Easter Vigil: April 7, 2012

EASTER VIGIL 2012: April 7, 2012

John 20:1-18

Preacher: Pastor Carrie Smith

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Alleluia, Christ is risen!

Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

In case you hadn’t heard already…I love Easter Vigil. I love it, because on this one night of the year, we have the opportunity to step outside our routine, to leave behind the daily grind, to forget alarm clocks and appointment reminders, naptime and deadlines, and to enter God’s story.

Earlier today we may have been doing chores, mowing the lawn, coloring eggs, or working a Saturday shift. But on this night, when we arrive at the Vigil, we find ourselves, young and old, visitors and old-timers, choir members and back-pew sitters, all gathered around a blazing fire. And then, starting with creation, we become part of the stories that have formed our understanding of the world (and of God) since we were tiny children.

This is the night, we proclaim, when God made the whole world: the earth and the water, the sky and the stars, the creeping things, flying things, and swimming things, and especially you and me.

This is the night when God saved Noah from the flood, rescuing the world from its self-destruction, and giving us the rainbow as a promise to never, ever, send such a flood again.

This is the night when Abraham and Isaac went up the mountain in obedience to God’s command, and while there were overwhelmed by God’s abundant mercy.

This is the night when God parted the waters of the sea so Moses and the Israelites could cross!

This is the night when Miriam danced, singing praises to God!

This is the night when the prophet Isaiah wrote: Ho, all who thirst, come to the waters!

This is the night when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (also known as Rack, Shack, and Benny) refused to bow down to the king, and found out that with God on their side, not a spark of flame from the fiery furnace could touch them.

And this is the night when we gather to hear again how Jesus Christ—born of a virgin, visited by kings, followed by fishermen, crucified by Pilate and buried in a tomb—was raised by God on the third day, giving us all the promise of new life.

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

And this therefore the night when we hear how Jesus, after he had risen from the grave, appeared to Mary, calling her by name.

Mary Magdalene, devoted follower of Jesus, felt lost when she arrived to the tomb and couldn’t find his body. Her despair only increased when she saw a man she thought was the gardener (or possibly a grave-robber)—until he called her by name. Jesus called Mary by name, and in that moment she knew that this was not the end of the story. She knew, when she heard that familiar voice, that Jesus, crucified and risen, had taken away the finality of death. And on this night, we, too, become witnesses to the Good News that death does not have the final word.

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, alleluia!

When Jesus called Mary by name that morning, he invited her into the resurrection story. In the same way, we are each called by name and welcomed into new life with the risen Christ in our baptisms.

Tonight, when they were brought to the water, Caden and Ryan heard these words: “Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.” In baptism, Caden and Ryan have been called by name and have been claimed as God’s beloved children. They are now part of God’s story, and we rejoice that they will have a lifetime of hearing the story of God’s redeeming work in the world, and knowing they are part of it.

Baptizing during the Easter Vigil, often after months or even years of preparation, is a very ancient tradition. It’s also traditional at this service to read the famous Easter sermon of St. John Chrysostom. St. John Chrysostom wrote this sermon in the 4^th century and meant it as instructions for the new Christian converts who were being baptized during that vigil service.

In keeping with that tradition, and in honor of Caden and Ryan’s baptisms tonight, I will read this short Easter sermon now.

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Are there any who are devout lovers of God?
Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!

Are there any who are grateful servants?
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary with fasting?
Let them now receive their wages!

If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their due reward;
If any have come after the third hour,
let him with gratitude join in the Feast!
And he that arrived after the sixth hour,
let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.
And if any delayed until the ninth hour,
let him not hesitate; but let him come too.
And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.
For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour,
as well as to him that toiled from the first.

To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.
He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.
The deed He honors and the intention He commends.
Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!

First and last alike receive your reward;
rich and poor, rejoice together!
Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!
You that have kept the fast, and you that have not,
rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!

Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one.
Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith.
Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!

Let no one grieve at his poverty,
for the universal kingdom has been revealed.

Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.

Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.
He destroyed Hell when He descended into it.
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he said,
"You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below."
Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.
It was in an uproar because it is mocked.
It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.
It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.
It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.

Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

O death, where is thy sting?
O Hell, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!

Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!


The Easter sermon of John Chrysostom (circa 400 AD)

Good Friday: April 6, 2012

GOOD FRIDAY 2012

April 6, 2012

PREACHER:

Pastor Carrie Smith

John 18:1-19:42

“Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ ²⁷Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.”

♪Jesus, keep me near the cross;

there a precious fountain,

free to all, a healing stream,

flows from Calvary's mountain.

Refrain
In the cross, in the cross,

be my glory ever,

till my raptured soul

shall find rest beyond the river.

It’s difficult to picture Mary, the mother of Jesus, standing near the cross. How does a mother watch a son die? How did she not lash out with anger at those who were causing him pain? How did she survive those six long hours as he suffered there before her?

Scripture doesn’t tell us how Mary felt, or what she said, as she stayed there near the cross. We don’t know if she stood silently, if she wailed loudly, or if she argued with the soldiers. We only know that she was accompanied there by her sister, by Mary Magdalene, and by the disciple Jesus loved. The rest is left to our imagination.

But for most of us, we don’t have to stretch our imaginations too far to know what those hours were like. If we’ve lived life at all, we’ve known suffering. If we’ve loved at all, we’ve known loss. And perhaps we can therefore relate to Mary’s need to stay there, near the cross, and to experience each moment, even when those moments are almost unbearable.

In my experience as a pastor, I’ve stood with others who, like Mary, remained steadfast at the foot of the cross: Parents who sit vigil at a hospital bed for days. Spouses who act as caregivers for ailing partners, year after year. Families who stand by loved ones struggling with mental illness or addiction. Friends who stay with the grief-stricken through long nights of doubt and sorrow.

I don’t know Mary’s pain of losing a son in a public execution. I have, however, lost much-loved and longed-for babies. My spouse and I have suffered three miscarriages over the years. And while I’m grateful I don’t know what it’s like to watch my child suffer and die like Mary did, I do know what it’s like to ache for my child. And I know what it’s like to want to hang on to the moment, and to stay present at the cross, no matter how painful it seems.

For me, it was the last day of being pregnant that I wished would last forever. I would cling to those hours of hope before the lab tests came back--dreaming of names and planning for the future. And then, even when things looked grim, I would still cling to each moment, still pregnant with hope, making bargains with God, if only my child could be saved. I would have endured bed-rest for months. I would have taken vitamins, injected hormones, and suffered anything necessary for a successful pregnancy. “Jesus, keep me near the cross”, I prayed. I would have stayed there forever, if it could have made any difference.

What was Mary thinking in those hours at the foot of the cross? If Jesus, the Son of God, felt forsaken on the cross, how must Mary have felt? After all, the God who had chosen her for this role as blessed virgin, theotokos, mother of our Lord, was now the same God who allowed her beloved son to be crucified. Did she bargain with God? Did she pray for more time, or did she just pray his suffering would end? Did she, like Jesus, feel abandoned and alone?

Mary may have felt alone, but Scripture tells us that Jesus remembered her. Even in his suffering, he cared for his mother. He didn’t send her away so she wouldn’t have to see. He didn’t tell her not to cry or not to be angry. And, most importantly, he didn’t magically take away her pain and suffering. But seeing her there, his heart was turned toward her and toward the disciple he loved, and from the cross he provided for their mutual care and companionship. “Woman, here is your son.” he said. Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.”

This moment is so important to Christian tradition that it is honored as one of the Stations of the Cross. We linger here, at this point in the story, because it’s a moment that tells us much about Jesus, about the cross, and about our own suffering.

