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4/25/21 Sunday sermon

4/25/2021

 
In one of those rare moments when I was watching a Facebook video, I came across one that had this description “The human condition in a nutshell.” The first frame was that of an animal caught in a crevice and a young person trying to pull a leg out. If there was ever a set up for a sermon illustration, this had to be it.

So I hit the play button and it’s the back end of a sheep. This could be good, because the scripture passage deals with sheep! The kiddo gets the sheep out with no small effort and it immediately runs off, along the trough from which it had just been rescued. And as it leaps - so like a springy sheep would do - it misjudges the narrow trench not 10 feet away and falls in again. True story - the human condition in a nutshell - some days.

Just moments before Jesus said what we will hear very soon, he was interrogated by the Pharisees for healing a blind man on the sabbath. Naturally, the discussion goes from interrogation to Jesus preaching to the Pharisees, using the illustration of gatekeepers and sheep, indicating himself as the gatekeeper for the sheep.

Our second passage is from a little letter written to a group of churches between 95 and 110 AD with leadership issues. Of the 22 books in the New Testament, the writer of 1 John uses the word “love” more than any other letter in the New Testament, including the Gospels.

John 10:11-18
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

1 John 3:16-24
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Thank you, Serenity and Jeanne. Despite the shift from an agrarian society, there is still something comforting about this imagery of a shepherd and sheep. To that end, I couldn’t resist doing what I had thought I’d stopped once Holy Humor Sunday was done; giving us visual encouragement, with the bulletin cover, to go beyond the familiar representations to other ways of seeing the Good Shepherd.

After nearly 23 years, I don’t know how many times I’ve preached on this passage, but I know I’ve reminded us that although sheep aren’t always the most brilliant of God’s creatures, they are trusting and uncomplicated. And despite what we know of their odiferous nature, they give us some of the best clothing, food and the lanolin from their fleece is found in adhesive tape, printing inks, motor oils and lubricants. Sheep101.info said that “virtually all cosmetics and beauty aids, such as lipsticks, mascaras, lotions, shampoos, and hair conditioners, contain lanolin.”

I noticed that Fr. Michael Renninger, pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Richmond, Virginia posted something this week on this passage, and although I haven’t been aware of him long, I will continue to pay attention to those times he shows up at Ministry Matters.com, because of his heart.

He started his piece “It happened three years ago. Pope Francis went to visit a small church in Rome, adjacent to one of the largest public housing projects in Italy. As part of his visit to this church, five children were selected to ask the Pope a question. The first little boy was five year old Emanuele.

When Emanuele approached the microphone, he looked at the Pope and froze. And then, Emanuele started to cry. Adults and children in the crowd tried to assure him, but he just stood there and cried.
 
Then, Pope Francis said, “Emanuele, come and whisper your question in my ear.”

So the little boy went up the steps, Pope Francis opened his arms and embraced the boy with absolute love.

(And can’t you just envision the arms wide spread in welcome,
drawing close to the child’s face
in complete, intimate focus?)
Then Emanuele put his face right against the Pope’s face.
For a while, Emanuele just cried,
and the pope just kept embracing him.

Then, the little boy started to whisper in the Pope’s ear, the pope whispered into the boy’s ear, going on for about 2 minutes.

Finally, Emanuele smiled, said goodbye to the pope and returned to his seat. The Pope had asked the boy’s permission if he could tell everyone what the boy’s question was, and Emanuele said yes.

Emanuele had told the pope that, very recently, his father had died. He said that his dad was a good man, but wasn’t a believer, although he had brought all four of his children to be baptized in the church. Now, his dad was dead. That’s part of the reason why he was crying. But he was also crying because he had a hard question. The question was this: “Could his dad, a non-believer, go to heaven?”

Pope Francis answered by saying that it was wonderful to hear a son say that his dad was a ‘good man.’ And the pope agreed that Emanuele’s dad had done a very good thing by having all four of his children baptized, even though dad himself did not believe.

