The Holy Spirit Is Alongside Us: Easter 6a

The holy gospel according to John (14:15-21).

Jesus said to the disciples:

¹⁵“If you love me,

      you will keep my commandments.

      ¹⁶And I will ask the Father,

            who will give you another Advocate,

                  to be with you forever.

                  ¹⁷This is the Spirit of truth,

                        whom the world cannot receive,

                              because it neither sees her nor knows her.

                  You know the Spirit,

                        because she abides with you,

                        and she will be in you.
 

¹⁸“I will not leave you orphaned;

      I am coming to you.

¹⁹In a little while the world will no longer see me,

      but you will see me;

            because I live,

                  you also will live.

            ²⁰On that day you will know that I am in my Father,

                  and you in me,

                        and I in you.

            ²¹They who have my commandments and keep them

                  are those who love me;

                        and those who love me will be loved by my Father,

                        and I will love them

                        and reveal myself to them.”

The gospel of the lord.

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Today on this 6^th Sunday of Easter, we begin to look towards Pentecost.  We will celebrate Jesus’ Ascension this Thursday, yet before then Jesus promises us the Holy Spirit—our Advocate.  This week we encounter Jesus, as last week, at the Last Supper.  Having washed his disciples’ feet and given them his greatest commandment: to love, Jesus is preparing himself and his disciples—his friends—for a time of deep loneliness.

Judas is on his way to betray Jesus, Peter will deny him, and the rest will abandon him.  And for his part, Jesus will be tortured and killed and no matter how many times Jesus has told them, they will still not understand that his death is not the end.  So they, too, will feel abandoned, alone, and afraid, as happens to many of us when someone we love dies, no matter the reason.

Into this loneliness, Jesus brings the promise of the Holy Spirit.  The title Advocate is translated from the Greek word παράκλητος, or Paraklete.  In English, the word Advocate might call to mind a court scene with a lawyer who is arguing in your defense or organizations like ELCA Advocacy, the Presbyterian Mission Agency, or Lutheran Advocacy-Minnesota, who work with congregations and elected representatives to ensure that the government is helping and protecting the most vulnerable.  These do describe the work of the Holy Spirit well, yet there is another aspect to the Paraklete that is also important.  The Paraklete, the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, is one called to assist another.

Lutheran preaching theologian, Rev. Dr. Karoline Lewis, describes the work of the Paraklete as “the one who is literally called to be alongside us.”[i] The One who is with us in our struggles and our sorrows.  The reality is that many times the Paraklete is with us through the presence of other people—through the ones who meet up for lunch just to catch up, who stop by to say hi and see how we’re doing.

Womanist ethicist, Rev. Dr. Emilie Townes names the need for each of us to: “Keep integrated, resist pulling apart.  Have friends tell you when they see pieces of you drifting away.”  This is also the work of the Holy Spirit, our Paraklete: to call us back to ourselves when we lose our way, to remind us of who we are when we feel too broken up or broken apart.

The beauty of the Holy Spirit’s work is that she doesn’t just come alongside us and bring back the parts of us that might be drifting away.  The Holy Spirit also uses us to do that for others.

It is an amazingly simple, yet difficult, way of being to which Jesus calls us.  It is precisely in anticipation of the deepest, loneliest time that Jesus affirms and calls the disciples to this connectedness and this Holy Spirit-Paraklete way of being.  The Holy Spirit is with us in every moment of our lives so that when we are breaking apart or overwhelmed with sorrow or pain, she will already be there, “to be alongside us.”

One of the ways we join in this is to pay attention to the Parakletes in our lives and let them know who they are to us.  Are there a couple people in your life who have come alongside you?  Who are with you in your struggles or sorrows?  Who comfort you or call you back to your whole self?

Have you told them how much they mean to you?  What would happen if you told them they are the Holy Spirit, the Paraklete, for you?

