and we headed to my car to go home and try to get some sleep --- knowing I would have to be there at 6am to turn the heat on in the gym ---

the rain had stopped 

--- and right there in front of me was the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen.

As I got into my car --- I broke down into tears.

Four years earlier --- my brother had died on this very day.

And as I sat there, I was able to thank God for sending me this sign --- this sign that everything was going to be OK --- even if I wasn’t completely sure all the time.

The gospels don’t recount any rainbows in the sky during this last week of Jesus earthly life.

Yet again and again --- we will be reminded that in the midst of all that is taking place --- God is there to fortify our courage.

As Jesus stood on the top of the Mount of Olives --- a place many of us stood just last year --- and as he looked over the beloved holy city of Jerusalem --- one has to wonder what Jesus was feeling.

Was he afraid?

He certainly knew what the likely outcome was.

DEATH

Death by torture on a cross.

John tells us that Jesus has just reminded his followers that his fate would be death.

If you follow Jesus’ story this week, the gospels tell us that it was a roller coaster ride --- not only for Jesus, but also for those who were with him.

It all began on what we call Palm Sunday.

The Rev. Denise Anderson defines what transpires on this Sunday as political theater.

She writes:

We begin the high drama of Holy Week with a reading in three parts.

. . . Everyone’s motivations are exposed and the week’s events foreshadowed.

. . . All eyes right now are on Jesus. That’s a problem for the chief priests, who then set their eyes on Lazarus to undermine Jesus. We witness what is both secret and open.

. . . Everything is now set in motion. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is a spectacle. It’s a protest, a counternarrative to the Empire’s extravagance and repression. It happens opposite the Roman governor’s own parade into Jerusalem for the Passover. It’s the people’s declaration of a different reign. The use of a donkey is Messianic imagery. This is political theater, and it would ramp up the plots against Jesus’ life.

. . . When we consider the full Palm Sunday picture, these are frightful times. So much is happening that is both hopeful and terrifying. Tensions and tears are plentiful. But the Word will remind us to “take heart.”

Again and again, we take heart amid the drama. The script is unsettling, but we have not yet reached “The End.”

We can look back on it and see the ways that John and the other gospel writers tells the story as theater, but I believe there was much more going on.

Rev. Anderson alludes to it, but one of the most provocative and profound looks at this last week of Jesus’ life is Borg and Crossan’s The Last Week.

They wrote the book, in many ways, as a counter narrative to the story that Mel Gipson presented in the movie The Passion of the Christ.

They write:  

“We intend . . . to tell and explain, against the backdrop of Jewish high-priestly collaboration with Roman imperial control, the last week of Jesus’s life on earth as given in the Gospel According to Mark. . . . Mark tells us how the story of Jesus was told around the year 70.  As such, it is not ‘straightforward history,’ but, like all the gospels, a combination of history remembered and history interpreted.”

Imagine, if you can . . . a ragtag group of peasants --- gathering together on the top of the Mount of Olives.

Across the valley is the Temple --- the dwelling of God on the earth.

The center of the world --- if not the universe

This group of peasants had made their way with other pilgrims, coming to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover

The Passover --- the celebration of liberation from Egypt, the promise of a homeland --- the acknowledgment that the Jewish people are chosen by God

They had come from the Galilee --- about 100 miles north of Jerusalem

As they looked at the Temple, off in the distance, Jesus climbed upon a donkey and began the decent into the Kidron Valley and then back up into Jerusalem.

People came and began shouting Hosanna.

“Hosanna!

Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

    Blessings on the king of Israel!”

And they took branches of palm trees and began to wave them as the shouted all the louder:

HOSANNA

Without a doubt --- the leaders of the temple and the Roman officials, charged with keeping the peace --- were keeping an eye on this motley crew.

But at the same time --- something else was going on.

Another parade was taking place on the opposite side of the city.

Pontius Pilate --- the Roman Governor was entering the city from the West.

Pilate had traveled with Roman imperial troops from Caesarea Maritima to provide a military presence during this Jewish festival.

Jesus’ procession seemed to be proclaiming the idea of a Kin-dom of God --- a kin-dom that lifted up the poor and impoverished, that equalized the marginalized and excluded.

Pilate too proclaimed his reality --- Pilate came proclaiming the might and power of the Roman Empire.

Jesus, I am convinced knew what he was doing --- 

I am not sure he fully understood the consequences of what he was doing.

Jesus rode in on a donkey, and Matthew reminds us this was to fulfill a prophecy found in Zechariah.

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion.

        Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem.

Look, your king will come to you.

        He is righteous and victorious.