Caring for his mother and the beloved disciple in his last moments, Jesus shows us that in death, as in life, he was about giving to others. From the cross he gave Mary a new son to care for her. In the same way, he gives us all the promise of new life.

Reaching out in love even as he struggled to breathe and to withstand great physical pain, Jesus shows us that the cross doesn’t have the last word. No matter what the powers and principalities of this world may do to us, nothing can take away our humanity or destroy our spirit: neither oppression, nor disease, and nor even death.

And above all, joining his mother and beloved friend in a bond of companionship , he taught us something about our own suffering. When we are standing at the foot of the cross, facing something unimaginable—the death of a loved one, a medical diagnosis, a life crisis, or the death of a relationship—Jesus is there, too. He knows our suffering. He looks upon us with love. And he provides for us, joining us together in the bonds of community, in mutual care, in prayer, and in love for one another.

French poet Paul Claudel wrote: “Jesus did not come to explain suffering nor to take it away; he came to fill it with his presence.” As we gather tonight near the cross, standing vigil with Mary and her sister, Mary Magdalene and the disciple Jesus loved, we pray for the strength to remain here. And we give thanks to God for Jesus Christ, who knows our suffering; who is with us in our pain; and who by his suffering and death has redeemed the world. Amen.

Maundy Thursday 2012: April 5, 2012

MAUNDY THURSDAY 2012

April 5, 2012

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

“No shirt, no shoes, no problem.”

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

When my spouse and I were living in Texas during graduate school, finding cheap entertainment for toddlers was my never-ending quest. Cheap, child-friendly, air-conditioned fun—this was the Holy Grail for a stay-at-home mom of two boys. And then, one day, I found it! It was just a little coffee shop inside a much larger store, but one very intelligent store manager had placed not one, but two “Thomas the Tank Engine” train tables in the middle of this coffee shop. Yes, two train tables, and with all the accessories! I could almost hear the angels sing when I found this little piece of heaven.

But in order to enjoy this bit of paradise with my young children, I had to overlook its surroundings. You see, this particular coffee shop was nestled inside the cultural center of Waco, Texas: The Compass Christian Lifestyle Superstore. This place was, in short, the Wal-Mart of Christianity. You could get Bibles in nearly every translation, of course, but you could also purchase Christian-themed shirts, candles, books, toys, and endless home-school supplies. There were Christian breath mints and Christian casserole dishes and Christian alternatives to nearly every household product you could imagine. The guy behind the check-out counter had hipster Christian hair and lots of Jesus tattoos. The girl who made my coffee read her pink study Bible between helping customers. As a pastor’s wife, I should have felt right at home in this environment!

But sitting near those lovely train tables, drinking an over-priced latte as my boys happily played, it seemed as though the store whispered to me: “By this they will know that you are a disciple…if you buy this cross necklace…if you wear this Jesus t-shirt…if you show your kids this video…if you listen to this worship music…if you look just like us!”

In other words, this place gave me the creeps. The Christian Lifestyle Superstore, was at the same time an oasis for a tired mom and a desert of discipleship (simul justus et peccatur!) Eager to follow Jesus, we take the cross of his suffering and paint it, bedazzle it, and decorate our homes with it. We take the Word of God and put it on tins of breath mints. Looking for love and hoping to belong, we surround ourselves with tasteful (and not-so-tasteful) Christian accessories. And somehow, in all our eagerness to follow him, we’ve utterly missed the commandment Jesus left with his disciples at the Last Supper: “By this will people know you are my disciples: if you have love for one another.”

You see, on the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus sat at the table with his closest friends and shared a meal with them. And when the meal was over, he stood up, took off his formal clothes, tied a towel around his waist, and proceeded to wash their feet. It was an act of love they couldn’t even begin to process while it was happening. The disciples whispered to one another around the table, wondering what it all meant, until Jesus assured them: “I know you don’t understand now what I’m doing, but later you will get it.” Our love of the Christian Lifestyle Superstore and what it offers makes one wonder how long it will take before we finally understand what Jesus meant. “By this shall people know you are my disciples,” said Jesus, “if you have love for one another.” He didn’t say anything about t-shirts.

