Easter Day: Rise Again with Christ As Easter People

Today's Scripture Readings

Acts 10:34-43 (NRSV)

Peter began to speak to Cornelius and the other Gentiles: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right 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. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on 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 ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 (NRSV) 


1 Corinthians 15:19-26 (NRSV)

If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

John 20:1-18 (NRSV)

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, and we do not know where they have laid him." Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went 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. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and 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. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom 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 have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, `I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Blog Reflection 

Alleluia.  Christ is risen.

The Lord is risen indeed.  Alleluia.

God has shown us in Christ that there is no power that can keep God from loving us.  Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans wrote,

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39 NRSV).

The Easter event is a difficult one for our human minds to take hold of.  We live in a world where death and violence claim the lives of countless people every day.  We were all horrified by the violence that occurred in Brussels this week.  We continue to live in our communities, schools, theaters and public buildings fearing the next sting of gun violence may be right next to us.  The language and rhetoric used by our political candidates bombards our senses and confuses us as to what we are actually voting for.

The scene of Jesus' Crucifixion took place in a time and culture where violence, enslavement and conquest was the theme of everyday life.  Hundreds of people had been crucified by the Roman Empire as a way to punish those who would attempt to rebel against what was considered then, the greatest empire in the world.  As far as the Roman Empire was concerned, all of the world belonged to Rome.  

We can understand what Mary Magdalene must have been feeling on seeing that the tomb was empty.  Jesus' Disciples ran to see only linens and an empty tomb with the stone rolled away.  Mary's tears and wondering where Jesus was, left her vulnerable for God to do wondrous things for her.  The Risen Christ comes to her and she enters into the contemplative experience.  She is recognized for who she is by the Risen Christ, and knows His love for her is intimate and complete. 

In the Resurrection, Jesus turns all of the violence into an opportunity to defeat even death with unconditional and all-inclusive love.  Jesus did not stop violence, death or oppression.  In His Death and Resurrection, Jesus set us free to rise up as Easter people and become God's agents to speak up for those who have no voice.  We are able to call on the leaders of the Church and society to focus on those who are marginalized without the means to live their lives with dignity and equality.  The Paschal Mystery ends all reasons to scapegoat the poor and neglected to serve the ambitions of the wealthy and powerful.

Christians also need a resurrection to be Easter People.  Christianity does not hold a monopoly on truth.  The Christian Faith with our many elements of what being a Christian is about, holds for Christians the truth that Jesus Christ came to redeem the world so that God's love for all people may be made transcendent.  Our Creeds, Scriptures and Sacraments are not an excuse to be a people of supercessionism.  Other religions such as Judaism and Islam are not lost to damnation because they do not share our belief in who Jesus was or is.  The Resurrection is our reason to be love others by honoring individuals of other religions, sexual orientations, genders, gender identities/expressions, etc. by "striving for peace and justice" and "respecting the dignity of every human person." 

As we gather with our families, church communities and friends to celebrate this Easter Day, let us pray for one another that we rise with Christ as Easter People.  May we see the challenges around us as opportunities to live into God's mission for our lives.  May we leave behind our sense of certainty and embrace the Holy Spirit's call to move forward to where God wants us to be.

Alleluia.  Christ is risen.

The Lord is risen indeed.  Alleluia. 

Amen.

Prayer

Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus
Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of
everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the
day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death
of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.  (The Book of Common Prayer, p.222).

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so
move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the
people of this land], that barriers which divide us may
crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our
divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, p.823).