I Trust God for That

 Gate Pa – Year B  Easter Sunday 2024

Readings:

First Reading:             Isaiah 25:6-9                           
Second Reading:         Acts 10:34-43                         
Gospel:                       John 20:1-18  

What I want to say:

Our friend died this time 2 years ago in Holy Week. The resurrection affirms that she is with God now. Swallowed in God’s life. I don’t know what that means or what it looks life. That is ok. I trust God for all that.

This story is bigger than Liz, or me, getting into heaven, if that is what being swallowed by God’s life is. Jesus death is more than Jesus dying on a cross for me and my sins. It is God dying on a cross, showing us where all our greed, selfishness, lust for power. The powers of death thought they had won, but God would not be held in death. When all seemed lost God’s life prevailed. When all seems lost, God’s love and life will prevail. I trust God for that.

In Matthew Gospel the resurrection is a seismic event. Terrifying, destabilizing, life shattering. How is resurrection those things for us. In the midst of all that I trust God

In John's gospel Mary watched her friend die, a humiliating horrific degrading death. She watched her hopes for herself and Israel die. She was swallowed in grief, outrage, powerlessness, despair. She went to weep and despair as the night light let go and the dawn emerged. She met Jesus in the messiness of her life. She thought he was the gardener. Nothing changed. Everything changed. The resurrected Jesus met her in her darkest blackest moment and it changed everything. She became the first to proclaim the gospel. She boldly lived resurrected life. The resurrected Jesus invites us into resurrected life now. I trust God for that.

What I want to happen:

What do we trust God for this Easter?

The Sermon

      1.    Liz

Our friend died in holy week a couple of years ago
-        Had cancer for awhile
-        Wouldn’t let that define her
-        Never fought it
o   We all die of something
-        Anyway she was too busy living life for that
-        She and cancer danced together these a few years.
-        All the while she lived
-        Nearly died in previous December when she fell off her ebike
o   Riding in Redwoods with husband and us
-        Ruptured tumour
o   Said goodbye to each other – badly
-        She had too much life left to live.
-        She got a tatoo celebrating her “gifted time”
o   Seeing children married
o   Meet grandson
o   Celebrating daughter’s 30th birthday in Greece
-        Still planning trips
-        Posted on Tuesday that she near the end
o    Grateful for her life

§  Family

§  friends

o   Peace with its end
-        Died few hours later
She is with God now.
Confident of that
That’s what today is all about
I don’t know what that means
-        what it looks life.
That is ok.
Jesus’ resurrection holds that promise
Swallowed in God’s life.
I trust God for all that.
That’s what the invitation for today is about
Trusting God for that.

      2.    Bigger and Darker

This story is bigger than Liz, or me,
It is more than either of us
-       -   Any of us
-       -  getting into heaven,
-       -   if that is what being swallowed by God’s life is.
Biblical story is God’s covenantal faithfulness to
-        -   restoration n of humanity
-        -   joining God in the work of renewal of creation
Jesus’ death is more than Jesus dying on a cross for me and my sins.
It is God dying on a cross,
-        showing us where all our greed, selfishness, lust for power, blindness
®   leads to.
-        Allowing the powers of death think they have won,
-        in Matthew this is seismic event (Matthew uses the Greek word – seismos)
o   with earthquakes and dead being raised
Resurrection breaks those powers
Defeats death
another seismic event
think of what it is like being in an earthquake
start to get an idea of what today is all about
Invites us to another way
Matthew is clear
-        In dying on a cross
-        Jesus shows us the nature of God
o   God’s life
o   Gods love for this world
o   Gods commitment to this world
but God would not be held in death.
When all seemed lost God’s life prevailed.

     
3.    Matthew’s account

Today we heard Matthew’s version of story
About Mary Magdalene and other Mary
watched their friend die,
-        a humiliating
-        horrific
-        degrading death.
They watched their hopes for themselves and Israel die.
It was like they had died too
they were swallowed in grief,
     -        outrage,
    -        powerlessness,
    -        despair.
They went to weep and grieve as the night light let go and the dawn emerged.
Just a simple act of being in the place their friend lay
Where their hope and life lay shredded
Dead
Between the tears they find shaking ground
terrified guards fainted flat
and an angel sitting
sitting on the stone
defeating all powers that had tried to hold Jesus in tomb
turning this symbol of failed power
into a chair
As they are invited to see the empty tomb
their world trembles
and the ground on which they stand trembles
unsettling
As they return to the others
dazed
confused
disbelieving maybe
hopeful maybe
unsettled and unsure
they meet Jesus
The resurrected Jesus meets them
-        in their darkest blackest moment
-        in their moment of death
ð and it changes everything.
They are made new
They are resurrected too

