Robert T. Young - "Christ Appeared...Also to Me" Easter Service 9:00 am (April 15, 1979)
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Transcript
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(intricate organ music) | 0:03 | |
(murmuring) | 9:16 | |
(horn music) | 9:39 | |
(echoing choral music) | 11:19 | |
- | The Lord is risen. | 13:16 |
The Lord is risen, indeed. | 13:19 | |
Hallelujah. | 13:20 | |
And a voice from the throne said: | 13:22 | |
behold, I make all things new. | 13:25 | |
Hallelujah, the Lord our God almighty, reigns. | 13:29 | |
Let us rejoice and exalt and give God the glory. | 13:35 | |
Amen and amen. | 13:39 | |
(reverent organ music) | 13:43 | |
(reverberating choral music) | 14:24 | |
The Lord is risen. | 21:08 | |
Congregation | The Lord is risen, indeed. | 21:11 |
- | All praise to God who creates, redeems, and sustains us. | 21:23 |
And who came in Jesus, the Christ, | 21:30 | |
not to place heavy burdens of guilt on us, | 21:34 | |
but to set free those who are imprisoned, | 21:38 | |
whose hearts accuse us. | 21:43 | |
We have been promised that God's forgiveness | 21:46 | |
is always waiting for us. | 21:50 | |
With this assurance, let us make our corporate confession. | 21:53 | |
Let us pray. | 21:58 | |
O holy God, on this joyous Easter Sunday, | 22:01 | |
it is difficult for us to confess our sin. | 22:05 | |
We give thanks, we rejoice, we are exhilarated. | 22:09 | |
But we pray, O God, that our rejoicing | 22:15 | |
will not blind us to the needs of the world. | 22:19 | |
That our affirmation of the resurrection will not dim | 22:23 | |
the continuing reality of the crucifixion. | 22:28 | |
Break our apathy and our arrogance with the judgment | 22:32 | |
of your law, and the assurance of the resurrection faith. | 22:37 | |
Then in mercy, heal us, O Holy Sprit, | 22:42 | |
causing us as a community to be born anew, | 22:47 | |
in Jesus Christ, our Lord. | 22:52 | |
And now, O Lord, hear us as we make our personal confession. | 22:55 | |
Amen. | 23:12 | |
Our resurrection faith offers to us | 23:14 | |
the assurance that we do not have to be bound to the past, | 23:17 | |
to our sin, our future is open to us. | 23:22 | |
God forgives us, accepts us, and offers us the possibility | 23:26 | |
to become the new people, the new creation, | 23:32 | |
believe this, live this, amen. | 23:36 | |
Let us give thanks, for God is good, | 23:40 | |
and God's love is everlasting. | 23:44 | |
Thanks be to God, who comes to us a servant. | 23:48 | |
Thanks be to God, who suffers with us and for us. | 23:53 | |
Thanks be to God, whose love and mercy sustains us. | 23:58 | |
Amen. | 24:04 | |
- | Let us pray. | 24:15 |
Prepare our hearts, O Lord, to accept your word. | 24:18 | |
Silence in us any voice but your own. | 24:22 | |
That hearing, we may also obey your will, | 24:26 | |
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. | 24:31 | |
The epistle lesson this morning is from the 15th chapter | 24:36 | |
of First Corinthians, verses three through 22. | 24:40 | |
And here, we hear Paul speaking. | 24:45 | |
For I delivered to you as a first importance | 24:50 | |
what I also received, that Christ died for our sins, | 24:53 | |
in accordance with the scriptures. | 24:58 | |
That he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, | 25:00 | |
in accordance with the scriptures, | 25:05 | |
and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the 12, | 25:07 | |
then he appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time, | 25:12 | |
most of whom are still alive, | 25:17 | |
though some have fallen asleep. | 25:19 | |
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. | 25:22 | |
Last of all, as to one untimely born, | 25:27 | |
he appeared also to me. | 25:32 | |
For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called | 25:35 | |
an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. | 25:38 | |
But by the grace of God, I am what I am, | 25:44 | |
and his grace toward me was not in vain. | 25:48 | |
On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, | 25:51 | |
though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. | 25:56 | |