Then the pope looked at all of the children and adults who were sitting in front of him, and he said, “We have to remember that only God decides who goes to heaven. And we have to remember that God has the heart of a daddy, a papa.”

Then the pope asked all of the children, “Do you think that God was happy when Emanuele’s dad had his children baptized? Wasn’t that a good thing?” All the children shouted ‘yes!’ And the pope asked, “Do you think that God is pleased with us when we do good things?” They all shouted “yes.” Then the Pope said, “Do you think that God, who has a papa’s heart, would be able to leave Emanuele’s dad far from himself?”

A few children shouted, “No!” The pope asked, “Say it louder, with conviction. Would God be able to leave Emanuele’s dad far away from himself?” The children shouted, “No!” The pope smiled at Emanuele and said, “You see! There is your answer.” God who loves us with a papa’s heart, a daddy’s heart could not leave your dad far away from himself. And Emanuele smiled.

Fr. Renninger went on to mention that there were critics of the Pope’s answer, using the 4th chapter in Acts to make the argument that “Unless you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe the Christian faith, you can’t be saved,” because Peter said so. Fr. Renninger acknowledged that salvation in this way is one way, believing that Christ died and rose and sent the Holy Spirit, the perfect revelation of who God is and how God saves.

And then Fr. Renninger went on to point out that men, women, boys, girls, slaves, servants, rich, poor, Jewish, non-Jewish were all being saved by God’s love, despite best efforts to keep the Good News to themselves - ourselves.

Back in the first passage for this morning, Jesus said “I am the good shepherd” (meaning that we aren’t the Good Shepherd). Jesus said, “I love my flock, I give everything for my sheep. I lay down my life for them. I know mine and they know me.” And then he says, “I have other sheep, too.”

Just as it was back then, so is it now, that we don’t know all those sheep, but Jesus loves them just the same, and will find a way to shepherd them and include them in his heart.

In 1 John, it says, “If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.” If we are burdened of heart or not, we have been created in God’s image, God who is greater than us, the God with the daddy’s heart, a papa’s heart.

Near the end of his homily, Fr. Renninger said this: “So, I am not sure that it’s our task to try to fully explain how Christ’s saving gift is experienced by people who have never heard the Gospel effectively preached, or people whose life circumstances have made it impossible for them to fully come to know Christ. But I do know this – “God is greater than our hearts.” Which means that God’s love is bigger than my - our - limitations.

Although I have recrafted Fr. Renninger’s message, it’s theme of God’s greatness and all God’s people, has lain on my heart for many weeks, before this last one, and I can’t say it better than he did. “And if I ever find myself wanting to concoct new barriers, or judge someone as ‘beyond God’s ability to love them,’ I need to remember what Jesus says in today’s Gospel: I have other sheep, not in the fold that you happen to know, and I will shepherd them.

If I find myself thinking that some part of me is beyond redemption, or some other person – or group of persons – is beyond saving, I will always think of Pope Francis embracing a little boy named Emanuele, and telling him, “Remember, God loves us with a daddy’s heart. A papa’s heart. Could God want us to be far away from him?”
So whatever is worrying you, whatever is making you cry... come, and whisper it in God’s ear.

Abba, Father, Papa God, who has made universes and molecules and us, it is humbling to be so loved by you that your son laid down his life for us. You know how ingrained various thoughts and situations can get into our lives, and how they can fester and destroy from within. So heal each of us from the inside out, hear us as we whisper into your ear this day. Thank you for all the imagery you give us to help us understand all the dimensions of your love. Help all your sheep find their goodness in you, however that comes. Help us to lay judgment in your lap, that we are freer to love. And all your people say, Amen.

04-18-21 Sunday Sermon

4/20/2021

 
First Congregational Church
April 18, 2021
Third Sunday of Easter
Luke 24:36-48
“The Resurrection as Reality”
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

Young students were asked to scientifically define some things in our world. In defining the law of gravity, one child wrote, "no fair jumping up without coming back down." Another said about thunderstorms, "You can listen to thunder and tell how close you came to getting hit. If you don't hear it, you got hit, so never mind.”

