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Church Sermons
Second Sunday of
Easter – April 18, 2004
“What Is There to See?”
If I were to ask you, “What is Easter about?” what would you say?
Probably, you’d say that Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And you’d be right! Sort of!
But the fact of the matter is that none of the Easter stories in the Bible say anything at all about the resurrection itself. There are no witnesses to it – no descriptions of it – no attempt to detail what exactly happened in the tomb on Easter morning. We are treated to more speculative information on the how’s and what’s of the resurrection in the ongoing study of the famous Shroud of Turin than we are on the pages of the Bible.
The Gospelwriters do not concern themselves in the least with the resurrection as an event. Rather, they focus in on what the early Church believed was the most important part of Easter.
“What is Easter about?”
It is about what the disciples of Jesus SAW!
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John recount many stories of what people SAW that early morning, and in the days following Easter. The Easter stories are all stories of Jesus’ appearances to people. It is almost as if the Bible is saying that we need to pay attention to what people SAW!
In Acts 1:3, Luke writes, “After his suffering, Jesus
SHOWED HIMSELF to the apostles and gave many convincing proofs he was alive. He
APPEARED TO THEM over a period of forty days.”
St. Paul, in First Corinthians 15:3, writes:
“…he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and he APPEARED to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he APPEARED to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time…then he APPEARED to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all…he APPEARED to me…!”
Easter is about more than the resurrection. It is about what people SAW in the risen Christ!
And this notion of what we can SEE in the resurrection is carried all the way through to the last book of the Bible. There, in Revelation 1:7, we are told about the glorious day when the Kingdom fully and finally comes. And here is what Revelation promises us:
“…EVERY EYE
WILL SEE HIM…”
It seems to me that God wants us to SEE some things in the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Let’s take a brief look this morning at what four of the early Christians SAW that day and afterwards as they were encountered by the Risen Christ.
Peter. Let’s start with Peter.
When Peter had last SEEN Jesus, it was on Thursday night in the courtyard where Jesus was put on trial. Peter had followed. While he watched the drama unfold, a maid came along and asked Peter if he wasn’t one of Jesus’ followers.
And Peter said, “I don’t know that man!”
Three times Peter denied Jesus. And a rooster crowed. And Jesus turned his head and silently looked at Peter through tears. And Peter turned and ran. He had denied the Lord.
I don’t know about you, but I love the Easter story that tells of the women going to the tomb on that Sunday morning only to find the stone rolled away, and an angel sitting on it. And the angel tells the women that Jesus is risen, and they should go and tell the disciples…and get this…AND GO TELL PETER! Oh, especially go tell Peter!
And sometime later, the risen Jesus and the failed Peter meet face to face. And what does Peter SEE in the risen Jesus?
Peter sees that he is LOVED, and FORGIVEN, and ACCEPTED as the imperfect human being he is.
That’s what Peter SAW in the risen Christ. Love. Forgiveness. Acceptance. And that’s what God wants you to SEE, too!
Now let’s look at the disciple Thomas, the subject of our first reading this morning. What did Thomas see in the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
Well, Thomas was not present when Jesus APPEARED to the disciples in the locked upper room on Easter night. Maybe he was out at an Agnostics Anonymous meeting because, you know, Thomas was a doubter. Even today, we call him - what? - doubting Thomas. Whether it was doubt born of disappointment or just plain skepticism we don’t know, but when Thomas returned and heard of Jesus’ APPEARANCE, he didn’t believe it.
“Unless I see for myself the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger where the nails were…I will not believe it!”
Thomas sounds an awful like many people I know who have a hard time getting their minds around the miraculous. Oh, the world is full of engineers…and scientists, and others who need rational understanding. And the world is full of people who have many doubts and questions!
Well, a week later, the disciples are together again and Thomas is there. And Jesus APPEARS! And did you hear what Jesus did?
Jesus held out his nail scarred hands and said, “It’s okay, Thomas. Come and touch.”