Whether then it was I or they, | 26:00 | |
so we preached and so you believed. | 26:03 | |
Now, if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, | 26:07 | |
how can some of you say there is | 26:11 | |
no resurrection of the dead? | 26:13 | |
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, | 26:15 | |
then Christ has not been raised. | 26:18 | |
If Christ has not been raised, | 26:20 | |
then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain. | 26:23 | |
We are even found to be misrepresenting God, | 26:28 | |
because we testified of God that he raised Christ, | 26:32 | |
whom he did not raise, if it is true | 26:36 | |
that the dead are not raised. | 26:39 | |
For if the dead are not raised, | 26:41 | |
then Christ has not been raised. | 26:44 | |
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, | 26:46 | |
and you are still in your sins. | 26:50 | |
Then those also who have fallen asleep | 26:53 | |
in Christ have perished. | 26:56 | |
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, | 26:58 | |
we are of all men most to be pitied. | 27:02 | |
But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. | 27:08 | |
The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. | 27:12 | |
For as a man, for as by man came death, | 27:15 | |
by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. | 27:20 | |
For as in Adam all die, | 27:24 | |
so also in Christ shall all be made alive. | 27:26 | |
Here ends the reading from the epistle, amen. | 27:32 | |
(organ music) | 27:47 | |
(overlapping choral music) | 27:49 | |
♪ We shall not all sleep when he comes ♪ | 29:07 | |
♪ We shall not all sleep when he comes ♪ | 29:24 | |
♪ But we shall all be changed ♪ | 29:38 | |
(echoing choral singing) | 29:46 | |
♪ And we shall all be changed ♪ | 29:59 | |
♪ Shall all ♪ | 30:08 | |
♪ Be ♪ | 30:11 | |
♪ Changed ♪ | 30:14 | |
(echoing, operatic singing) | 30:22 | |
(overlapping choral music) | 30:38 | |
(echoing, operatic singing) | 31:44 | |
(overlapping choral music) | 32:11 | |
- | Will you rise now for the reading of God's word, | 34:24 |
from the Gospel of St. John. | 34:27 | |
Now on the first day of the week, | 34:34 | |
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, | 34:36 | |
while it was still dark, and saw that the stone | 34:39 | |
had been taken away from the tomb. | 34:42 | |
So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciples, | 34:45 | |
the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them: | 34:49 | |
they have taken the Lord out of the tomb, | 34:53 | |
and we do not know where they have laid him. | 34:56 | |
Peter then cam out with the other disciple, | 35:00 | |
and they went toward the tomb. | 35:03 | |
They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter, | 35:05 | |
and reached the tomb first, and stooping to look in, | 35:09 | |
he saw the linen clothes lying there, but he did not go in. | 35:14 | |
Then Simon Peter came, following him, | 35:20 | |
and went into the tomb. | 35:23 | |
He saw the linen clothes lying, and the napkin, | 35:25 | |
which had been on his head, not lying with the linen clothes | 35:29 | |
but rolled up in a place by itself. | 35:33 | |
Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, | 35:37 | |
also went in and he saw and believed. | 35:41 | |
For as yet, they did not know the scripture, | 35:46 | |
that he must rise from the dead. | 35:48 | |
Then the disciples went back to their homes. | 35:51 | |
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, | 35:56 | |
and as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb. | 35:59 | |
And she saw two angels in white, | 36:03 | |
sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, | 36:06 | |
one at the head, and one at the feet. | 36:09 | |
They said to her: woman, why are you weeping? | 36:12 | |
She said to them: because they have taken away my Lord, | 36:17 | |
and I do not know where they have laid him. | 36:22 | |
Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, | 36:26 | |
but she did not know that it was Jesus. | 36:31 | |
Jesus said to her: woman, why are you weeping? | 36:34 | |
Whom do you seek? | 36:38 | |