In my favorite movie, August Rush, the title character is a child prodigy in music and at the end of the movie, there is a monumental scene in which he tells us in voiceover, “The music is all around us, all you have to do… is listen.”  I’ll tweak that a bit and assure you: The Holy Spirit is all around us, all you have to do… is notice.

Thanks be to God.

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[i] Unless otherwise specified, the quotes in this sermon are from: http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?post=4886

resurrection breaks in: easter 1a

The holy gospel according to Matthew (28:1-10).

After the sabbath,

      as the first day of the week was dawning,

            Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

²And suddenly there was a great earthquake;

      for an angel of God,

            descending from heaven,

                  came and rolled back the stone

                  and sat on it.

      ³The appearance of the angel was like lightning,

            and its clothing bright as snow.

                  ⁴For fear of the angel the guards shook

                        and became as if dead.

         ⁵But the angel said to the women,

            “Do not be afraid;

                  I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.

                  ⁶He is not here;

                        for he has been raised, as he said.

                  Come, see the place where he lay.

                        ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples,

                              ‘He has been raised from the dead,

                              and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee;

                                    there you will see him.’

                  This is my message for you.”

⁸So the women left the tomb quickly

      with fear and great joy,

            and ran to tell his disciples.

⁹Suddenly Jesus met them and said,

      “Greetings!”

            And they came to him,

                  took hold of his feet,

                        and worshiped him.

¹⁰Then Jesus said to them,

      “Do not be afraid;

            go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee;

                  there they will see me.”

The gospel of the Lord.

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I need to confess that I have not been feeling Easter this year.  I have felt like I’m still in Good Friday, or even Holy Saturday.  Like these women—these Marys—I feel almost numb.  Every time I turn on the news or get online, there is another tragedy.  As I was working on this sermon, the news came out that we had dropped the biggest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat in Afghanistan. 

And it’s not just what our and other governments are doing in other countries.  It’s in our corner of the world too.  Kids are still sick, people we love still die, Immigration and Customs Enforcement could come in and tear this community apart at any time, and domestic violence still haunts our community.

We know that the world both far and near is not how it should be.  And yet we still show up.  Like the brave women, the Marys, who show up at the tomb.  They bring nothing.  In Matthew’s account they don’t bring any spices to anoint the body, or anything at all really.  We don’t hear them worrying about how they’re going to get into the tomb.  They just go, walking numbly along the path to the tomb.  Maybe to sit and stare.  Maybe to sit and cry—if there are any tears left, that is.  Maybe just to not be alone with their grief.

The women show up and God crashes into their sorrow and grief.  God breaks in, literally rocking their world with the resurrection.  The folks guarding the tomb are lost in fear and become “as if dead.”

There is no denying the violence and pain that put Jesus on the cross and then into the tomb.  That violence is just as real today around the world: at the hands of our and other governments, as well as at the hands of individuals, like the pastor in San Bernadino who killed his estranged wife, a child in her class, and himself, and in domestic violence in our own community over the last few years.

Violence is real.  Jesus is still being crucified and in this reality the women come to the tomb.  Mary and Mary, these faithful women caught in despair, show up at the tomb.  They show up because even though they might not have a plan or hope, it is the faithful thing to do.   

The witness of these women—the first witnesses of the resurrection—would have held no legal standing in their time and they have been maligned throughout church history.  Yet these women show up, expecting nothing but a tomb and the bloodied corpse of the one in whom they had placed their hope.  The One they thought would change everything.

But this isn’t the end.  This is where we are with the world right now, and this is where Christ breaks in.  This is where the resurrection shakes the foundations of this world.

Bishop Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land points out that “The powers and principalities of sin and death could not overcome the love of God.  Yes they could crucify Jesus.  Yes, they could bury Jesus.  But they could not bury God’s love for this world.”

THIS is what Easter is. 

The women show up at the tomb, because it is the faithful thing to do and God breaks in.  Into their sorrow and confusion, the angel proclaims the message Christians have greeted each other with for thousands of years as the angel says, “⁶He is not here,” Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed.  Alleluia!

In the face of all the violence: resurrection breaks in!