Another made a comment on clouds, "I'm not sure how clouds are formed, but clouds know how to do it, and that's the important thing.” One was asked to describe how rain happens. The student said, "Water vapor gets together in a cloud. When it is big enough to be called a drop, it does.” One defined a monsoon as a French gentleman. Another said, "When planets run around and around in circles, we say they are orbiting. When people do it, we say they are crazy.”

It is fascinating, learning how others see the world, especially when you haven’t seen it as they have, and it makes a difference in how you will then only ever see, hear or experience that thing in the future. For instance, when I was in college, one of my music professors taught me alternate lyrics to the song to “Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees,” and it still makes me smile when I hear it. “When I fall on my face, with my knees to the rising sun, O Lord, have mercy on me.” (Fall on my knees, fall on my face.) For each time you sing it in the future, you keep Shirley Schrader’s influence alive.

This morning’s passage is from that first Resurrection Sunday, Easter Evening. As the writer of Luke tells it, the disciples, for the most part, were huddled together in a room, hiding from the authorities, afraid that they, too, would be arrested for associating with the “notorious” Jesus.

The women had discovered the empty tomb, and there was the to and fro of the disciples looking at it. Perhaps needing to get some air, Cleopas and another of those gathered together, went for a walk toward Emmaus. They told the tale to their disciple friends, of the stranger who had joined them as they walked, and the peculiar warming of their hearts.

Luke 24:36-48
35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.
38 He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?
39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.
41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?"
42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44 He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
46 He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.

Thank you, Phil. The writer of Luke provides a little of the resurrection documentation, but not really that much. The writer actually spends a lot more time describing what happened later on that Resurrection Day and evening. Jin Young Choi, from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York, made a statement that seems to make a lot of sense out of Luke 24. She said, “Rather than looking to Luke to provide factual evidence of the resurrection, we can ask - in what sense Jesus’ resurrection becomes a reality - how, after the Ascension, Jesus is present with his followers in certain ways.”

There is story told out of Persia about a General who had the strange custom of giving condemned criminals a choice between the firing squad and the big, black door. As the moment of execution draws near, the spies are brought to the Persian General, who asks the question, "What will it be: the firing squad or the big, black door?" One spy, faced with this dilemma, hesitated for a long time. It was a difficult decision. He chose the firing squad. Moments later shots rang out confirming his execution.

The General turned to his aide and said, "They always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined. Yet, we give them a choice.” The aide said, "What lies beyond the big door?” "Freedom," replied the general, "I've known only a few brave enough to take it.”

I’ve thought a lot about that sort of scenario over the years. I’ve wondered what it would be like for people to take the risk of choosing big doors over non-life, risks like full trust and life in God, rather than the life shortening way of life that is certain and what seems “safe.” That idea of living fully can play out in a lot of ways, sobriety vs. addiction, healing vs. the familiarity of pain, love vs. hate, and any of the other opposites of life.

I’m not sure how it could have happened, but a 12 year old boy found out about his father’s death in a car accident in the newspaper - before anyone could get word to him. (Maybe he’d been at camp and just come back?) The picture on the front page created not a sense of sorrow as much as a sense of guilt.

However many months before, the boy had managed to break his father’s thumb with a baseball at a family picnic. Most people would appreciate that it was not a planned event, but an accident, and accidents happen. For whatever reason, this boy wasn’t able to accept the accident nature of that event - and subsequently the death of his father.

Godcidentally, the boy had a good pastor, who sat down across from him and said:
"Now, Jim," that was the boy's name, "you listen to me. If your dad could come back to life for five minutes and be right here with us… and if he knew you were worried about that, what would he say to you?"
"He would tell me to quit worrying about that," Jim said.
"Well, all right," the minister said, "then you quit worrying about that right now. Do you understand me?” "Yes sir," he said… and he did.

That minister was saying: "You are forgiven. Accept the forgiveness… and make a new start with your life." The young boy did just that and years later, served a 9,000 member church in Houston. The boy’s name was James W. Moore, the author of over 30 books on Christian living.

