Eyes Wide Open in the New Normal
This sermon can be listened to here
Gate Pa – 3rd Sunday in Easter - Year A -2020
Readings:
Psalm
- Psalm: 116:1-4, 12-19
First
Reading - Acts 2:14, 36-41
Second Reading - 1 Peter 1:17-23
Second Reading - 1 Peter 1:17-23
Gospel
- Luke 24:13-35
What I want to
say:
We
are in a new normal – getting used to being church in some different and creative
ways. Today’s gospel invites us to think about how we recognise the risen Jesus
in the ordinary acts of gathering for meals and living in our bubbles.
What I want to happen:
Invite
people to the story of this lockdown what would it include?
- What
are your hopes in all this?
- How
are you feeling?
- Is
this something you can share with others
- Or
just in prayer?
- what stories and passages from scripture come to
mind as you think about your experience over the last 5 or so weeks, and as you
look ahead.
- how risen Christ is being made known without our
homes in our ordinary act of breaking bread?
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
Today we remember St. Mark
Scripture tells us that John Mark’s mother lived in
Jerusalem, and Mark was a companion of Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary
journey. Paul and Barnabas parted company, and Mark went with Barnabas to
Cyprus. The rift between Mark and Paul was not permanent, for we later hear of
Mark as a companion of Paul, and after that we hear of him in Rome with Peter.
He is the author of the earliest Gospel, which is based on
Mark’s memories of Peter’s preaching of the gospel.
There is a strong tradition that associates Mark with the
founding of the church in Alexandria.[1]
In Mark 14:51 we read, “A young man was
following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they
seized him. But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.”
Many who think this is a reference to himself –
maybe his first encounter with Jesus. This odd story is recorded only in Mark.
Maybe he was woken by the soldiers marching down to arrest Jesus and he followed
to see what was happening in his nightclothes.
So within scripture
and tradition there are several stories where he got it wrong
-
Ran away in
garden
-
Left mission with
Paul and Barnabas
-
Which led to a division
between Paul and Barnabas
He does not
always get things right. One of the
collects for today reads
Almighty
God,
by your grace John Mark rose above failure,
and proved useful in your service;
grant that we may steadfastly abide in Christ,
and be fruitful in good works,
to the honour of your name.
by your grace John Mark rose above failure,
and proved useful in your service;
grant that we may steadfastly abide in Christ,
and be fruitful in good works,
to the honour of your name.
These times provided lots opportunities get
things wrong as we work out how to still be church in our dispersed
environment. Like Mark, we seek to learn from what we do. When we get it wrong,
when it is not as good as we hoped, we also need to be kind on ourselves, and
to pray for the grace to continue to be fruitful, as we seek to live way love
2. Worship
One area where
really had to learn the hard way has been around Sunday gathering for worship
in our homes. There have been lots of ways people have responded to that.
-
Some parishes
chosen to not offer anything online, and just offered written resources, or
encouraged their parishioners to find others services on line or on the radio.
-
Some used zoom to
gather people into a zoom service,
-
Like us at the
beginning, some doing Facebook live services
-
Others like us
have put videos on Facebook or YouTube and invited people to watch
-
And others like
us are doing a combination of all these, and different things again
Whatever route taken; all this has meant many clergy
have been rapidly learning how to do all sorts of new things not envisaged when
we trained. It has been challenging and exhilarating all at the same time.
One area
been lots debate in this country and around world has been around whether and
how to offer communion. It has been contentious. Friend of mine recently berated
me for not offering it. He told me it was not good enough and we needed to for
those for whom it is important.
Our diocese has decided to not offer that. I
am not going to hide behind that. I spoke in favour of this decision, even though
my rule of life invites me to take part in and receive the eucharist at least
once a week. Eucharist is important to me, and like others I miss it.
Why have I taken this position? Communion used
to be a sacrament that was about me and God. The liturgy used “I”. WE talked
about making my communion. But that changed in the 1980’s when the new liturgies
in this country used “we”. Communion is a sacrament between the gathered
community and God. I cannot offer this until we are gathered again. I have
watched online communion services and I really don’t understand what they are
doing. For me eucharist is not about me and God, and us and God.