In the face of sickness, death, and despair: resurrection breaks in!

In the face of broken relationships, lost lives, and hopelessness: resurrection breaks in!

In the face of every single thing that beats us down, discourages us, and gives us every reason not to believe: resurrection breaks in!

Resurrection breaks in no matter what!

The women respond “with fear and great joy” because resurrection breaks in.

These women show up today and throughout history.  Though they are not always named or recognized, women have been showing up forever.  They have known the secret that perhaps we who gather here today know deep in our souls, no matter what else we might think.  The women know: sometimes you just need to show up, even if you don’t want to or even if you don’t know why.

Because resurrection does break in!

And God, after all these years, still breaks into our lives, shaking the very foundations we’ve thought were so solid. 

Resurrection breaks in when executions are stayed, granting life in the face of death.

Resurrection breaks in when Muslims give blood to help Coptic Christians who were victims of violence.

God breaks in in surprising ways that don’t make sense.

Resurrections breaks in and changes us!

Resurrection changes our relationship with Emmanuel,

      who is God-with-us,

      and who is the God of life!

Jesus has vanquished death and the power it holds over this life. 

Despite all of the potential for evil, resurrection breaks in and Love wins.

Despite all of the reasons we might have to despair, despite our human capacity for death, destruction, and hatred, resurrection breaks in and evil doesn’t have the last word. 

Love is still stronger than hatred or fear.

Life still conquers death.

Because: Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed. Alleluia!

Resurrection breaks into our lives!

Christ resists oppression and overcomes evil!

In the face of all that may come, we can trust that no amount of evil will ever be the final word.  No amount of evil will conquer.

Because life is different

Because resurrection breaks in

Because Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed. Alleluia!

God's not normal: Resurrection of Our Lord

The first reading is Acts 10:34-43.

The second reading is 1 Corinthians 15:19-26.

The holy gospel according to Luke (24:1-12)

¹On the first day of the week,

       at early dawn,

              [the women] came to the tomb,

                     taking the spices that they had prepared.

       ²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,

              ³but when they went in,

                     they did not find the body.

       ⁴While they were perplexed about this,

              suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.

              ⁵The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground,

                     but the men said to them,

                            “Why do you look for the living among the dead?

                                   He is not here,

                                          but has risen.

                                   ⁶Remember how he told you,

                                          while he was still in Galilee,

                                                 ⁷that the Son of Humanity must be handed over 

                                                       to sinners,

                                                 and be crucified,

                                                 and on the third day rise again.”

                     ⁸Then the women remembered his words,

                            ⁹and returning from the tomb,

                                   they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.

              ¹⁰Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna,

              Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them

                     who told this to the apostles.

                            ¹¹But these words seemed to them an idle tale,

                                   and they did not believe them.

                                          ¹²But Peter got up and ran to the tomb;

                                                 stooping and looking in,

                                                       he saw the linen cloths by themselves;

                                                 then he went home,

                                                       amazed at what had happened.

The gospel of the Lord.

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“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” the angels ask the women, those first witnesses of the resurrection.  “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

The women are still stuck in Good Friday and the Holy Saturday of grief and waiting and what happens now?  They, like many of us, look among the dead.

This week and this year have been Good Friday times.  In the last two weeks alone, terrorist attacks have struck in:

Ankara, Turkey;

Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast; 

Maiduguri, Nigeria;

Peshawar, Pakistan;

Istanbul, Turkey;

Bamako, Mali;

and Brussels, Belgium.[1] 

People in this country have been killed, abused, struck with illnesses, and natural disasters.  Many of our loved ones have died over the last several months.  Stress, anxiety, abuse, depression, and discrimination make life hard for many of us.

Death, hatred, and fear seem to be taking over.  We look around and much of the time we are looking “among the dead.”  We don’t really know what to do, when we sit and grieve and wonder what has gone wrong?  Why is the world so messed up? 

