Episode Transcript
Hello, friends. And Christ, the Lord is risen today. It is Easter morning. It is so good to be here with you this morning to celebrate the risen Lord. I am thrilled and honored to be here with you. I hope that you will once again be with the people that you love on Easter. I hope that you are finding a great church home where you can have communion today and really sit and reflect on the last supper. And what it means for us in the exuberance and the joy that we can find in all we do. Let us come together now on a tom of worship. The Lord be with you and also with you. Today's epistle lesson comes from the book of Acts. We are in the 10th chapter verses 34 through 43. Here now the word of the Lord. And Peter began to speak to them. I truly understand that God shows no partiality. And in every people, anyone who fears him and practices righteousness is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel preaching peace by Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. The message spread through Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with the power. Now we went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. For God was with him. We are witness to all that he did both in Judea and Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him all a tree. But God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear not to all the people, but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one who ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. The word of God for us the people of God. Thanks be to God. Let us now say those words that are the tenets of our faith, paying special attention to those words that are relevant to us today, this beautiful Easter day. Friends, what do we believe? I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. The third day, he rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and ceded to the right hand of God the Father Almighty from thence shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen. Let us pray. To the Lord we come to you today just so very thankful that you raised your son, Jesus Christ, from the dead. That he is now our inner inocessory between us and our sinful ways and you and your glorious ways that he is the one that takes away the veil that lets us commune with you, that he is our Savior and our Lord. So thankful that we get to come together this Easter Sunday and remember those events that happen in worship, love and cherish our faith. You know those words that your son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, taught us to pray, our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Here now the words of the gospel according to John and his account of the risen Lord. We are in the 20th chapter verses 1 through 18. Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, they have taken the Lord out of the tomb. We do not know where they have laid in. Then Peter and the other disciples set out and went toward the tomb. The two are running together, but the other disciple at ran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the wind and rafflings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings laying there and the cloth that had been on Jesus's head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in place by itself. Then the other disciple who reached the tomb first went also in and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes, but Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. She wept, she'd been over to look into the tomb. She saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. And they said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to him, they have taken away my Lord. I do not know where they have laid him. When she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for? Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you've laid him and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him in Hebrew, rabbi, which means teacher. Jesus said to her, do not touch me because I've not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, I'm ascending to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God. Your Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord. She told them that he had said these things to her, the Word of God, for us the people of God. Thanks be to God. Would you pray with me to Lord on this Easter morning, this day that we celebrate the resurrection, the beginning of our faith, the linchpin of our heart. Be with us as we hear the good news, but it's sink into our souls and radiate from our faces. With the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, oh Lord, I strengthen and my redeemer. Amen. There are very few things that in life that surprised me, I'm not sure if it's because I'm so old or if it's because I'm so jaded, but since moving here to the campground, there are things that have surprised me and the best of ways. For instance, I've been able to keep a plant alive. That is really shocking. I am now the mother to three pets. The dog mom life is not shocking, but two cats was never ever. Well, I thought I would be in charge of. It is shocking indeed. Makes me shake my head every time I go to feed them. But then I was shocked in the best way when the skittish female cat, Diana, the huntress, let me pick her up without palm eyeballs out. I've forgotten how beautiful the night sky really is when there's no light pollution. The number of stars that I can see is mesmerizingly beautiful. My net gets a good stretch each and every night as I gaze at the shockingly, shockingly wonderful night sky. But the biggest shock of all has been the realization that in their original form, their natural state. Azealia blooms have a smell to them. I've never been more amazed and excited to discover anything in my life. How have I been looking at regular azealia bushes all of my life, waiting with anticipation each spring for the houses and streets of my beloved Shirley Hills neighborhood to be a wash with color? And not know that these beautiful flowers once also had a fragrance to them. I called or texted just about everyone I knew that loves flowers and shared this revelation. I have smelled an azealia. I told everyone who would listen, I've never been so caught off guard or shocked by anything in my life. It brought me a level of joy that I have