I’m not suggesting that letting go of a guilt or sorrow or hurt will result in writing books with titles like, “Yes, Lord, I Have Sinned, But I Have Several Excellent Excuses.” Making a decision to take big, black doors can be scary. “I’ve never lived as if I’ve been forgiven. I don’t know how to live like that.” “I’ve never really been free of the guilt over that event back then. I don’t know how to live without it.”

Living In Resurrection Reality doesn’t mean there won’t be pain and burdens along the way. Some days, just because your saddle is brown instead of black, someone will say something that gets under your saddle and causes a blister that is raw for too long before it begins to heal up.

There will be days when a friend or family member dies, and we can get stuck in the valley of grief, and maybe we’ve never felt brave enough to make the big effort to get out of that valley. And it’s very understandable that the effort is too overwhelming or would require too much work.

Regardless of whether we choose the big, black doors or the certain deaths, the thing is, “While we are still talking about this, Jesus himself stands among us and says to us, "Peace be with you."

Peter denied Christ three times. Thomas had some certainty issues. All the disciples abandoned Christ. But Christ came back and says the word that is to replace fear and pain and anxiety: peace. His return offered them a reality that is not of this world. And Christ gives us that same opportunities for bravery and second chances.

King Duncan, over there at sermons.com, and yes, there is really a site with that name, asked these questions: “What difference has been made in your life by seeing the hands and feet of the risen Christ? Has it caused you to take more seriously your walk with the Man of Galilee? Has it had some effect on the goals you have set for your life? After all, if life is indeed eternal, some of our goals are going to seem awfully shortsighted and self-serving, are they not?”

And yes, we need a certain amount of common sense, or maybe it should be named uncommon sense in these days? The late Earl J. Fleming, an Alaska state biologist, was an investigator to objectively explore bears’ reputation for attacking humans. When Fleming encountered a bear, he neither ran nor shot. At the end of his unique study, he had encountered 81 brown bears, and although several staged mock charges, not one actually attacked. Living in Resurrection Reality doesn’t mean that we have to prove ourselves in exploring potentially dangerous animals.

Sometimes our acts of bravery may not seem like a big deal, such as the day that Laurence Housman took off his jacket at a proper English tea party so that a man who had just arrived in shirt sleeves would not feel embarrassed.

Black Bart was a professional thief who terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line. From San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier. Between 1875 and 1883 he robbed 29 different stagecoach crews. Amazingly, Bart did it all without firing a shot. Because a hood hid his face, no victim ever saw his face. He never took a hostage and was never trailed by a sheriff. Instead, Black Bart used fear to paralyze his victims.

Living In Resurrection Reality allows us to come out of hiding, out of the darkness and out of fear into the light of freedom and fullness and life. As the Resurrection sinks ever deeper into our souls and DNA, let us pray.

Holy God of Light and Love, thank you for giving us not only your son, but his life in all its fullness. Help all of us to more fully embrace the unknown paths that lie in freedom and the courage to make such decisions. May your life, lived out through ours, be the visual that others can see and through which they can life. For all that is light, love, grace and mercy, all your people say, Amen

04-11-21 Holy Humor Sunday

4/11/2021

 

First Congregational Church
April 11, 2021
Holy Humor Sunday
John 20:19-31
“The Very Serious State of Joy”
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching


Because it is only appropriate to hear from Sven and Ole on a day such as this, it happened that Sven appeared on ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ and toward the end of the program had already won $500,000.

“You’ve done very well so far,” said Regis Philbin, best tv host ever.
“But for a million dollars, you’ve only got one life-line left: phone a friend. Everything is riding on this question. Will you go for it?” “Sure,” said Sven “I’ll have a go!”
“Which of the following birds does NOT build its own nest? a) Sparrow, b) Thrush, c) Magpie, d) Cuckoo?”