And yet even in a world so full of pain and hurt—so full of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, we hear Mary and the women as they proclaim: Christ is risen!  (Christ is risen, indeed!)  Alleluia!  In our amazement with Peter, we join the proclamation of Mary, Peter, Paul, the women, and the angels that Christ is risen!  (Christ is risen, indeed!)  Alleluia!  All Christ’s enemies are underfoot and “²⁶The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

Christ crucified is the reality we live in and yet the Resurrection pulls us in.  “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Today we come among the dead.  But are we looking for the living?  Are we actually looking for Christ in all of this Good Friday/Holy Saturday mess?  Are we looking for the living among the dead or are we just looking for the dead among the dead? At least we come looking…and no matter what we’re searching for, we find: the living. 

Maybe we come on Easter because it’s just what we always do on Sunday morning.  Maybe we come for our family.  Maybe we come because our doubts and our questions can keep us away every other week of the year, but we’re just not ready to give up on it all yet.  Maybe we’re afraid of death and looking for a way out.  Maybe we come for the mystery of it.  Maybe we come looking for the living—the new life to be found.  Maybe we come for this different community.  Whatever the reason, the Holy Spirit gathers us together.

We join Mary and the other women following Jesus from dinner to the garden to the cross and the tomb.  And this morning, we show up.  We show up because we need the reminder.  The tomb is empty.  “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

At first the women are perplexed by the empty tomb.  They don’t know what to make of it.  They don’t know what to believe, they are filled with questions and doubts.

And so the angels come with their own question and reminders.  The angels recount Jesus’ words, foretelling his death and resurrection.

That is what Easter is for.  It is for remembering.  For remembering “how [Jesus] told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷that the Son of Humanity must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”  And then the women remembered.  And we remember.  We gave thanks for our baptisms today in particular, because they join us together with Christ in his death in order to also join Christ in the resurrection.  Baptism re-members us into the body of Christ and reminds us of the resurrection.

We tell the story of our faith.  We remember and remind each other of the wonder and awe. 

The women have a special place in the resurrection.  Early on that Easter morning in Jerusalem, “Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them” come with spices—here in Rushford they come with egg bakes, cinnamon rolls, fruit, and coffee.  Mary and the other women show up faithfully.  The spices scenting the air, with no plan for the stone, hoping against hope that something will work out.  They come to look “among the dead” and they are surprised into the resurrection.  The angels of God re-member them into their place as followers of Christ and apostles to the apostles. 

And the story begins to spread.  The angels remind the women and the women become the bearers of this story.  They go to remind the apostles, who … don’t believe the women.  But the women share the news anyway and while they share, and the men don’t believe, Peter at least goes to investigate and he comes away amazed. 

Peter can no longer deny the truth of the women’s story.  Peter is transformed by the resurrection, and joins the women as a storyteller, as we heard in today’s reading from Acts. 

Resurrection is powerful because it sparks something in us. 

It is startling—shocking even—that a person could die—and not just die, but be killed—in such a terrible, public, political way,                         and then, just a few days later, rise from the dead?!?!  Think about it.            That’s just not normal!  If we heard about something like that happening today, would we believe?

That is the shock of the Resurrection.  That is how God works.  God works slowly and quietly turning winter into spring and God works with a big bang.  Because God is not normal.  God doesn’t make sense.  And yet, God is.

The other day a friend was telling a story of a card game with God.  You’re playing poker with God and as the game goes along, you might just have the best hand you’ve ever had—four of a kind!  It couldn’t get better, and so when God goes all in, you call it.  You’ve got this.  And then, the big reveal, …and God has 5 aces!

God’s not normal.  God’s so not normal…  that God cheats.

That is Easter, folks.  Easter is God’s ultimate cheat.  Death and the powers of evil—hatred and fear—think they’ve won.  God has come to humanity in love and humanity has responded with crucifixion.  Death, evil, hatred, and fear think they’ve put this dissident who’s “doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,” this one who’s stirring things up, preaching God’s love and grace for even the outcasts and the sinners.  “That one” they finally think they have put to death.  They sure showed him!  “hanging him on a tree.”  Death has finally claimed God and Nietzsche is right.  “God is dead.”