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him: | 36:41 | |
sir, if you have carried him away, | 36:44 | |
tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. | 36:47 | |
Jesus said to her: Mary. | 36:53 | |
She turned and said to him, in Hebrew: Rabbouni. | 36:59 | |
Which means: Teacher. | 37:02 | |
Jesus said to her: do not hold me, | 37:04 | |
for I have not yet ascended to the Father, | 37:07 | |
but go to my brethren and say to them, | 37:10 | |
I am ascending to my Father and your Father, | 37:13 | |
to my God and your God. | 37:16 | |
Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples: | 37:19 | |
I have seen the Lord. | 37:22 | |
And she told them that he had said these things to her. | 37:24 | |
Here ends the reading from the gospel. | 37:30 | |
All praise and glory be to God, amen. | 37:32 | |
(organ music) | 37:37 | |
(echoing choral music) | 37:55 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 38:32 | |
(muttering) | 38:40 | |
- | In the name of the Lord our God, creator, redeemer, | 38:50 |
and sustainer, amen. | 38:54 | |
If, as a friend of mind told me recently, | 38:58 | |
Easter is a time of ultimate love, | 39:03 | |
then it is no wonder that the carillon | 39:10 | |
on this chapel magnificently peeled | 39:15 | |
the dawning of this Easter morn. | 39:18 | |
It is no wonder that we gather here to sing | 39:22 | |
Christ the Lord is Risen Today. | 39:24 | |
No wonder that we rejoice in one voice | 39:29 | |
and exclaim the Lord is risen, | 39:31 | |
the Lord is risen, indeed; hallelujah. | 39:34 | |
Now wonder Handel's music and Edmond L. Budry's words | 39:39 | |
thrill and move us: Thine is the glory, | 39:43 | |
risen, conquering Son. | 39:48 | |
Endless is the victory thou, o'er death, hast won. | 39:50 | |
Lo, Jesus meets thee, risen from the tomb. | 39:55 | |
Lovingly, he greets thee, scatters fear and gloom. | 39:59 | |
Let his church with gladness hymns of triumph sing, | 40:04 | |
for her Lord now liveth, death hath lost its sting. | 40:08 | |
Thine is the glory, risen, conquering Son, | 40:14 | |
endless is the victory thou, o'er death, hast won. | 40:17 | |
Something there is in Easter that does warm our hearts, | 40:23 | |
that thrills our instincts, that stirs our imagination, | 40:27 | |
that fills our intuitions, that touches us to the very | 40:31 | |
depths of our souls, that reassures us about life and death, | 40:35 | |
about now and about forever, that perplexes us with mystery | 40:39 | |
and yet overwhelms us with a presence. | 40:43 | |
For Easter is a story of resurrection, new life, now. | 40:46 | |
It is about goodness, now. | 40:52 | |
Hope, now. | 40:55 | |
Acceptance, now. | 40:57 | |
Support, strength, grace, sustenance, now. | 40:59 | |
It is love, now. | 41:03 | |
Indeed, Easter is that time of ultimate love. | 41:05 | |
Christ is risen, Christ is risen, indeed. | 41:10 | |
Hallelujah. | 41:14 | |
In one of his classic poems, | 41:16 | |
Timesweep, Carl Sandburg writes: | 41:17 | |
tell me about any strong, beautiful wanting, | 41:21 | |
and there is your morning, | 41:28 | |
my morning, everybody's morning. | 41:31 | |
Easter, a time when we feel and are allowed to express | 41:36 | |
and experience a strong, beautiful wanting. | 41:39 | |
Sandburg has some other words that speak to me | 41:45 | |
on this magnificent Easter day. | 41:47 | |
Remembering high loveliness hovers in time, | 41:51 | |
and is made of passing moments, | 41:56 | |
I have kept high moments, they go round and round in me. | 41:59 | |
Easter indeed is one of those high moments, | 42:06 | |
that by the grace of God we are privileged to know | 42:10 | |
and share and celebrate not only on Easter day, | 42:13 | |
but any moment and in any experience | 42:16 | |
where the spirit of the risen Christ is alive | 42:18 | |
and among us, and indeed, such high moments | 42:21 | |
do go round and round, in us all. | 42:24 | |
Thus, for almost 2,000 years now, | 42:28 | |
Christians have gathered to remember and to celebrate. | 42:31 | |
For there was something about this high moment of Jesus. | 42:35 | |
About his life, death, his resurrection, | 42:40 | |
that would not be killed, | 42:43 | |