“I haven’t got a clue,” said Sven, ”so I’ll use my last lifeline and phone my friend Ole.”
Sven called up Ole, relayed the circumstances and repeated the question. “Vell, Sven!” cried Ole. “Dat’s simple. It’s a cuckoo.” “Are you sure?” “Yah, sure, ya bettcha.”
Sven hung up the phone and told Regis, “I’ll go with cuckoo as my answer.” “Is that your final answer?” asked Regis. “Dat it is.” There was a long, long pause and then Regis exclaimed, “Cuckoo is the correct answer! Sven, you’ve won 1 million dollars!

The next night, Sven invited Ole to the Stormcloud to celebrate. “Tell me, Ole, How in Heaven’s name did you know it was da Cuckoo that doesn’t build its own nest?” “Because everyone knows they live in a clock!”:) When I thought about it yesterday afternoon, I was a little sad that so many children will not understand that joke one day.

Speaking of a little sad, this morning’s scripture passage picks up the story line after the famous Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. One could guess that there was still a lot going on in town, being that it was just after Passover, probably a lot like the energy of the day after the 4th of July. Except that there were twelve men who had lost their friend, crucified on a cross for being a perceived threat to the king. And the Jewish leaders were in an uproar because Jesus had caused so much disruption to the way that life had always been, and now there were rumors flying that Jesus wasn’t dead after all. Fear of Romans and of Jewish leaders was a very closes and present enemy.

John 20:19-31
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Thank you, Melissa. Over the years, I have come to change my understanding of Thomas. I think for a long time, he’s received the short end of the stick. Maybe it was his turn to go out and pickup dinner for everyone when Jesus showed up to the eleven. And just imagine, eleven of your friends all piling around you telling you that the one you all were grieving over stopped by.

How ticked would you be that it was your turn to run to the A&W that evening to get supper? And you’re supposed to believe the others, who very well might be playing a dastardly practical joke on you? And then they have the gall to say that Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit onto them. And they keep at it, passing it off as a reality for the whole next week. Very funny joke.

I wonder how many of us have really thought about the exchange between Thomas and Jesus, when Jesus uses Thomas’ words - almost exactly verbatim - in the invitation to confirm Jesus’ identity. Could those words be a code - of healing over what may have seemed as an exclusion, because Jesus “knew” of the situation after he left the disciples, after his first appearance.

This past week, the ministerial association met, and as our devotional, this passage was read, and we were asked what things popped out at us - maybe something that we’d not heard before. I don’t remember who it was that pointed out that Jesus, offered Thomas an answer to his dismay and hurt; that he met Thomas at his point of pain and offered healing - like Jesus meeting you where you are so you can be healed.

It was also brought up that this scenario was not indifference to Thomas’ “need,” but that it was turned into acceptance - like Christ not being indifferent to your needs, loving you where you are, just as you are.

Of course, my interpretation was influenced by the interweaving of the passages and the timeline of Jesus’ last week that was included in the Palm Sunday bulletin. (If you’d like that, let me know and I’ll get it to you.)

My 2021 experience of Thomas’s encounter with Christ was colored by all the fatigue of that Holy Week - of all the back and forth walking between Jerusalem and Bethany, of trying to mentally keep up with his friend, who was taking on individuals and ways of life that were exhausting, the fear of the Romans and the Jewish leaders and of course, the grief of his friend’s passing.

What caught this ol’ heart was all the fear, fatigue and grief over the course of two weeks (interesting how those things have been such a part of our current culture for the last year), and Jesus’ response, which was to bestow the Holy Spirit - like Pentecost for the other disciples and to pronounce “peace” three times. And you know, if it’s repeated more than once, it’s a thing.  Three times and it’s holy.

Holy peace - because Jesus had it all in hand. He’d defeated death, overturned evil’s stronghold, and had officially begun the fulfillment of a life without end for all God’s beloved. That was the peace on which the disciples could rest on. It’s the peace upon which we can rest, too, despite those times when it may seem as if our world is crazier than its ever been.

Knowing that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have all in hand, that’s what can bring us peace, which is where we can see the joy of all that has been done for us. Even if you were the only person in the world, Christ would still have defeated death, overturned evil and promised eternal life - for you. And that’s where joy grows best. Believing that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, we may have life in his name. And that is why we can laugh as the priests of old after celebrating Easter.

