A sermon preached Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011

by the Rev. Frances Hills, Rector

Colossians 3:1-4, John 20:1-18


 It’s always so good to hear the “alleluias”, to see the lilies, to sing the Easter hymns. And hearing the Easter Gospel is always astonishing! The empty tomb. The angels. And the gardener, who turns out to be Jesus himself! There’s a poem I love about this Easter Day Gospel of John. It’s by Janet Morley and called “They have taken away my lord”.

           

            It was unfinished.

            We stayed there, fixed, until the end,

            women waiting for the body that we loved;

            and then it was unfinished.

            There was no time to cherish, cleanse, anoint;

            no time to handle him with love,

            no farewell.

            Since then, my hands have waited,

            aching to touch even his deadness,

            smoothe oil into bruises that no longer hurt,

            offer his silent flesh my finished act of love.

            I came early, as the darkness lifted,

            to find the grave ripped open and his body gone;

            container of my grief smashed, looted,

            leaving my hands still empty,

            I turned on the man who came:

            ‘They have taken away my Lord—where is his

            corpse?

            Where is the body that is mine to greet?

            He is not gone

            I am not ready yet, I am not finished—

            I cannot let him go.

            I am not whole.’

            And then he spoke, no corpse,

            and breathed,

            and offered me my name.

            My hands rushed to grasp him;

            to hold and hug and grip his body close;       

to give myself again, to cling to him,

            and lose my self in love.

            ‘Don’t touch me now.’

            I stopped, and waited, my rejected passion

            hovering between us like some dying thing.

            I Mary, stood and grieved, and then departed.

            I have a gospel to proclaim.

(Janet Morley, All Desires Known: Prayers Uniting Faith and Feminism, p. 54.)

Mary had a gospel to proclaim. We have a gospel to proclaim—and not just those of us who are called to preach. As followers of our Risen Lord, all of us have a gospel to proclaim. I’m reminded of something attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel always. If necessary, use words!” Francis realizes that the way we live our lives—all that we say and do—has the potential of showing forth the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord! So, we all have a gospel to preach and proclaim, with our without words.

With that in mind I want to turn to today’s short lesson from the letter to the Colossians, because this letter gives us strength and direction for proclaiming the Gospel. Hear it again, but this time from The Message translation (Eugene Peterson):

He Is Your Life

 ^1-2 So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.

 ^3-4Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you!
The writer reminds us, we have been raised with Christ. We are Easter People! If we’re really serious about it, we have the opportunity to live into the fullness of the “resurrection life”. Right here. Right now! So we can indeed proclaim the Good News by all that we say and do!
But do we have a deep, passionate sense of being Resurrection people? Are we truly alive and walking in the light of the Risen Christ? Or are we more like people who hang out in the tomb?
The Colossians writer says, to be the Resurrection People we already are, all we have to do is act like it. Just do it! Act like Easter People! Then he gives us some clues about how to do it. He tells us to pursue the things Jesus presided over. Maybe that means to love what Jesus loved, things like justice, love, peace. andacts of mercy and compassion to those who are poor and suffering.
Our life in the Risen Christ calls us to a new set of values and actions centered on God. These are acts of courage to protest death and darkness in our world and acts of self-giving for the victory of life and love. In Colossians we’re told to get out of ourselves, to look beyond “what’s next” in our lives and to join whatever is going on around Jesus! That’s where the action is.
So we’ve got to figure out what Jesus is up to in our world. Where is Jesus acting in our day? Where is the real action?  It takes time to discern these things, but living in the Resurrection, we’re empowered to see things as Christ does. So we can discern God’s mission and join it! Colossians says as Resurrection people, we are transformed, set ablaze, and empowered to live lives that are real and glorious—Lives that embody the resurrection in all we say and do. We have a Gospel to proclaim! Right now, in this life! So let’s do it…

Alleluia. Christ is risen. (The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.) Amen.
(Part of the inspiration for this sermon came from Synthesis, Easter Day 2011.)