for you cannot kill a holy presence, | 42:46 | |
or you cannot kill a holy idea. | 42:49 | |
And the spirit of Christ thus would not be defeated | 42:53 | |
even by that last enemy, death. | 42:55 | |
It's truly like Harry Emerson Fosdick preached once. | 42:59 | |
They crucified Jesus, he said, but one thing they could | 43:03 | |
not do, they could not injure his idea. | 43:07 | |
Not a nail they drove pierced it, not a stone they rolled | 43:10 | |
before the tomb imprisoned it. | 43:13 | |
Here is the realistic basis of true hope, | 43:15 | |
that once a great idea is started, no one can stop it. | 43:18 | |
If you crucify it, you glorify it. | 43:23 | |
If you postpone its victory, you only make its victory | 43:25 | |
more overwhelming when it comes. | 43:28 | |
If you bury it, you give it an Easter day. | 43:30 | |
And so with the idea of Christ very much alive today, | 43:35 | |
this Easter, and this same idea very much alive to Paul, | 43:38 | |
he wrote to the church at Corinth: | 43:42 | |
I deliver to you what I also received. | 43:44 | |
That Christ died for our sins in accordance | 43:47 | |
with the Scriptures, that he was buried, | 43:50 | |
that he was raised on the third day, | 43:52 | |
that he appeared to Cephas, that is to Peter, | 43:54 | |
then to the 12, then he appeared to more than 500 | 43:56 | |
at one time, then he appeared to James, and then to all | 43:59 | |
of the apostles, but last of all, as to one untimely born, | 44:02 | |
he appeared also to me. | 44:07 | |
Last of all, Paul writes, Christ appeared also to me. | 44:11 | |
You know, when you think about it, that seems to me | 44:15 | |
to be a rather arrogant boast, doesn't it? | 44:19 | |
It seems to be rather pretentious or presumptuous, | 44:24 | |
a strange posture for Paul, who after all had become | 44:27 | |
widely known as a real enemy, as one of the chief | 44:31 | |
persecutors of the first Christians, | 44:34 | |
and yet he says: last of all, this Christ appeared to me. | 44:36 | |
There probably were lots of other folks going around | 44:41 | |
about Jerusalem in the first century that were claiming | 44:44 | |
that Jesus appeared, quote, last of all to them. | 44:48 | |
Thomas, who saw Jesus in the upper room. | 44:52 | |
The two men who met Jesus walking on the road to Emmaus. | 44:56 | |
Mary, who met Jesus at the tomb. | 45:00 | |
Peter, who met Jesus on the beach. | 45:03 | |
All of these as well as Paul and perhaps many others | 45:06 | |
could and probably did make such a claim that, | 45:09 | |
last of all, Jesus appeared to me. | 45:12 | |
I have tried hard to imagine what it must have been like | 45:16 | |
to have been among the women and the men to whom | 45:20 | |
Jesus appeared after the resurrection. | 45:24 | |
I really cannot quite fathom the impact that it must | 45:28 | |
have had in that first century. | 45:31 | |
But I read some lines just this week from the movie, | 45:36 | |
The Last Picture Show, that helped me see the meaning | 45:41 | |
that Jesus has to us today, | 45:45 | |
and that he may have had on those who saw him then. | 45:48 | |
Robert Rains writes in one of his books, | 45:52 | |
Christ appeared, as he talks about how Christ | 45:55 | |
has appeared to him recently, he said: | 45:58 | |
Christ appeared also to me in the movie | 46:00 | |
The Last Picture Show, a poignant view of life | 46:02 | |
in a small Texas town. | 46:06 | |
The town is boring, he says. | 46:07 | |
People feel as though their options are closing off. | 46:10 | |
They yearn for something or for someone more. | 46:13 | |
There is much human un-fulfillment in the movie, | 46:17 | |
but also little oases of warmth and understanding. | 46:19 | |
A middle-aged woman talks to a young man | 46:25 | |
about a man they both loved called Sam the Lion. | 46:28 | |
Sam had died. | 46:32 | |
He had been a generous, compassionate and courageous man. | 46:35 | |
The woman had been married to someone else, | 46:39 | |
but she loved Sam in a very special way. | 46:41 | |
She said to this young man, you know, it's a shame | 46:46 | |
to meet only one man in your life who knows | 46:50 | |