So we can appreciate one of the latest headlines, that Bigfoot is sometimes confused with Sasquatch, Yeti never complains. So we need not worry about our smartphones and tvs spying on us. Our vacuum cleaners have been gathering dirt on us for years.
And so it is that we don't hav to believe what we see in the cartoons - that no matter how hard you throw a toilet plunger, it won't actually stick to someone's face. Don't ask me how I know this.

Stephen Garnaas Holmes said it so well this week. “The Damaged One emerges from trauma with peace. His wounds, his brokenness, evidence of what such peace endures. Through doors of pain, walls of despair, he comes with peace. Your, beloved, he comes through. Gravestone, locked door, unbelief do not keep him from you. Now and yet to come, he’e here. Now your pain can breathe. I think we can finish that poem with “Now our peace can smile.”

At a hotel restaurant, a man sees an attractive woman sitting alone at the next table. Suddenly, she sneezes, and a glass eye comes flying out of her eye socket. It hurles by the man, and he snatches it from the air and hands it back to her. "This is so embarrassing," the woman says, and she pops her eye back in place. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you. Let me buy you dinner to make it up to you. May I join you?" He nods.

The woman is a stimulating conversationalist, stunningly beautiful, and the man finds they have a lot in common. He gets her phone number and asks, "you are the most charming woman I've ever encountered. Are you this nice to every guy you meet?”
“No,” she replies. “You just happened to catch my eye.”

Amy Weatherly once said, "Some people could be given an entire field of roses and only see the thorns in it. Others could be given a single weed and only see the wild flower in it. Perception is a key component to gratitude. And gratitude is a key component to Joy.”

During the “time for children” at the morning worship at Hoytville United Methodist Church, the pastor was explaining that Christians are the “light,” “salt,” and “leaven” of the world. The children understood “light” and “salt,” but when the pastor asked them what “leaven” is, they were silent. Finally young Michelle Williamson spoke up: “It's what comes after ten.”

A teacher asked why a little boy was late for Sunday school. The boy answered: “I got behind a slow dog.” Not in our church bulletin, but in a church bulletin, “Don’t let worry kill you off - let the church help.” “Joy is the flag you fly when the Prince of Peace is in your heart.” - Wilfred Peterson.

Rev. David Elsensohn, St. Peter’s by-the-Sea, Sitka, AK: “The Christian faith is based on an empty tomb. On the third day after the world did its very worst to Jesus, God won. God would not allow God’s Son to remain dead and raised him to new life again. “Easter shouts to every dark place in the world that brokenness, disappointment, failure, heartbreak, and death are not the final words. The final word is the love of God. The gift of Easter - a second, third, or infinite number of opportunities to start all over again. This is the very practical message of Easter.” So let us pray.

God of holiness and joy and grace and love, thank you for loving us to the point of sending your son to us and raising him again, that we might have hope and joy, too. Help each of us to look for those places of healing in difficult times, and for those who bring light in darkness. Let us be such healing and light to those who are suffering. And thank you, too, for faith - the ability to believe that you have all things in hand and will help us through to that place of peace and rest and joy. For your love and attention to all of life, all your people thank you with our, Amen.

04-04-21 Easter Sunday

4/4/2021

 

First Congregational Church
April 4, 2021
Easter Sunday & Communion
Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20
“Why and How?”
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching

The Rest of the Story     “Were You There, #315 vs. 3, 4

Scripture
Taking up the journey from Friday night,
they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. Now after the Sabbath, while it was still dark, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shock and became like dead men.

Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, and the mother of James and Salome went to the tomb and brought spices, that they might anoint Jesus’ body. They were saying among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" For it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back.

Mary was standing outside at the tomb weeping. As she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Mark tells us it was a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe.

The angels told her, "Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.”

She and the others entered into the tomb, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body. They were greatly perplexed and amazed, and becoming terrified, brought their faces down to the earth.

