sermons and notes posted on this blog are not necessarily what came out of my mouth during the services,
but they'll offer a sense my dance with the Holy Spirit while preparing to preach

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Choosing faith, hope, and love on our 8th days as ‘resurrection’ Christians (what we choose to see and believe)

In this last week since we celebrated the Resurrection, we’ve been bombarded news and images…. some fearful enough that we might be tempted to join the apostles in that upper room – locking ourselves away, hiding from all that might ‘get us.’  Hundreds have died and thousands have lost their homes in the southeast. There is still boiling turmoil and revolution in the Middle East. People are still fighting and dying in global conflicts. 

And, simultaneously, billions of folk around the world tuned in to witness a youthful, royal wedding.  Then another inspiring image flashed briefly across our screens when we saw our President along side wonderfully-recovering Congresswoman Giffords as they watched, waiting for her husband’s launch into space aboard space shuttle Endeavour.

And, no doubt, in the personal lives of our friends and family over this past week there have equally challenging and inspiring personal circumstances involving fear, uncertainty, doubt, and strong emotions that have not made the news but have nonetheless presented us with choices – whether to huddle away or otherwise use barriers to protect ourselves, or to open doors, boldly speak from our hearts, and reach out to touch / to have personal encounters with new life.

Today, let us celebrate that through our risen Lord, we have choices – choices of what/who to believe, who/what to believe in, where to place our faith and hope, and how to live our lives in charitable love as ‘resurrection’ Christians.

The Epistle: 1 Peter 1:3-9

Perhaps written by a disciple of Peter’s toward the end of the 1st Century, the author of our Epistle lesson is addressing a very small, but faithful of believers.  It’s estimated that less than 1% of the 60 million people in the territories were identified as follower’s of Jesus Christ… and the small number who did were people at the bottom of the social order who typically had few choices – women, slaves, others of low prestige and power.  By choosing to affiliate themselves with this prophetic social movement following the gospel of their Christ, these people were further marginalized from their families and friends and subject to ridicule and verbal abuse at best… and eventually empirical, authoritarian persecution. 

What are we to learn from this brave band of believers?  We can imagine that, like us, virtually none of them had seen Jesus first-hand.  The faith fueling their costly counter-cultural convictions must have been based on some other sort of encounter with Christ.  There must have been enough evidence of the power of resurrection in their lives for them to suffer so (note the emphasis on suffering throughout Peter’s letter) and yet still dare to choose to live their faith out loud.  

Aren’t we in a somewhat similar position?  None of us were first-hand witnesses of the ministry or resurrection of Jesus so long ago… yet most of us, at the very least, cling to the power of hope in the story.  And, some of us might even be bold enough to say that we do experience the Spirit of the risen Christ in our lives and can/will give testimony to the transformative power of the Spirit at work in our lives.  Some of us this morning readily resonate with the final words from this morning’s Epistle reading: “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith…”

What sort of personal encounter with Christ is fueling us?  What choices have we made, or have others around us made, that have led us to experience the power of Christian resurrection in our lives, even amid the suffering?

The Gospel: John 20:19-31

And, of course, we have this well-known story from John’s writing about the infamous ‘doubting’ Thomas.  Rather than focus exclusively on his moment of doubt, I invite us this morning to consider a bigger picture around this story and what it invites us to consider about the choices we’ve been given.

Rather than forever cast Thomas as the great doubter, recall that this is the same apostle who boldly suggested that the group travel with Jesus back to Bethany after the death of Lazarus even if it meant they would be stoned to death with him (John 11:16).  This is also the same rather practical-minded Thomas chose to ask out loud what others might have been wondering silently - “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know the way” - when Jesus was being rather indirect in his comments about not being with them much longer.  And we can only imagine that in the grief and depression of that week following his lord’s cruel execution, he was understandably a little incredulous when told something so unbelievable by the other apostles who were still huddled in hiding in the upper room.  Thomas wasn’t asking for anything that the others hadn’t already received – some sort of proof.  Many of us can put ourselves in Thomas’s sandals if we’re honest.  And, it’s Thomas who offers us one of the most pithy confessions of faith – “My Lord and my God!” Furthermore, tradition tells us that Thomas might have traveled farthest of any of the apostles in this eventual preaching the Gospel to people in India.  So, let’s give Thomas a bit of a break. 

Rather than focus so much on Thomas this morning, let’s consider instead the wonder of what the resurrected Christ did for those huddled in fear, still grappling with grief… and the choices that the resurrections provides to us.

Jesus walks through walls / barriers erected in fear; he gently offers the reassurance of peace three times; he graciously accommodates doubts and provides proof to remove them; he breaths the Spirit onto them, giving them miraculous authority; and then commissions them to carry on his work in the world, assured that he’s with them, and they’re with him, in the Spirit.

8th Day:  These things occurred on the 8th day.  Here we are on our 8th day into this celebration of Easter – a celebration that we continue for the Great Fifty Days through Pentecost.

In Hebrew numerology, the word and meaning of “8” conveys abundance, strength, and new beginning. In Genesis, God establishes covenant with through the sign of circumcision on the 8th day (Gen 17:10-12).  In like manner, it was on the eighth day after his birth that our Lord was circumcised and formally named Jesus (Luke 2:21).  This physical act, done at the place on the body associated with the progeneration of new life, becomes a sign of an inward, spiritual conviction – “circumcision of the heart” / taking away the covering of you heart  – of belief and belonging with God (Deut 30:4; Jeremiah 4:4; Rom 2:29).

Some consider the day following the seven days of creation - the 8th day - to be the day of resurrection – new creation in Christ.  In John (7:37-29), we’re told that is was on the 8th day (the Great Day) of the Jewish festival feast of Booths/Tabernacles (a celebration of abundance, completion and renewal) that Jesus cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink…. Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” 

In a sermon he once gave many centuries ago on this same day, [Saint] Augustine said “this is the octave day of your new birth.  Today is fulfilled in you the sign of faith that was prefigured in the Old Testament by the circumcision of the flesh on the eighth day after birth…. By his resurrection he consecrated Sunday, or the Lord’s day.  Though the third after his passion, this day is the eighth after the Sabbath, and thus also the first day of the week.”  Indeed, the eighth day of every week is a new beginning.  Each week we have choices to make as ‘resurrection’ Christians.

Conclusion:

It might be temping today, based on the surface of our lectionary readings, to focus on doubts and suffering… to belittle ‘doubting’ Thomas and to encourage us to endure the inevitable suffering that comes from being Christian.  But the Spirit is saying more to us on this 8th day.  We’re called to be ever mindful of the choices we have now that Christ has died with our sins, has risen, and offers perpetual new life  – choices we’ve been given through the very breath of God. 

Jesus says that we are blessed, those of us who haven’t seen the original events yet have come to believe.

In moments when we have doubts and need proof again our risen Christ, we can find it in many places, if depends on where we look, where we focus our attention.   And, we can serve as the evidence that others are looking for.

The Spirit is compelling us, amid the sometimes harsh conditions of mortal life, to choose to walk well lighted pathways of a resurrected life rather than drive down dead-end trails of despair or creep along cold roads of indifference.

As we continue into Easter, aware that we’re living as resurrection Christians, what will you choose to see and believe in the world around you?  What will your actions help others perceive about our risen Lord?  What life-affirming, loving choices can you make each day that might bring someone from darkness to light such that the eyes of their heart are opened and they are compelled to proclaim,  “My Lord and My God!”  


AMEN.

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