what you are really worth. | 46:53 | |
Mary, Thomas, John, Peter, Paul. | 46:58 | |
All of them and many, many more met someone | 47:03 | |
who knew what each of them was really worth. | 47:06 | |
Seems rather strange, doesn't it? | 47:10 | |
Only one person who knows what we're really worth. | 47:13 | |
Paul's claim that last of all, Christ appeared also to me, | 47:18 | |
boastful, arrogant, presumptuous, even absurd. | 47:21 | |
That's another word that I thought about | 47:26 | |
when I read this passage - absurd, isn't it? | 47:28 | |
And some lines from Camus, the existentialist playwright, | 47:32 | |
came back to me. At the center of man, he said, | 47:36 | |
dominating the giant moments of his life, | 47:39 | |
there is an essential absurdity. | 47:42 | |
An essential absurdity. | 47:48 | |
There are the words, sure it is. | 47:52 | |
Absurd. | 47:55 | |
An essential absurdity, perhaps. | 47:57 | |
And then I remembered some words of the great | 47:59 | |
early church writer, Tertullian, who professed one day: | 48:01 | |
I believe in Christ because it is absurd. | 48:04 | |
Sure it is, there you have it. | 48:09 | |
It was absurd for the risen Christ | 48:13 | |
to appear to Saul or Paul. | 48:15 | |
It is absurd for the risen Christ to appear to us. | 48:17 | |
It does not make sense. | 48:21 | |
There is no way to understand or comprehend | 48:24 | |
or make sense out of the living presence of Christ, | 48:26 | |
except that maybe God in Christ really does know | 48:29 | |
how much each of us is worth. | 48:34 | |
And so it is absurd, but I choose to believe | 48:41 | |
that it is more than that; it is absurdity transformed. | 48:43 | |
Transformed into experience, transformed into reality, | 48:48 | |
transformed into a living, ongoing, sustaining relationship. | 48:53 | |
Belief in Christ is absurd, or as the Greek word puts it | 48:58 | |
in the New Testament, it is skandalos, | 49:02 | |
it is a scandal, it is a stumbling block, | 49:04 | |
but it is absurdity transformed by the grace of God | 49:07 | |
so that Paul could go on and write, | 49:11 | |
"By the grace of God, I am what I am. | 49:13 | |
And his grace toward me was not in vain." | 49:17 | |
The word proclaiming the resurrection of our Lord, | 49:23 | |
Jesus Christ, may seem absurd, but according to theologian | 49:25 | |
Karl Barth, the message is itself evangel. | 49:29 | |
It is glad tidings, news which uplifts | 49:33 | |
and comforts and sustains. | 49:37 | |
Once and for all, he says then, it is a proclamation of joy. | 49:40 | |
It is not a mixed message of joy and terror, | 49:44 | |
of salvation and damnation. | 49:48 | |
It does not proclaim in the same breath | 49:50 | |
both good and evil, both help and destruction, | 49:52 | |
both life and death; it is light and not darkness, | 49:55 | |
the first and the last word is yes and not no. | 49:59 | |
The word was yes, to Paul. | 50:03 | |
If I were to ask this morning, | 50:07 | |
how many of you have ever had an experience | 50:11 | |
where Jesus Christ has appeared to you, | 50:14 | |
what would be your response? | 50:21 | |
Has Christ ever appeared to you? | 50:26 | |
If so, one might ask, how has he appeared? | 50:31 | |
If he has not, is there any reason? | 50:36 | |
Or, would you really want to experience the risen presence | 50:40 | |
of Jesus the Christ? | 50:45 | |
If you do want this, what might you expect to happen? | 50:48 | |
Well, I happen to believe that resurrection appearances | 50:55 | |
of Christ happened and still happen. | 50:58 | |
In different ways, to different people, | 51:01 | |
in different circumstances, for different reasons, | 51:04 | |
with different expectations and different results. | 51:07 | |
Such appearances happened differently in New Testament times | 51:10 | |
and they do today, as well. | 51:14 | |
So let's look for just a moment at some of the resurrection | 51:16 | |
appearances of Jesus and see what happened. | 51:19 | |
On the Emmaus Road, Jesus was walking along with two | 51:22 | |
strangers who knew him not, and they were unknown to him, | 51:27 | |
walking, talking, normal conversation | 51:31 | |
about one who had just been killed. | 51:34 | |