When we gather around the table, we gather
with all who have and will gather around this and every Eucharistic table,
whether we like it or not
We join Jesus
friends and disciples at the last supper
o like them we are reminded of his
radical lesson in leadership and being community, which culminated in his
washing their feet
o we are reminded of all the meals he
ate with those the religious hierarchy had declared beyond the boundaries of
the social, political, and religious community
o like
them we are invited to join in Christ’s ongoing mission and ministry of
removing those boundaries and declaring all to be “God’s beloved”, not as
individuals but as God’s community of hope.
3. Church Rhythms
What is it YOU
miss most about church?
-
Eucharist?
-
People
-
Gathering of
people being together as we respond and sing?
-
Rhythm of being
there on Sundays?
-
Time over morning
tea?
One of the hard things
and one of the gifts of this time is that our normal way of being church is off
limits for the time being
-
Some rituals and gatherings
that might normally help us see risen Jesus are unavailable
-
Invited pay
attention in some new or different ways outside normal church rhythms.
As I said in pew
sheet theme
-
Some enjoyed this
-
Some struggling
-
Some have enjoyed
some aspects and struggled with others.
-
And some feel
like they are locked in a tomb awaiting liberation.
4. Road to Emmaus
In the midst of all this, we are offered story
for our situation. The Road to Emmaus is a story of two disciples encountering Risen
Jesus while treading their slow painfilled road to old normal life.
I wonder how being in week 5 of lockdown
changes how we read this story, and what this story has to offer us in midst of
pandemic? I am struck by issues like burst bubbles and social distancing. We could
not be part of this story at the moment.
So we have two disciples trapped in their own
tomb, just as they thought Jesus was still trapped in his tomb. They do not believe
the women. And so, they are going back to what was. As they walk, lost in their
grief at all that was lost in Jesus’ death. Their grief not only because of
Jesus’ death, but the death of all their hopes for coming reign of God’s
justice and peace.
Jesus comes among them and invites them to
tell their story. In doing so they name all their hopes and all their loss and
grief found in the story. That is a very important part of this story. Allowing
people to tell what has happened; to name their hopes in all this; and how they
respond – whether with joy, grief, anger, jubilation, numbness.
-
What are your
hopes in all this?
-
How are you
feeling?
-
Is this something
you can share with others
-
Or just in
prayer?
Then Jesus links
their story into the story of scripture. What stories and passages from
scripture come to mind as you think about your experience over the last 5 or so
weeks, and as you look ahead.
Finally, Jesus accepts their invitation of hospitality.
And then he does a very odd thing. He takes on the role of host, rather than
guest, and taking bread, using the same words he used at the feeding of the 5000,
he breaks it and gives it to each of them. And in that moment the recognise him
Some commentators would suggest that this very
ordinary act is the most Jesus thing Jesus does - breaking bread and sharing a
meal with people; including many who should not have tables shared with. In doing
so enacts Mary’s song of hope from the beginning of the gospel.
As Jesus shares the bread the Risen Christ is
made known to them. And everything changes. Everything. Nothing is ever the
same again. Normal is replaced with a new much more dynamic normal.
5. Our New Normal
For us in week 5 of lockdown, as we get close
to lockdown lite, it’s hard to know what our new normal will be like, and whether
we will ever get back to how thigs were 2 months ago. Even if we do, how long
that will take?
So in this new place, what are the gifts for
you out of this time?
What are the gifts of how to be church out of
this time?
What can we take forward into our new normal
whatever that looks like?
As we pray about that, let us remember that the
Risen Christ still appears to people in quite ordinary everyday ways. The next
time you are at meal with bread I invite you to take bread, give thanks, break it
and share it with others – if you can
Talk about how this has been for you
Be open to Risen Christ being there in your
midst inviting you into the new normal.
[1] https://www.anglican.org.nz/Resources/Worship-Resources-Karakia/For-All-the-Saints-A-Resource-for-the-Commemorations-of-the-Calendar
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