1 Easter 2021 Message by Rev. Michael Burke St. Mary’s Episcopal Church “And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.” Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, and they were walking to the tomb. ThinkSt. about Mary that.’s Episcopal Church OverApril the past 4th few, 2021 days, the disciples, as well as the men who followed Jesus, had been through a lot. From the triumphal entry into Jerusalem just a few days before the Passover, when cloaks and leafy branches were laid upon his path. “Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest heaven, Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.1” Message Preached by The Rev. Michael 2 3 JesusBurke cle anses the temple , confronts the religious and political leaders of his day, and the crowd turns against him. The powers that be plot to kill him. 4 Meanwhile, he teaches the disciples.5 He tells them to always be in community6, that they shall always know him in the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup of blessing; he foretells his own death,7 1 Mark 11: 9b, 10b. 2 Mark 11:15-19. 3 Mark 11:19, 27-33; 12:12; 12:13-17; 12:24; 12:38-40, etc. 4 Mark 14:1-2 5 Mark 12:28-34; 14:3-9. 6 John 15:1-17. 7 Mark 12:1-12; 14:21. John 12:202-5. 2 and that someday soon, and forever, his own Spirit will come upon them and be in their midst. And in that Spirit, they show know the fullness of life, 8 and will bear much fruit in his name.9 And after teaching these things the hardships begin. Jesus is betrayed.10 The disciples scatter in fear.11 Peter denies that he ever knew him.12 Jesus is tried. The crowd cries out “Crucify him.13 He is taunted, humiliated, tortured, crucified, dies, and is buried.14 And the women, looked on from a distance, powerless.15 In contemporary language, they were traumatized. They themselves, with their own eyes, had seen the very worst of what the abuse of power and corrupt systems of Empire can do. In the ancient language of the Christian faith, Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world. In the first epistle of Peter (1 Peter 2:24) it is written: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, (so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ) “ And that’s where the story should end. That’s where the story of most of human history always seems to end. And if you believe that, then The Big Lie has done it’s work upon you. Tonio K16, a songwriter based out of Austin Texas, puts it this way: Now you can call it the devil Call it The Big Lie Call it a fallen world Whatever it is, it ruins almost everything we try17 The Big Lie says this: That power rules. That violence is the answer and that might makes right. That the poor are but fodder for their machines and their cannons. That women should be silent and subservient. That men should work their lives away and die with nothing. That whiteness rules. That we are all in competition with one another, and that it is each man for himself. That there is no God, no sense of right and wrong beyond ourselves. That, in the end, it is betrayal and violence and death that have the final say. 8 John 14:16-20. 9 John 15:5; 15:8 10 Mark 14:43-49. 11 Mark 14:50. 12 Mark 14:66-72. 13 Mark 15:11-15. 14 Mark 15:15-39. 15 Mark 15:15-41. 16 See: https://www.toniok.com/home 17 Tonio K, “You Will Go Free”, from Romeo Unchained, released by (What? Records/A&M), ©1986 N.Y.M. ASCAP/Bibo Music ASCAP 3 If you believe that. Then The Big Lie has done a number on you, my friend. But there is deeper truth: An underground mystery that cannot be suppressed forever. There is a holy light, hidden in a pregnant darkness. Deep in the tomb, something rustles. Deep in the tomb, something rattles. Something moves. Deep in our despair, a sacred wind blows across the embers of hope and love that have died, and a spark alights! Deep in the tomb, resurrection begins. You can believe in the Holy Scriptures: It is written there for all to know. That verse from a moment ago, from 1 Peter? I only gave you part of it. The full verse proclaims: ““He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 18“ In Jesus, God took upon God’s own Self, the pain of the human condition, the fallenness of the world, the violence of oppression, the sins of us all… and through the cross, God shattered the power of sin and death and brought forth the power of new life. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote: “God lets himself be pushed out of the world on to the cross”19 In the words of the late Kenneth Leech20, an English theologian, activist, and priest, “There are many theories about how the saving work of Christ takes effect but none of them is quite satisfactory. None approaches the heart of the mystery which is best embodied in symbol and sacrament.” And the symbols abound, if we but have eyes to see: …You can look out any window. You can look out any open door. Unseen at first, change is happening, far beneath the winter snow, And in time, new life will emerge from what appears at first to be lifeless ground. Because my friends. You can’t hold back the Spring. 18 1 Peter 2:24 19 Quoted in Kenneth Leech, “We Preach Christ Crucified” 20 See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Leech 4 Because love springs forth, no matter how long or severe the winter. Because resurrection happens, Even when it is delayed or happens slowly. By my account, today marks the start of the sixtieth week of “hunkering down” in the face of a worldwide pandemic. Sometimes it feels like this Easter morning comes after 13 months of Lent. So much has been stripped away from us. We’ve been compelled to keep physical distance from one another. We have practiced abstinence and fasting from the sacred bread at the altar and the passing of the common cup, sacraments which draw us deeper into that mystery of God, that mystery of salvation that is deeper than words. We have lost loved ones, although we hold their memory dear in our hearts. In our world around us, we are less than eight weeks away from the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd. For those who have been following the trial closely, it is a gripping telling of the American story of race, poverty, and policing. Today, April 6th, 2021 marks the 53rd anniversary of the evening of April 6, 1968 when The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee. And yet we still struggle today with issues of race and violence. How long, O Lord, how long? And then… Something in the tomb rustles. Deep in the tomb, something rattles. Something moves. “Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome do not find what they expect. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.” Easter Day, that resurrection morning. And with it – the promise of a better day coming, like a slow train– coming down the tracks. God has entered human history, and re-written the human story. The world is flooded with light. Christ is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! And you can’t hold back the Spring. We are tired of this pandemic, but hold on - a better day is coming. Christ is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! And you can’t hold back the Spring. We are tired of injustice and the politics of panic and fear, but hold on - for a better day is coming. Christ is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! And you can’t hold back the Spring. 5 We are tired of the brokenness of our own lives, and the sin that binds us to the mistakes of the past. Hold on to one another, and care for one another, for a better day is in the making. Christ is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! And you can’t hold back the Spring. We have been broken by The Big Lie, but by his wounds we have been healed. Say it with me now, whisper it or shout it. Let your voice resound with what you know in your bones. Dig deep. Find your voice... Christ is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! The Lord is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! And you can’t… And you can’t... And you can’t hold back the Spring. Playlist: Tupac Shakur: The Rose That Grew From Concrete Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature's law is wrong it learned to walk with out having feet.