They stopped and ate. | 51:38 | |
Who Christ was became known to them | 51:40 | |
only after they had walked together, | 51:42 | |
and only after they had eaten together. | 51:44 | |
Thomas, in the upper room, gathered in a house | 51:48 | |
in Jerusalem, talking with the other disciples. | 51:51 | |
Friend with friend, familiar people, | 51:54 | |
familiar places, one who was skeptical, | 51:57 | |
unbelieving, doubting, not sure until Jesus said, | 52:00 | |
"Put your hand here, Thomas." | 52:04 | |
And then he exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" | 52:06 | |
Mary before the tomb, going to the tomb to show her love. | 52:11 | |
A genuine act of both sorrow and love to express her grief, | 52:15 | |
to remember the good times, to do all that she could | 52:20 | |
to express her feelings. | 52:23 | |
It may be that there was nothing more that Jesus | 52:25 | |
could do for her, but she was going to be faithful | 52:27 | |
and caring and loving toward Jesus, | 52:30 | |
both to death and beyond. | 52:33 | |
What an amazing act of utter, total, free devotion, | 52:37 | |
and reaching out to one who had been very special to her. | 52:41 | |
And Jesus spoke, "Mary." | 52:44 | |
And she knew immediately who he was. | 52:47 | |
Peter on the beach, gathered with the other disciples | 52:50 | |
to resume their work of fishing, we would assume, | 52:53 | |
stopping to eat fish. | 52:56 | |
The physical presence must have been very real, | 52:58 | |
because even Jesus himself ate some fish. | 53:01 | |
Jesus had a concern for his continuing relationship | 53:04 | |
with Peter, and for Peter's relationship with others. | 53:07 | |
"Peter," he said, "do you love me?" | 53:11 | |
Three times, he asked him, and three times when Peter | 53:13 | |
responded yes, he said, "Feed my sheep." | 53:16 | |
This is the kind of communion, the kind of questioning | 53:20 | |
and sharing of words and spirits that can take place | 53:23 | |
where there has been and where there is still a feeling | 53:26 | |
of intimacy; Peter knew Jesus immediately. | 53:29 | |
Saul, on the road, one might assume that he was just | 53:34 | |
walking casually down the road to the town of Damascus. | 53:37 | |
An enemy of Christ and of the early Christians, | 53:41 | |
surely one who was not expecting Christ to appear to him. | 53:44 | |
And then personal, through the call, Saul, Saul, | 53:48 | |
and my friends, you really don't get much more personal | 53:52 | |
or closer or more intimate than to have someone | 53:54 | |
call you by your first name. | 53:57 | |
Saul. | 53:59 | |
And he responded, "Yes, Lord?" | 54:00 | |
Looking at these experiences of various people | 54:04 | |
as they had them with the risen Christ | 54:07 | |
convinces me that there is not one way or one place | 54:10 | |
or one time or one event or one experience or one need, | 54:14 | |
one way in which one might experience the Christ. | 54:18 | |
We may be up or down, happy or sad, believing or doubting, | 54:21 | |
we may be critic or enemy, we may be friend or stranger. | 54:25 | |
We may be ready or not ready, but the word is clear. | 54:28 | |
Serendipity, that is unexpected, renewing, | 54:32 | |
and memorable experiences with the risen Christ | 54:36 | |
can and do happen. | 54:39 | |
Will you note three other things? | 54:46 | |
All of those to whom Christ appeared were doing routine, | 54:48 | |
simple, day to day things: walking, eating, fishing. | 54:51 | |
Visiting the tomb. | 54:56 | |
Secondly, not one of them expected Christ to appear. | 54:58 | |
Every one of them was surprised when he came. | 55:00 | |
Third, the appearances were not spectacular or overwhelming. | 55:05 | |
As a matter of fact, it seems to me that Jesus | 55:09 | |
really tried to downplay what was happening. | 55:12 | |
Kept calm, spoke to them and said, "Peace be with you." | 55:16 | |
It's too bad, I believe, that we have romanticized | 55:21 | |
and glamorized the appearances of the risen Christ, | 55:25 | |
for this is our loss and a great loss it is, I believe, | 55:29 | |
for now somehow or other we think that in order to know | 55:33 | |