not felt in years. If I was that excited to smell an azealia, to proclaim it to the world, imagine how Mary Magdalene felt about seeing Jesus. I'm sure it was shocking. I'm sure it filled her with joy. But where it becomes much deeper and more life changing than all of my revelations combined is that Mary Magdalene was in the midst of grief when she discovered it. She had just lost someone that was a large part of her life. She had been in deep grief and mourning that day. Her friend and her teacher had been crucified right in front of her three days prior. She had watched his very painful death. No wonder she was weeping. And yet the angels are confused and Jesus is astonished by the level of grief she is showing. Why are you weeping? She thinks the body has been stolen. To add to her grief, she thinks that someone has taken the one thing she has left the chance to honor the one that is passed by completing the burial ritual and the death ritual that is so integral in her faith. She is weeping because she thinks she cannot honor Jesus the way he deserves. She does not yet understand what has transpired. But then she sees Jesus himself and she is shocked and amazed. It had to be the most shocking moment of her life. It had to be more shocking than all of the events that had come before it combined. Because of all that she had experienced with Jesus in that past week, the swing of emotion was not just from peaceful existence to joy, but from the depths of despair to the height of exuberance. I have seen the Lord. She says, the scripture has a comma at the end of the sentence, but I have a feeling it was more of an exclamation, a shout, a revelation of hope I have seen the Lord. She says. Then she goes on to relay what she knows to the rest of the disciples. Can you imagine what her facelift like when she said it? How her posture and her inner glow had changed? How her eyes lit up and showed that what she was saying, although it seemed impossible, was the truest thing she knew? It is a privilege to get the stand here each week. Not only do I get to be a vessel and live into my calling to preach the good news of the gospel, the good news that Mary Magdalene had just proclaimed for the first time, I get to look out and see all of your beautiful faces. It was a little shocking the first time I stood here. I was not expecting to see so much love and joy and enthusiasm. I was not expecting to see the Lord. So plain and clear in the expression of each and every person, but I did. I may have you slightly different words that Mary Magdalene did, but the feeling was the same. I had seen the Lord right here in these pews on the faces and in the hearts of each person that was there that day. I see it every single week, I tell people all the time this place, this congregation is what the kingdom of God should look like, shocking and heartwarming news for sure. The Easter story is so familiar. If you ask most people what makes a Christian, they will probably have some interesting answers these days. I'm sure they can at least tell you the story of the resurrection and the cross, whether they believe it or not, or those of us who proclaim the belief and call ourselves Christians, it is these words that Mary says that are just as important as the rest of the story. What do we do with that belief? We believe in the resurrection. Okay, so now what? That's where her words are so vital to the church. I have seen the Lord. Not only should we proclaim our faith and always say and do, just like Mary did, but people should proclaim it about us. People should be able to look at our faces just like I look at yours and be able to say, I have seen the Lord. Our engagement and joy and love for God and for our neighbors should radiate out from us. I'm sure it did that day for Mary Magdalene. I wonder what the disciples saw that was different as she walked in the door to tell them. I wonder if she was glowing. I bet it was almost the same face I made when I smelled my first azalea. Shocked in the best of ways, surprised at something so unexpected and joyful that you can't help but share it with anyone who will listen. I went to dinner the other night with my friends that were in town last week. Christine and I took a picture and I sent it to a friend or two and everyone that saw it right back and said how happy I looked. They had not seen me glow like that in a long time because I have found a place that I see the Lord. Others can see the Lord in me. They can see the way all of you bring me joy and worship and fellowship. They can see how having a dog and even two cats and the occasional sighting of my resonant snake helps fill my heart to the bram. Well, maybe the snake doesn't but I have been told that snake is good for getting rid of the mice. They can see how walking these campground paths helps me lower my shoulders and shows me each day that the Lord is here in his creation. They can see that being able to smell an azalea, sweet as a honeysuckle and a rainbow of colors brought awe and a giddiness that I have not experienced in a long time. I have seen the Lord. He said it and people believed it and the faith that we still have and the church that we are still a part of was begun with her proclamation. Is what we're trying to do right here at St. Paul Chapel. Is what I already see and what we want to show to those in our community and what we want people to leave this place each week believing and saying for all to hear, I have seen the Lord. There's nowhere more evident in our time of worship to see the Lord and remember the sacrifices that he made than at the table together. When we come together today, I'm going to make sure my congregation takes a moment to ponder not just the sacrifice that he made and the death he overcame in the resurrection, but how he still reveals himself through the world around us and through the love that we reflect out into that world. Is there where we find the love of God? Amen. As we get throughout our week, let us start to be Easter people. Let us move from being Lenten people to Easter people full of joy and excitement and exuberance for the faith that we have been given for the risen Savior that we worship. Christ and death and life, and death and life beyond death, Christ and God are with us. We are never alone. Thanks be to God. Amen.