A friend of mine shared a video on Facebook yesterday of a group of people in North Carolina.  North Carolina has been in the news this week for passing a bill that will roll back existing protections and rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer folks.  The video was of the response of LGBTQ activists in North Carolina.  The government in North Carolina thinks they’ve won.  They think they have the power and the powerless are put in their place.

Little do they realize, the party’s just begun!  The spices are ready, the Sabbath is over, the women head to the tomb in despair … and Jesus, the dissident, the danger, the dead one “is not here, but has risen.”  And the tables are turned!  In North Carolina, the video was of activists dancing.  They had a dance-in to protest the legislation.  That is resurrection in the flesh. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Christ is risen!  (Christ is risen, indeed!) Alleluia!  Christ triumphs over the fear and hatred that sent him to the cross!  Christ triumphs over evil and all enemies.  Christ triumphs over death.  God cheats and God wins. 

And in doing so, Christ frees us.  Christ breaks our bonds of fear and hatred and even death because Christ has conquered them. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Paul proclaims that “²⁶The last enemy to be destroyed is death” and here today on Easter morning, the last enemy is conquered and we dance and celebrate the cheat and the victory of Christ’s resurrection.

Because Christ is risen!  (Christ is risen, indeed!) Alleluia!!

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[1] On March 13^th in Ankara, Turkey a terrorist attack killed 37 people and wounded many more.  That same day in Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast terrorist linked to Al Qaeda attacked people at the beach, with 22 killed and many more wounded.  On March 16^th in Maiduguri, Nigeria two suicide bombers, likely linked to Boko Haram, attacked a mosque and killed 24 worshipers.  That same day in Peshawar, Pakistan, a terrorist attack, likely linked to Taliban militants, killed at least 15 and wounded many more.  On March 20^th in Istanbul, Turkey, a suicide bomber linked to ISIS killed 5 people and wounded many more.  On March 21^st in Bamako, Mali, 3 terrorist attacked a hotel serving as headquarters to a European Union mission.  On March 22^nd in Brussels, Belgium, a terrorist attack killed 34 people and wounded many more. 

Whose voice will prevail? - Palm/Passion Sunday

The Palm Processional Reading (Luke 19:28-40).

After Jesus had said this,

       he went on ahead,

              going up to Jerusalem.

When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany,

       at the place called the Mount of Olives,

              he sent two of the disciples, saying,

                     “Go into the village ahead of you,

                            and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt

                                   that has never been ridden.

                            Untie it and bring it here.

                                   If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’

                                          just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

              So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them.

                     As they were untying the colt,

                            its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

                            They said, “The Lord needs it.”

                            Then they brought it to Jesus;

                                   and after throwing their cloaks on the colt,

                                          they set Jesus on it.

                            As he rode along,

                                   people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.

                            As he was now approaching the path 

                                   down from the Mount of Olives,

                                   the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God

                                          joyfully with a loud voice

                                                 for all the deeds of power that they had seen,

                                                 saying, “Blessed is the king

                                                       who comes in the name of the Lord!

                                                       Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”

                            Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him,

                                   “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.”

                            He answered,

                                   “I tell you, if these were silenced,

                                          the stones would shout out.”

The first reading was Isaiah 50:4-9.

The gospel was Luke 22:14-23:56.

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Today we began early with marching and palm branches.  We join the multitude of Jesus’ disciples throughout time and space in the absurd procession.  It is what we might today call street theatre.

To prepare for the Passover, Jesus and Pilate are both coming to Jerusalem.  Pilate will process in, probably at about the same time, from the other end of the city.  Pilate will come with infantry—legions of soldiers, mounted on the finest and strongest horses.  Pilate comes to enforce the Pax Romana—Roman peace that is less peace and more military suppression of any dissent.  So Pilate comes, mighty and powerful, from the West.