        He is humble and riding on an ass,

            on a colt, the offspring of a donkey.   (Zechariah 9:9 CEB)

It is the very next verse --- Zechariah tells us what kind of King --- Jesus will be:

He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

        and the warhorse from Jerusalem.

The bow used in battle will be cut off;

        he will speak peace to the nations.

His rule will stretch from sea to sea,

        and from the river to the ends of the earth.  (Zechariah 9:10 CEB)

This is a king who will banish war

No more chariots

No more war-horses

No more bows

This will be a king of peace!

Knowing this --- it took great courage to climb aboard that donkey and ride into the city amid the Hosanna’s and palm branches.

But again and again --- we see the presence of God --- giving Jesus AND US --- the courage we need to stand up against injustice.

On March 3rd, 2019 I stood in this very pulpit and preached the scariest sermon of my life.

(https://smconger.blogspot.com/2019/03/grace-upon-grace.html)

Like November 14-15 thirty years earlier --- this is burned into my memory.

Earlier that week, the Special Session of the General Conference of the UMC meet in Saint Louis and strengthened the discriminatory and (to me) evil language found in the Book of Disciple.

I knew that I would have to address it on the next Sunday --- and I knew --- that some people would be very unhappy about what I would say.

I wrestled with God in ways that I had never done before.

Would I play it safe and not speak what I have come to believe?

Or

Would I say what God seemed to be putting on my heart?

I didn’t sleep the night before church on the 3rd.

I wrote --- threw out and wrote again my sermon --- repeatedly.

Could I, would I --- say what I believed?

I invite you to go back and read that sermon.

I believe it was the best I have ever preached

It has been read almost 900 times on my blog 

--- I have no idea how many times on the church website

I titled it Grace upon Grace --- an illusion to John 1:16 and a constant theme of my theology professor Tom Langford.

Since then the past two years have been ones of constant turmoil

There are no easy answers as we try to expand the table to include everyone.

The signs we have put up to show: we welcome all --- over the past two years have been vandalized or stolen

I remember while in seminary, Dr Langford shared with a class an early draft of a book that he was working on --- I don't believe it was ever published --- but it was entitled GRACE UPON GRACE

It was his premise that God's grace is sufficient

That God is big enough to defend God's self and it was our job to invite people in

One of the things that has always struck me is the idea that some people actually see God's love as being somewhat limited.  

If God loves you --- there might not be enough for me.

But there is grace upon grace --- sufficient for all of creation 

--- our job is to humbly accept it and to invite others to experience it.

When you come to God's table, I hope you understand that:

          NO ONE HERE MERITS BEING INVITED

But just the same, God invites you.

As long as I am pastor at Meridian Street UMC, this table will be open to ALL.

          Straight, gay,

          Married, single, or divorced

          Black, brown, yellow, white or any other color

          Citizen or alien

          Rich or poor

          Sinner or Saint

This table will always be open

And I will do everything that I can to open the doors of the church to all of God's children.

I will support any who believe they are called by God to ministry even if they happen to be LGBTQI+

God's table is big enough --- even if we disagree

No one --- regardless of which side of this issue you are on --- is being excluded from God's table by God

We may exclude ourselves

We may think we are being excluded --- but God excludes NO-ONE!

And I promise to do my best to exclude No-one

Two years ago a devotion was shared prior to a finance meeting that has stuck with me ever since.

He talked about being on a youth retreat when the leader of the retreat, 

as they were sitting in a circle, 

turned to the person that he really disliked and said to them "I love you most of all (and then gave a reason).

As you can imagine, this young person was upset that their leader had made this affirmation to a person that they struggled with, 

because they thought they were loved most of all.  

And for a time he said he sat there in his indignation

But soon, the leader turned to him and said: "I Love You most of all . . ."

I encourage you to think of the biggest sinner you know. 

          Can you see them?

          Can you put them in your minds eye 

If you can't see anyone, then just think of me --- I am a pretty good sinner

And listen as God says to them: "I Love You most of all . . ."

And unless you can hear them say that to the one you really struggle with --- 

I doubt you can really understand or appreciate it when God says to you: "I Love You most of all . . ."

Mark Twain is often credited with saying, but the truth is it more likely was the Rev. Ernest T. Campbell --- 

The two most important days in your life are:

The day you are born

And the day you figure out why.

I am a slow learner --- it has taken a number of events to help me figure out why I was born --- but once I learned it --- it changed the way I live.

Do you have the courage to follow Jesus into Jerusalem?

Do you have the courage --- to stand up for what you know is right?

Again and again --- God gives us the courage and walks with us through the valley and into the Holy City.