and meet and experience the presence of Christ, | 55:36 | |
something dramatic or overpowering or miraculous | 55:39 | |
or stupendous must occur, and this, I believe, is not so. | 55:42 | |
The real miracle of the coming of Jesus, in his birth, | 55:48 | |
life, death, resurrection and risen appearances, | 55:51 | |
is that he came to live with us, in us, among us, | 55:54 | |
right where we are, just as we are, | 55:58 | |
and not in some idealized or glorified time or space | 56:01 | |
or place, but to be with us in the simple beauties, | 56:05 | |
the hard realities of life as it is. | 56:08 | |
I was teaching a study of the Book of Revelation recently. | 56:13 | |
And some persons were surprised when I remarked to the group | 56:18 | |
that I do not consider myself to be really a, quote, | 56:21 | |
spiritual person, unquote. | 56:24 | |
That is spiritual in the sense of one who is something | 56:27 | |
of a mystic, or one who spends a great deal of time | 56:31 | |
in prayer or meditation or reflection, | 56:34 | |
or to put it in other words, I do not feel, | 56:36 | |
quote/unquote, the presence of Christ, | 56:40 | |
or the presence and the spirit of God very often. | 56:42 | |
I have had some moments and some experience | 56:45 | |
that I would call spiritual, as most people would. | 56:48 | |
But I feel somewhat like a woman I was talking with | 56:52 | |
recently who said to me, "I have a hard time | 56:55 | |
believing in a God up there or out there somewhere. | 56:59 | |
A sense of the presence of God, outside me | 57:04 | |
and outside other persons, I find hard to understand. | 57:07 | |
"But," she said, "I do know what it is to experience | 57:11 | |
the love of God, the presence of Christ in other people. | 57:14 | |
The love of God in friend to friend or person | 57:18 | |
to person experiences, as they love, | 57:21 | |
care, walk with, support and listen. | 57:25 | |
Yes, she said, I feel I can know God this way." | 57:28 | |
And so do I. | 57:35 | |
I wish this morning so very, very much, | 57:36 | |
that we had not, over the years, overdramatized, | 57:40 | |
overplayed and exaggerated the resurrection appearances | 57:43 | |
of Jesus; he really did come to be with people. | 57:46 | |
Very common, ordinary, plain folk in their everyday, | 57:49 | |
routine, familiar places. | 57:54 | |
So perhaps again, if we could read again | 57:56 | |
the stories of the resurrection appearances | 57:59 | |
and clear away all of the trappings and all of the excess | 58:02 | |
dramatics that we've grown accustomed to, | 58:05 | |
then we could know and be ready for and anticipate | 58:08 | |
and then experience the presence of Christ more, | 58:13 | |
day by day, as we know it and live it. | 58:18 | |
A tear, a sigh, a hug, a word, a prayer, | 58:22 | |
a touch of one's hand, a song. | 58:28 | |
A look that goes right into your very soul. | 58:32 | |
A feeling that someone loves, a feeling | 58:36 | |
of knowing someone cares, a caring for someone else. | 58:38 | |
Yes, my friends, this morning the word is | 58:44 | |
that there surely is someone who knows | 58:47 | |
what each of us is worth. | 58:51 | |
And then, last of all, as to one untimely born, | 58:56 | |
Christ appeared also to me. | 59:02 | |
And to you. | 59:06 | |
(swelling symphonic music) | 59:43 | |
(echoing choral music) | 1:00:08 | |
- | Let us unite in this historic confession | 1:03:08 |
of the Christian faith. | 1:03:12 | |
I believe in God, the Father almighty, | 1:03:14 | |
maker of heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ, | 1:03:18 | |
his only son, our Lord, who was conceived | 1:03:22 | |
by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, | 1:03:26 | |
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, | 1:03:30 | |
dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead, | 1:03:34 | |
he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand | 1:03:40 | |
of God the Father almighty. | 1:03:44 | |
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. | 1:03:46 | |
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, | 1:03:51 | |
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, | 1:03:56 | |