And in that moment, Thomas SEES a risen Christ who respects his questions and is unafraid of his probing and welcomes his examination of mystery! And that’s what God wants you to SEE, too! It’s okay to come and touch!
Then there’s St. Paul. This is a number of years later, you know, when Paul – who was Saul at the time – was a zealous Pharisee who hated the followers of Jesus. He is persecuting them and putting many to death. And one day, on the road to Damascus, Saul was encountered by the living Jesus. And we know that the encounter was so profound that it not only knocked Saul off his horse, but into a whole new way of living! He changed his name to Paul, and became a follower so devoted to Jesus that he eventually gave up his own life for the Lord.
What did Saul SEE in the risen Lord?
Well, as a zealous Pharisee, Saul was looking for the coming of the Kingdom of God – the day when Israel would be vindicated, the poor lifted, the broken healed, and the world made right. And what would be the sign that the New Day of the Kingdom had begun? Why, the dead would be raised! And here before his very eyes was the risen Jesus!
So when Saul SAW Jesus that day on the road to Damascus….he knew the Kingdom had begun, and that God was calling him to reflect through his own life the justice and inclusion and peace and healing and all the wonderful things that are this Kingdom of God. And God wants you to SEE that, too!
Peter. Thomas. Paul. Can I do one more? Let’s take a look at Mary Magdalene.
Mary had lost to tragedy the person she most loved in all the world. And that day, as the women ran back to town from the empty tomb, Mary paused to meditate in the garden. You can almost see her there, lost in her grief. You can almost hear her sobbing.
“Why are you crying?” comes a voice from nearby.
“Oh, they have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they have laid him.”
There was a pause, and then the voice said, “Mary!”
And she turned…and SAW him!
What did Mary see in the risen Christ? Well, she saw HOPE winning out over tragedy, and LIFE winning out over death! Mary saw her loved one REDEEMED and RESTORED to her life!
And that’s what God wants you to see, too – especially if you’ve lost loved ones, or your health, or your joy!
We could go on and on, of course, detailing the beautiful things people SAW in the resurrection of Jesus. But these four are enough for us today.
Peter saw a God of love and forgiveness who could accept him as he was. Thomas saw a God of great mystery who delights in questions and doubts. Paul saw a God of new life creating a new world of justice and goodness and inviting us to take part in its creation. Mary saw a God who overcomes death, redeems our tragedies, and restores our greatest losses.
As I was thinking about what Peter and Thomas and Paul and Mary SAW in the risen Christ, I found myself wondering what it would be like if our church dedicated itself to helping people SEE and experience those things too!
I’ve been to churches whose mission was to indoctrinate people into a particular belief system. I’ve been to churches where they think its important to transform people into denominational titles. I’ve been to churches where folks achieve a certain status by attending, and churches where people are religiously entertained.
But I wonder what it would be like if a church dedicated itself to doing four simple things:
· Being a community where people are extended God’s love, forgiveness and acceptance.
· Being a community where people are encouraged and provided opportunities to ask their deepest questions, explore their greatest doubts, share their most creative ideas, and probe the depths of God.
· Being a community that devotes itself to helping the poor, healing the broken, befriending the despised, lifting the lowly, and living and teaching justice and peace, and manifesting within itself the nature of the Kingdom of God.
· Being a community that lives in Hope, reassuring each other that even our deepest tragedies will be redeemed and our greatest losses restored by the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
What would happen if our church took up those four sacred tasks?
Why, I think what would happen is that people would SEE the risen Christ, and in Him find new and eternal life!
And isn’t that what Easter is all about?
Working toward the day when EVERY eye will see him!
Could we reinvent ourselves as a church to reflect those four Easter experiences?
And can you as a person accept and receive the Good News?
You are loved with an unshakable love! You are invited to think and to probe and to grow! You are called to reflect God’s justice to others! And you are promised the Day when what you have lost will be returned to you and your tears will be turned to joy!
Come, dear friends, and SEE the wonder of Easter!