   
 4.    We join others

(talk about the picture of Holy Sepulchre)
We join ALL those gather this day
those who will gather in Orthodox tradition in weeks’ time
gather to celebrate the resurrection
Mary and the other Maty invite us to remember
-        God’s life prevails
when all seems lost,
-        easily give into despair and anger
-        feel powerless
-        lost all hope
God’s love and life will prevail.
God’s seismic love and life will prevail
I find hope in that.
I trust God for that.
I have to trust God for that

   
  5.    Mary

When we read John’s account
we hear that Mary becomes the first to prolamin the gospel.
She proclaim to the men
“I have seen the lord.”
She is remembered
She boldly lived a resurrected life.
We are all invited to live resurrected lives
In her book Pastrix , Nadia Bolz-Weber describes resurrection life as new messy life.
“God is interested in making me new. And new is not perfect. In the Easter story itself, new is often messy. New looks like recovering alcoholics, and reconciliation between family members who don’t actually deserve it. New looks like every time I admit I am wrong and every time I don’t mention it when I am right. New is every fresh start, every act of forgiveness and every moment of letting go of what we thought we couldn’t live without and then somehow living without it anyway. New is the thing we never see coming, never even hope for, but ends up being the thing we needed all along. It happens to all of us. God simply keeps bending down into the dirt of humanity and resurrecting us from the graves we dig ourselves through our violence, our lies, our arrogance, and our addictions. And God keeps loving us back to life over and over.”
Mary knew all that and more
She had seen the Lord
She invites you and me to live that life too
In the messiness of our everyday life
To be made new
Again and again and again
Living resurrected lives
Even when we are lost in death
Inviting us to see the Lord
I’m willing to trust God for all that too.

1.   6.  I wonder?

How is Easter seismic for us?
-   What are we invited to trust God for this Easter?

 

Flowers

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Norway - Day One

Image
  After that long break I've decided to finish reflecting on my sabbatical in 2023. In part I have to do all the photos anyway, and in part it is a thing of joy to look at those photos and to try to remember what we did over those three or more weeks. We left St Georges with a number of other pilgrims in a sherut organized by the College. I was already feeling the effects of our food stall meal the night before, Bonnie started at the airport. It meant we were careful about what we ate and kept an eye for toilets.  We flew through Warsaw on Polish Airlines, a Star Alliance member. That meant we had access to lounges, and I would earn enough points to keep gold status for another year.  It was a long day travailing and we were pleased to arrive in Oslo to be met by our friend and host, Kenneth. Kenneth was an exchange student who came to stay with us after his first hosts proved to be  very inappropriate. It was so good to see him again and to see him in his house. He ...
Read more

Celebrating a Constitution on Matariki!

Image
On Sunday I was asked to take the service and preach at St Peters Anglican Church at Mount Maunganui. For our church here in Aotearoa-New Zealand it was Te Pouhere Sunday, where we celebrate our church constitution. And it is Matariki - the  Māori  New Year. Here are the notes from my sermon where I try to hold them together to see how Matariki might help us celebrate who God calls us to be in this land at this time. Celebrating a Constitution on Matariki!   Mount Maunganui – Te Pouhere Sunday 2025 Readings : Hebrew Scripture:        Isa 42:10-20    Epistle:                        2 Corinthians 5:14-19 Gospel:                       Luke 6:46-49   What I want to say: Have a conversation about Te Pouhere and why we might celebrate it reflect on Matariki and what that might invite...
Read more

Norway Day Two

Image
On day two in Norway we were looked after by Kenneth's parents,  Torild and Tom. Kenneth had classes to attend in Oslo, so they showed us around on the itinerary that Kenneth had mapped out for us. We set off with cut lunches and bags for the next few days as we were off exploring Norway. F irst stop was the Vikersundbakken ski jump hill or ski flying hill, because that is what happens here. It is  one of the largest purpose-built ski flying hills in the world and is pretty impressive. It would be even more impressive with snow. According to Wikipedia nine world records have been set there. The complex consists of a large hill, a normal hill and several training hills.  Then we drove to the  Blaafarveværket waterfall and Cobalt  mines where we had our cut lunch. One thing we and Kenneth discovered is that touristy Norway shuts on October 1 because winter is coming and it is getting too cold. We arrived on October 3, so things like the Museum at the Cobalt m...
Read more