Sermon, Sunday March 31, 2024
Easter
Easter morning. Isn’t it strange that the most significant event in all of our history happened when no one was around. There was no fan-fare, no trumpets or parades, no celebrations. Just stillness. Quiet. Almost like a whisper.
The week before the crucifixion of Jesus had been a horrifying week. A week of brutality, murder in the bloodiest of ways. When people were just beginning to come to terms with the horror of it all, that their beloved leader-rabbi was gone, then all of a sudden he was not gone. He was here! They must have thought, “How can this be?” Are we crazy?” Sometimes, don’t we also ask ourselves those questions?
Nonetheless, people said they had seen Jesus, had touched him, and dined with him. But that good news seemed too good to be true.
Even today some of us still think it’s too good, or too far-fetched to be true. We don’t understand. So, to pacify our confusion, to forget about trying to understand the mystique of it, we look to other images of Easter… like soft bunny rabbits, or chocolate ones, or brightly colored eggs. These symbols are about the pagan festivals of springtime and reproduction, not about Jesus. So, to be frank, there was nothing soft, sugary, colorful about Jesus’ murder. It was horrible, a tortuous crucifixion which is perhaps one of the most humiliating and painful ways to die.
After Jesus’ death, we are told he was placed in a dark tomb...and some of us still bury him in the dark corners of our minds so we don’t think bout about him too often. Are we any different from those who physically murdered him? If we do not allow him access to live through our own lives, we are also guilty of keeping him locked in a dark hole, whether in the ground or in our minds.
Our answer to that question is how we live each day, how we treat all other people, and how eager we are to promote peace rather than anger and criticism.
Easter can be bewildering. Easter moves beyond the practical reality we deal with. We are seldom comfortable with the intangibles of life. We often don’t have the words or mental capacity to understand it; yet we are asked to accept Easter and to manifest that remarkable good news in our own lives.
Jesus’ spirit lives today in each one of us who know him. More than that, we as a church known as the “bride of Christ” are the living body ot the resurrected Messiah...the Christ. We are the people who keep him alive. We are the people of the good news. We are the people who spread his love, who shine light in the dark areas of our lives and communities. We are the people of the new life Jesus bequeathed to us. We are Easter people!
I have a question for you to consider: which side of the cross of Jesus do you choose to live? The dark side which kills the spirit of a person through anger, prejudice, criticism, judgment and refusal to forgive? Or do you choose to live on the side of light that gives birth to love, laughter, joy, peace and eternal communion with God through Christ’s holy spirit?
Please consider your choices... your answer may be the defining moment of your life here and now, and in a forever way.
Amen
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