The Feast of the Resurrection (A) April 16, 2017
Luther Memorial Church Seattle, WA
The Rev. Julie Hutson
Jeremiah 31: 1-6 + Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24 + Colossians 3: 1-4
John 20: 1-18
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!
It is a gift to be with you on this day….this day when we celebrate and remember that death could not hold Jesus in the tomb, that the God of love is living and active in the world, and that that message of new life is one that we are to both remember and share.
Earlier this year Bruce and I visited the Northwest African American Museum, located in the former Colman School in South Seattle. If you haven’t been there, I commend it to you….in addition to stunning art, it preserves and tells the important, but often overlooked stories of how the people of African descent came to be in the Pacific Northwest and it connects their stories to the larger narrative of the black community in America.
But I digress. As we were preparing to leave the museum, we stopped in the gift shop, and the volunteer who rang up our purchases was having a bit of difficulty counting my change back to me. She apologized profusely and I assured her that it was fine; we were in no hurry. She then went on to tell me that three years ago she had had a massive stroke. While she was in the hospital, they discovered that the cause of the stroke was a brain tumor. She recalled that it was a frightening and uncertain time… being treated for the damage from the stroke, but also having the brain tumor removed. “I couldn’t have gotten through it without my sister,” she said “She took care of me every second of my recovery.”
I told her that I was glad she had such a loving sister and caregiver and she told me that her sister died six months after Earline’s surgery.
As I was searching for words to respond to her, Earline moved from behind the counter, grabbed a brochure, and asked “Do you like art?” A little startled and perhaps a little relieved by the seeming change of topic, we responded that, in fact we did.
Earline looked us square in the face and said “Before I had my stroke and before the brain tumor, I was a facts and figures person….but God….God woke me an artist.”
She went on to tell us that ever since her brain tumor and in the midst of her unspeakable grief over the loss of her sister and the loss of some motor skills, Earline had become a voracious writer of poetry and a painter of visual art. She handed us the brochure to the art exhibit where her work was displayed with other artists at King Street Station. And then, with a measure of excitement and humility she said “I got an email this morning that the Seattle Times art critic is mentioning my art favorably in the write up of the show.”
Not only was that write up favorable, it was glowing….not only is Earline a painter, she is in fact….an accomplished artist. Her work as we saw it in the exhibit is stunning. And there was Earline, sharing her story again with all who would hear it: God woke me an artist. [1]
Today we come to every empty tomb we have ever encountered, searching for resurrection. Searching for new life. And the reality is that most of us, like Mary Magdalene, when we approach those places of death….death of a dream or a person or the death present in doubt or dismay….well we aren’t sure we will find life. Maybe we don’t even dare expect it.
But we love this day, this Feast of the Resurrection, because it gives us the chance to shout our Alleluias and our Christ is risen indeeds in the face of every doubt we might have. We can participate in the glorious celebration whether we are sure and certain of it or not. Whether we believe it or not.
But if you hear nothing else this morning….dear ones…hear this: Resurrection is not something you have to believe; not something just conveniently confessed; not something that can be easily comprehended. Resurrection can only be experienced. Because when we experience resurrection, we start to feel resurrected.
And this feeling of resurrection, this new life experience….it’s a slippery thing. Once we think we understand it, we don’t. Once we think we’ve got it all figured out, we realize that in the back of our minds, at some point….oh maybe not today….but surely on another day, we will begin to wonder if we really believe our shout of Christ is risen. Or perhaps we question whether it really matters if he is.
Or maybe this is just me. But I don’t think so.
The resurrection of Jesus is a promise to all of us and to the whole Creation that death in any of its forms will not ever have the last word. That behind every struggle, every sorrow, every tragedy, every disappointment, every doubt, every ripping away, every broken place there will come new life.
Creation shows us this time and time again. When new life springs forth at this time of year, we see resurrection reminders. When there is new growth in areas where there have been fires or floods or landslides…we see resurrection reminders. Even when we get a day of brilliant sunshine after the wettest winter on record….we see resurrection reminders.
The encounters we have with our neighbors can also be filled with new life. But we will never know this unless we are willing to encounter those we do not already know. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says that if we only love those who love us we miss the greater experience. We miss the chance to know Jamil, a Muslim neighbor who sat and fielded questions from our confirmation students a couple of years ago and left them with these words: Study and know your faith. Be the best Christians you can be. Love Jesus. And Love your Neighbor. A muslim neighbor. A resurrection reminder.
Resurrection is not a key to the kingdom or a password into life everlasting. Resurrection is not a theory. Resurrection is not a confession. Resurrection is a way of living now. A way of being now. When Mary finally recognizes Jesus in the garden, he doesn’t say to her: “Ok, you get it. I have risen. Box checked. You’re in.” Instead Jesus sends her out to tell the others. To share what she had seen. To describe what she had experienced. “I have seen the Lord.” “God woke me an artist.”
On this beautiful Easter morning, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses in this place….we can give thanks for resurrection reminders. For the Earline’s in all of our lives. For the way God has taken us and is still taking us on a resurrection journey through this life. For what God is awakening within us and how God is making those new things that are possible burst forth. On this day we give thanks, even, for those times when we find ourselves weeping at empty tombs in our lives and wondering what we will do now. Or when we find ourselves weeping at the empty tombs of empire and oppression and injustice and war.
Beloved of God….we are loved by God, as Jeremiah reminds us in today’s reading….we are loved with an everlasting love. With a faithful love. With a love that does not require our belief or our acceptance or our good works. That’s not how God works, no matter what you have been told. God’s love for us…God’s love for you…God’s love for all people…. is unconditional and that is the basis and the promise and the struggle and the beauty of grace.
Reminders of the resurrection are all around us. Enjoy them. Bask in their beauty. Look for them in the despair of your weeping. Tell others about them. Because the world needs to hear your story to remind us of new life. Resurrection life.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed ! Alleluia!
[1] This amazing artist is Earline Alston.