An angel answered the women, "Don't be afraid or amazed, for I know that you seek Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Why do you seek the living among the dead? He isn’t here, but is risen. Remember what he told you when he was in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be lifted up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again?

Now that you have seen this place where the Lord was lying, go quickly and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He has risen from the dead, and he goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.”
—-
As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” When Mary had heard this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, and didn’t know that it was Jesus, he who had cast out seven demons from her. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?”

She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him, “Rabboni!” which is to say, “Teacher!” The others came and took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.

Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers, and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

They departed quickly and ran from the tomb with fear and great joy; trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone on the way, for they were afraid.

Peter and the other disciple went out, toward the tomb. They both ran together. The other disciple outran Peter, and came to the tomb first. Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen strips lying by themselves, yet he didn’t enter in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying, and the cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself. So then the other disciple who came first to the tomb also entered in, and he saw and believed. For as yet they didn't know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes, wondering what had happened.
---
Most of us may not remember the name Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin. During his day he was as powerful a man as there was on earth. A Russian Communist leader, he took part in the Bolshevik Revolution 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper Pravda (which by the way means truth), and was a full member of the Politburo. His works on economics and political science are still read today. There is a story told about a journey he took from Moscow to Kiev in 1930 to address a huge assembly on the subject of atheism. Addressing the crowd he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity, hurling insult, argument, and proof against it.

An hour later he was finished. He looked out at what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of men's faith. "Are there any questions?" Bukharin demanded. Deafening silence filled the auditorium but then one man approached the platform and mounted the lectern standing near Bukharin. He surveyed the crowd first to the left then to the right. Finally he shouted the ancient greeting known well in the Russian Orthodox Church: "CHRIST IS RISEN!" En masse the crowd arose as one and the response came crashing like the sound of thunder: "HE IS RISEN INDEED!”

I say to you this morning: CHRIST IS RISEN! (congregational response should be: HE IS RISEN INDEED!).

There is a passage in 1 Peter 3(:15) that says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” If you take a step back from all the gospel accounts of Christ’s resurrection, they all seem so illogical or unreal. Someone - many someones - coming back to life. Angels appearing in a graveyard. Women encountering the risen Christ before men. The deceased having breakfast days later on a beach with his followers.

And yet, it’s not only the written accounts of what has come down to us all these centuries that can give us certainty, joy and hope in the resurrection. It is our own experiences, of a love deeper than we can otherwise know, of forgiveness and healing and acceptance in ways beyond this world, along with the sense of someone - the Spirit and/of Christ - always with us, never forsaking us or leaving us for any reason.

Knowledge and experience, along with the Good News, all comes together to give us the assurance that Christ is Risen. (He is Risen, Indeed!) Such love and understanding can enable us continue the work we have to do in this kingdom before we get to the next. For such comfort, help and hope, we celebrate with the “meal” that Christ gave us, to strengthen us and join us as a body and family.

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper  
As those at home take your bread of life and those here go to the bottom side of your communion set to remove the covering for the wafer, let us all be reminded that on his last night with the disciples, Jesus took the bread, gave thanks for it, broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body for you.” The bread of life for the people of God.

As those at home take your cup of love and those here go to the top side of your communion set and remove the covering for the drink, let us all be reminded that also during the meal, Jesus took the cup, gave thanks for it, poured it out and said to them, “This is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sin.” The cup of love for the people of God.

And so we pray as a family joined in gratitude and joy. Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, what a mighty God you are! Sometimes it is mind-boggling, that you made humans to share in a life that is knowable, but beyond understanding at the same time. And to add to that gift, you sent your Son, part of your very self, to bring us greater understanding of all life, and that we can be all you have created us to be - in this world and in the next. Enable the knowledge and mystery and joy and hope to permeate our lives in the coming week, that we live not out of fear or condemnation, but out of your love and assurance. For the gift of you and your son and your Spirit and all life, all your people say, Amen.

    Author

    Just the messenger.  And the collector and arranger of that which has been received.  References available upon request.

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