And from the East Jesus moseys along on a young colt, an animal lacking any military prowess whatsoever, and the multitude of disciples lay their cloaks at the feet of the colt, and sing praises.  While this is all in mockery of Pilate’s military parade, the shouts echo back even to Jesus’ birth, and we are reminded that Jesus has come to bring a deeper peace than any war or military might could temporarily secure.  Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was born for peace to rule on earth, as the angels sang; and in heaven as those gathered now cry out.  God’s glory will reign in peace.

…And yet, do the disciples really get what kind of peace Jesus will bring?  They praise Jesus “for all the deeds of power that they had seen.”  Praise for our Prince of Peace is right, but they don’t quite get the “why” of it.

As the journey continues, we discover with the disciples, that Jesus is not the king we thought he’d be—maybe not even the one we want him to be.

Though Jesus can “sustain the weary with a word” as Isaiah points out, Jesus has not come “for all the deeds of power that [the disciples] had seen,” and Jesus has not come for a military overthrow of the oppressive Roman Empire.  Jesus has come: to be with humanity, especially the oppressed, marginalized, and downtrodden of humanity.

God chooses the limits caused by true humanness.  God in Jesus chooses all of humanity and as Jesus shares in the Last Supper, his body and blood nourish us for the journey we take this week—the journey to the cross.

And before we know it, we are in the Mount of Olives and find ourselves ready to strike with a sword in order to defend our God and our faith, not even giving Jesus time to say no so that all he can do is limit the violence done in his name, stopping the escalation and healing the physical pain the violence inflicted.   

Then, in a stupor, we follow our arrested savior.  Maybe hoping he will be the Messiah come to overthrow the Roman occupation after all, or maybe we’re just too numb to think, and there is Peter around the fire.  And we are with him, denying Jesus—perhaps through words or, more likely, through our silence or inaction in the face of evil—hatred and fear.

But it doesn’t matter because as Jesus is tortured and passed from the high priest to Pilate to Herod and back to Pilate, a few in the crowd, the leaders we consider most powerful,                                                begin to stir up the crowd.  They spew hatred at Jesus for the threat they fear, for the difference in him.  They provoke the crowd into a frenzied fervor.  It builds with the hateful, vehement rhetoric—the fear of Jesus’ teachings, the spite for his welcome for “sinners,” maybe even for the darkness of his skin and the texture of his hair—his Arab, Jewish features that are not quite Roman enough.

As the hatred and fear-based rhetoric builds, Pilate comes out and declares Jesus: not guilty.                          But it’s too late.  The crowd has lost all its compassion, all its love.  It is riled up to the point of operating as a mob as we shout “crucify, crucify him!”

Jesus may be the king we need, but he is definitely not the one the crowd wants.  They would rather have Barabbas, the terrorist, a murderer leading a violent rebellion, than the King of Compassion, the Prince of Peace.  And so as they cry for crucifixion, “their voices prevail(ed).”  Everyone turns towards the cross.

As the remaining journey to the cross proceeds, as we witness Jesus’ crucifixion, his body hanged on a tree by an angry mob.  As the final barrier between God and humanity is torn in two with the veil of the temple and Jesus joins humanity even in death, we are left with our ears still ringing, “crucify, crucify him!”  We are left wondering how “their voices prevailed.”  How did hatred, fear, and violence prevail over the Prince of Peace?  Did my voice join in?  Was I shouting in hatred?  In fear?  In pain?

Did I lose sight or sound of Jesus’ love and the compassion that fills me with hope?  Did I harden my own heart against the love from God to others?

But we know: the end is not yet here.  There is still time.  Jesus is still being crucified.  Every time we choose hatred, fear, or violence over love and compassion, Jesus is crucified again and again.  The story is still unfolding and we all get to choose this time.  We don’t have to join the angry mob. 

So, whose voice will prevail?  Whose voice do you follow?  The Prince of Peace, full of love and compassion? Or the voice of hatred and fear that calls for crucifixion—exclusion, violence, and death?  Whose voice will prevail today?