Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Wow, what an odd and surprising Holy Week this has been.
I have grieved not being able to come together with you for these sacred days. But I also found beauty in the simplicity of worshiping at home – not unlike the earliest of Christians would have.
And, it’s given me a chance to attend a LOT MORE church services that I usually would have, catching not only the livestreams from the Cathedral of the Incarnation, but popping into my friend’s services as well.
My two biggest take-aways are this:
- Our love of God and each other has led faith communities everywhere to work hard to stay church, and that looks as different online as it would in person.
- And as thankful as I am for the technology that allows us to continue to gather, it’s not the same – my attention span is shorter during virtual worship.
So my new rule for virtual worship sermons is “keep it short and simple” – and if there’s one thing I hope you remember on Wednesday – it’s this quote from Nelson Mandela: May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.
The journey we make each Holy Week, following Christ’s footsteps in that last week he spent in Jerusalem, is filled with fear.
From the fear the money-changers had when Jesus overturned their tables, to the fear of his friends the night he was arrested in the garden. From the fear that led Peter to deny Jesus three times, to the fear those who loved him felt as they stood at the foot of the cross where Jesus died.
Fear is what led the disciples to gather in the locked upper room after he was placed in the tomb.
Except for the Marys.
As the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary made the choice to step out of the shadow of fear and instead went to the tomb.
Whether they went hoping that the stories he had told about rising on the third day were true, or whether their hope in the abiding love of God they found Jesus made them simply want to be close to him, they went to Jesus.
They did not let their fear paralyze them.
When they arrived at the tomb, they were greeted by an earthquake and an angel of the Lord sitting on the stone that was now rolled away from the tomb. His appearance was like lightning, and was fearful enough to cause the guards to faint.
But the Marys did not run away. Rooted in hope, they were the first to hear the good news of the resurrection – the promise that nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even death.
When they left to tell the other disciples, we are told they went quickly with fear and great joy.
They knew fear, but the choice to run and announce the resurrection to those in the upper room was made in joyful hope – and that hope led them to be the first to encounter the risen Christ as well, when he met them on the road.
We only know this Easter story because they chose hope over fear.
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To make choices based on hope, not fear, is our call as followers of Christ here and now too – especially now, when fear and uncertainty are daily companions as we face this pandemic.
But the Easter story asks us
To not be daunted by the fear in the world, but instead to meet it with hope.
To not let our hearts be hardened, but instead to practice compassion.
To not lock ourselves away, but instead to take care of one another.
My hope for all of us is that our choices will reflect our hopes, not our fears – and that in doing so our lives show forth the promise of the resurrection in a world desperately in need of some good news.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!