Now before we go any further, I must confess to you that just last week I purchased not one, but two t-shirts at a performance of my favorite Christian band. I’m not at all opposed to wearing my faith on my sleeve! But on Maundy Thursday in particular, we have the opportunity to reflect on what it really means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. This day, which takes its name, Maundy, from the Latin “mandatum”, meaning “command”, honors the new commandment our Lord gave at that last meal. He didn’t command his disciples to wear a uniform. He didn’t say a word about sandals or cross necklaces, and certainly nothing about Jesus t-shirts or even clergy collars. Jesus, as he prepared to leave his loved ones, instead commanded his followers to embrace a lifestyle that can’t be bought at any big box superstore. “If you want people to know you love me,” he said, “Love one another.”

The twentieth-century saint and activist Dorothy Day once said, ““God meant for things to be much easier than we have made them”. When it comes to loving one another, not a truer statement could be made. We’ve messed up love to a spectacular degree! We argue about who is worthy of love and who can love whom. We look for love in all the wrong places—in food, in accomplishments, in money, and in popularity. And we refuse to believe, in spite of the evidence before us, that God could love us as much as Jesus says.

All this makes it very hard for us to hear Christ’s new commandment. What does it mean to love one another, if we have such a hard time loving ourselves? How can I love my neighbor, if I don’t like her very much? What if I don’t feel very loving? Can I just buy the t-shirt instead?

Jesus must have known we’d have a hard time hearing these words, even words plainly spoken, so he gave us a visual aid we couldn’t miss. Standing up after dinner, removing his outer cloak and tying a towel around his waist, Jesus did more than give us a clever idea for a once-a-year worship service. He showed us that love is getting off our seats and doing something. Love is taking off the three-piece-suit and putting on a servant’s apron. Love is taking risks and doing the unexpected or the unaccepted. Love is dealing with the most unpleasant parts of others: dirty feet, dirty secrets, messy lives, and other things we’d rather hide inside our shoes.

Seeing their teacher on the floor washing feet surely got the disciples’ attention! But this was more than a lesson on how to be better people. The Son of God, kneeling on the floor in the role of servant, was providing a commentary on his own impending death. He gave the disciples a preview of what was to come. Out of love for the whole world, Jesus would soon shed his power, privilege, and authority in order to die a criminal’s death on a cross. And because of this gift—because Jesus loved us to the end—we can love one another.

Yes, it’s just like that song you learned in Vacation Bible School! We love, because God first loved us. God’s radical love for us, seen most clearly in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, frees us from all that wasted time looking for love in all the wrong places. In that freedom, we can love one another as he loved us. And by this will the world will know that we are his disciples.

Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land tells this story:

“One day a Muslim shopkeeper in the Old City of Jerusalem stopped me as I was walking to my office at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. ‘Look at that woman over there,’ he said. ‘I can tell she is a Christian.’ I asked the man, ‘How do you know that?’ And he replied, ‘Because she is carrying that handicapped child, and she takes care of handicapped children that are not her own. You Christians are better than we are.’ I told him that we Christians are not better than Muslims, but we practice sacrificial love because our Lord Jesus gave himself for us on the cross.” (www.elcjhl.org)

Bishop Younan makes it clear that the point is not to compare Christians to Muslims, or to people of other faiths, or to people of no faith. We love, not to be better people, and not to “one-up” our neighbor, but to follow the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to live lives that bear witness to his sacrificial love for us. In spite of what the Christian Lifestyle Superstore tries to sell us, being a Christian isn’t about having the right accessories. By this alone shall people know we are disciples: if we have love for one another.