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. | 1:04:01 | |
Amen. | 1:04:06 | |
Congregation, be seated. | 1:04:09 | |
The Lord be with you. | 1:04:17 | |
Congregation | And also with you. | 1:04:20 |
- | Let us pray. | 1:04:21 |
O holy God, loving God, God of justice and mercy, | 1:04:24 | |
we rejoice that you came to us in human form. | 1:04:32 | |
That you know our temptations, our pain, suffering, hopes. | 1:04:37 | |
We give you thanks that Jesus lived and died as one of us. | 1:04:44 | |
We rejoice in the assurance of our Easter faith. | 1:04:50 | |
That nothing can separate us from your love. | 1:04:55 | |
That death did not destroy or conquer Jesus our Lord | 1:04:59 | |
and redeemer, yet in our joy we find sadness and darkness, | 1:05:05 | |
for we are still struggling. | 1:05:12 | |
Our memories are short, so send your spirit to remind us | 1:05:15 | |
of Jesus's presence with us, to sustain us. | 1:05:23 | |
Open our eyes and give us hope that we may live | 1:05:29 | |
in love with you and our neighbor. | 1:05:34 | |
Sensitive and caring for those who are poor, | 1:05:38 | |
broken-hearted, imprisoned, blind, | 1:05:43 | |
bruised, caught in graves of their own making, | 1:05:48 | |
or pushed into graves of our selfishness and pride. | 1:05:54 | |
So hear our prayers, O God, for ourselves | 1:06:00 | |
and our brothers and sisters. | 1:06:04 | |
Some oppressed, some caught in a web | 1:06:07 | |
of injustice and apathy, some cut off from each other | 1:06:11 | |
by mistrust and hate; we pray, O God, that we will be | 1:06:16 | |
your servants in leading the powerless to freedom, | 1:06:22 | |
the despised to new dignity and respect. | 1:06:26 | |
And those caught in chains of mistrust and fear and anger | 1:06:30 | |
to release, and healing, and freedom. | 1:06:36 | |
Give to your church, O God, a vision of the total liberation | 1:06:40 | |
of all of your people. | 1:06:44 | |
Grand us the wisdom to hear the voice of the foolish | 1:06:46 | |
of the world, to listen to the weak, the crucified. | 1:06:49 | |
Be with us when we shrink from responsibility of commitment, | 1:06:54 | |
the uncertainty of the dessert, | 1:07:00 | |
and the conflict of the cross. | 1:07:02 | |
So that we too may be raised. | 1:07:06 | |
O God, we do feel crucifixion and rejection, | 1:07:09 | |
and so remain locked in our bonds of fear, | 1:07:13 | |
rather than to move with you in covenant | 1:07:16 | |
into the promised land. | 1:07:20 | |
Teach us to share with all people the healing | 1:07:22 | |
and forgiveness you shared with us. | 1:07:25 | |
And hear us as we pray the prayer Jesus taught us. | 1:07:30 | |
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. | 1:07:35 | |
They kingdom come, they will be done, | 1:07:41 | |
on Earth as it is in heaven. | 1:07:45 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 1:07:48 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 1:07:51 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 1:07:54 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 1:07:58 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 1:08:00 | |
For thine is the kingdom and the power | 1:08:03 | |
and the glory forever. | 1:08:07 | |
Amen. | 1:08:09 | |
(operatic choral music) | 1:08:25 | |
(dramatic horn music) | 1:08:59 | |
(operatic singing) | 1:09:37 | |
(overlapping choral music) | 1:10:23 | |
(reverent organ music) | 1:17:10 | |
(choral music) | 1:17:31 | |
♪ Hallelujah, ♪ | 1:17:43 | |
♪ Hallelujah, ♪ | 1:17:46 | |
(choral music) | 1:17:50 | |
♪ Hallelujah, ♪ | 1:18:03 | |
♪ Hallelujah, ♪ | 1:18:06 | |
♪ Hallelujah, ♪ | 1:18:09 | |
♪ Hallelujah, ♪ | 1:18:12 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 1:18:16 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:18:24 | |
(organ music) | 1:19:12 | |
(dramatic symphonic music) | 1:19:45 | |
If you are in Christ, you become a new creature. | 1:23:09 | |
All things pass away, all things become new. | 1:23:14 | |
Go now, and may this knowledge and hope sustain you | 1:23:20 | |
tomorrow and all the days to come. | 1:23:24 | |
(overlapping choral music) | 1:23:30 | |
(intricate organ music) | 1:23:49 |