Let us pray: Everlasting God, your Son Jesus Christ girded himself with a towel and washed his disciples’ feet; grant us the will to be the servant of others as he was servant of all, who gave up his life and died for us, yet lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen. (A New Zealand Prayer Book, p. 604)

Palm Sunday

PALM SUNDAY/SUNDAY OF THE PASSION

Mark 15: Message Version

Dramatic reading between reader & congregation

READER: At dawn's first light, the high priests, with the religious leaders and scholars, arranged a conference with the entire Jewish Council. After tying Jesus securely, they took him out and presented him to Pilate. Pilate asked him:

PULPIT SIDE: Are you the 'King of the Jews'?

JESUS: If you say so.

READER: The high priests let loose a barrage of accusations. Pilate asked again:

PULPIT SIDE: Aren't you going to answer these accusations?

READER: Still, he said nothing. Pilate was impressed, really impressed. It was a custom at the Feast to release a prisoner, anyone the people asked for. There was one prisoner called Barabbas, locked up with the insurrectionists who had committed murder during the uprising against Rome. As the crowd came up and began to present its petition for him to release a prisoner, Pilate anticipated them:

PULPIT SIDE: Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?

Pilate knew by this time that it was through sheer spite that the high priests had turned Jesus over to him. But the high priests by then had worked up the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas. Pilate came back:

PULPIT SIDE: So what do I do with this man you call King of the Jews?

PIANO SIDE: Nail him to a cross!

PULPIT SIDE: But for what crime?

PIANO SIDE: Nail him to a cross!

READER: Pilate gave the crowd what it wanted, set Barabbas free and turned Jesus over for whipping and crucifixion. The soldiers took Jesus into the palace and called together the entire brigade. They dressed him up in purple and put a crown plaited from a thornbush on his head. Then they began their mockery:

ALL: Bravo, King of the Jews!

READER: They banged on his head with a club, spit on him, and knelt down in mock worship. After they had had their fun, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they marched out to nail him to the cross.

There was a man walking by, coming from work, Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. They made him carry Jesus' cross. The soldiers brought Jesus to Golgotha, meaning "Skull Hill." They offered him a mild painkiller (wine mixed with myrrh), but he wouldn't take it. And they nailed him to the cross. They divided up his clothes and threw dice to see who would get them. They nailed him up at nine o'clock in the morning. The charge against him—the king of the jews—was printed on a poster. Along with him, they crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left. People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament:

PIANO SIDE: You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days—so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you're really God's Son, come down from that cross!

READER: The high priests, along with the religion scholars, were right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him:

PULPIT SIDE: He saved others—but he can't save himself! Messiah, is he? King of Israel? Then let him climb down from that cross. We'll all become believers then!

READER: Even the men crucified alongside him joined in the mockery. At noon the sky became extremely dark. The darkness lasted three hours. At three o'clock, Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly:

JESUS: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

PIANO SIDE: Listen, he's calling for Elijah.

Someone ran off, soaked a sponge in sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying:

PULPIT SIDE: "Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down."

READER: But Jesus, with a loud cry, gave his last breath. (Silence) At that moment the Temple curtain ripped right down the middle. When the Roman captain standing guard in front of him saw that he had quit breathing, he said:

PIANO SIDE: This has to be the Son of God!

There were women watching from a distance, among them Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and Joses, and Salome. When Jesus was in Galilee, these women followed and served him, and had come up with him to Jerusalem. Late in the afternoon, since it was the Day of Preparation (that is, Sabbath eve), Joseph of Arimathea, a highly respected member of the Jewish Council, came. He was one who lived expectantly, on the lookout for the kingdom of God. Working up his courage, he went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate questioned whether he could be dead that soon and called for the captain to verify that he was really dead. Assured by the captain, he gave Joseph the corpse. Having already purchased a linen shroud, Joseph took him down, wrapped him in the shroud, placed him in a tomb that had been cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the opening. Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Joses, watched the burial.