Our hope in Christ’s resurrection is for this life, too – and brings healing and hope and life to our existence here.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Resurrection of Our Lord, year C
Texts: Isaiah 65:17-25; 1 Corinthians 15:19-26; Luke 24:1-12

Beloved in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

This the day for hope.

Today we rejoice, we remember, we proclaim, we sing that Christ is risen and death is reversed. Which means all whom we love who have died, all those precious to us who are no longer here, are alive now in Christ. Our grief and sadness is answered today with hope: death is not the final answer. Death, as Paul says today, the last enemy, has been destroyed.

But what if we’re missing something about today? About this resurrection?

Listen to Paul again:

He said to his Corinthian people, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” He’s trying to convince them of what we hold dear, that because Christ is risen, they’ll live after they die, too. He wants them to know their hope isn’t just for this life in Christ.

Do you see the difference? Our central hope today, that we have life after death in Jesus’ resurrection, is news to Christians in Corinth a full 20 years after the resurrection itself. And not just in Corinth. Paul’s Thessalonians also need to be taught this hope.

So Paul went throughout Asia Minor and Greece proclaiming the cross and resurrection of Christ, establishing congregations all over the region that lived vital lives of faith and hope, but wasn’t clear with them about life after death.

So where did they find hope at first? What gave life to their faith? Why did people even join?

The men in dazzling clothes said to Mary and the other women this morning, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?”

That’s a huge question. The Church has put so much of its proclamation and hope on life after death it’s one of the chief things people criticize about Christianity, especially people who see the damage and hurt Christians have caused. They say that all we care about is getting people to heaven, all we promise is life after death, and nothing else matters. And for centuries it’s been a fair critique. Far too much of our energy has focused solely on life after death: how do you get it? By living a good life? By God’s grace only?

It’s as if we’ve been looking for the living among the dead, saying this was the main thing about today. The early believers got there eventually, but it seems it took them some years to find that hope as well.

So what about Christ’s resurrection changed everything for them? What did they find when they looked for the living Christ among the living, in their life in this world?

Look at those first women and men.

They followed Jesus in his ministry because of his teaching, because he embodied God’s love for them. His welcome, his proclamation of God’s grace and forgiveness, drew them in. His call to living in God’s reign gave them hope. Many dropped everything to follow him. And he almost never talked about life after death.

They found life in Christ here, in their lives, following Jesus. They lived in hard times, too, with oppressive powers ruling and dominating and harming. They had little control over the world, and they saw and knew lots of suffering and pain. But each heard something in Jesus, saw something in Jesus, found something in Jesus, that gave them hope.

Hope that living in God’s love and grace and welcome was a life worth living, even in all the trials of the world. Hope that they, too, could share in God’s Spirit. Hope that love had a strength that could overcome the world. That even enemies would stop being enemies, that forgiveness and restoration was possible. They realized they were part of God’s reign, so they had meaning and purpose in their lives. They could extend God’s welcome, be God’s love for others, as they’d received it. And it would change them. And change others.

So when Jesus was killed, so was their hope.

If the one who said love could change their lives and the world was killed, if his way of rejecting power and violence got him killed, maybe he was wrong. Maybe the powers of the world really are in charge. Maybe there’s nothing to be done. Best keep your head down, lock yourself away at night for protection, and try to stay safe.

But with Jesus alive again, do you see what that meant? The whole life he proclaimed, the love he called them to live, all of it, was validated. They saw that nothing could stop the reign of God, not even evil and violence and wickedness. Not even death. And they found hope again.

Hope is such a powerful thing.

All Jesus’ teachings now made sense again. All that they followed, all they were learning, all that they practiced and sometimes struggled to do, all of it was now theirs again.

And they went out, joined by others like Paul, and proclaimed this reign of God again with their lives. A life in the Spirit of God that transformed them. A life of love for the least and the marginalized, a life of grace and healing one person at a time, a way of love that loses itself for others and so finds everything.

And everywhere they went, people joined in. And their lives were also changed. They too found hope, no matter the circumstances.

We should reverse Paul’s words today.

If we say it this way, we’ll see the truth: “If for the next life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

Because there’s so much more for you today than just life after death. This is the day of Resurrection. Your resurrection. Mine. The Church’s resurrection. Today we remember that there is hope here. Hope, no matter the circumstances. Hope for the healing of this world.

Because Christ is alive, and death has no power even in this life, in this world. It’s time to look for the living Christ among the living. Christ is here. In you. In me. In the Church. And the love he taught and called you to live will make all the difference in your life. And even in the world.

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen

You are known and given life in this resurrection, life for this world, life in the next.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Great Vigil of Easter
Text: John 20:1-18

Beloved in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

The voice said “Mary.”

And her world changed again.

Long ago, in the lost days of terror, she didn’t know who she was, couldn’t control her thoughts, wasn’t able to live or function. With so many voices in her head there was no room for her own voice. Then, when she first heard this voice, it called to the depths of her soul and found her. This voice sent away the other voices, brought her to life: that day was birthday.

In the devastating hours since Friday, Mary Magdalene was overwhelmed and lost, all over again. She wasn’t sure she knew herself anymore. The One who knew her, who was God’s love to her, was dead.

Then the voice said, “Mary.”

Listen: your heart is likely not far from Mary’s.

You long to be known for who you really are, and loved. We all do. We fear both might not be possible: if our truths were known how could we be loved? Competing voices inside and outside us devalue us, challenge us, confuse us.

Maybe there have been moments you’ve sensed God knows you, loves you. Maybe others have told you this, have been God’s loving presence to you.

But there are other times. Like these days, when the world is falling apart, thousands of lives destroyed and marginalized for the sake of a few in power. When you fear for your neighbors’ lives and even your own. When you wonder where God is, where hope is.

And there are times you face your own internal pain, fears, worries. When shame and failure embrace you, and seem more real than God to you. Dark nights of the soul when you doubt God could love you. When you know nothing except that you feel alone.

But you came here tonight, and waited in the darkness.

Maybe you don’t know why. But then, almost like a miracle, a fire leapt up, and a candle bore a light. And that one flame, one solitary candle, divided and divided and divided but in truth multiplied and multiplied and multiplied. And filled this room with a glow of hope.

And in that light you saw faces, the people of the risen Christ, who said to you, as they lighted your own candle, “The Light of Christ.” The faces of people who know you by name, love you. People who will soon greet you again with “Peace be with you.” In those faces, you saw the face of Christ. And you were no longer alone or in the dark.

And then you heard words of hope in God’s salvation from Scripture, ancient words of a glorious creation, a daring sea rescue, an astonishing protection of people in the heart of a fire. You were invited by God’s Wisdom to be filled to the brim with God’s love and grace and healing that is yours through the Spirit.

And you heard once again, with Mary, that God’s love cannot be stopped even by death. A voice familiar to you came through the locked doors of your heart, and, risen from the dead, now stands beside you at the gravestones of your life. Offers you food for life in this bread and wine. Christ’s voice calls you by name here. Knows you.

Jesus called her “Mary.”

That’s when she knew. So it is for you and me this holy night.

We face many hard things, and we fear most of them. But Christ has faced them all – suffering, betrayal, loneliness, sadness, abandonment, pain, death. And none of them have any power over the risen Christ, over the love of the God who breaks death, who calls you by name, who knows you, who loves you.

Listen . . . nothing, nothing, can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Not this life, not death. Not your past. Not the present, not the future. Nothing.

So you don’t need to be afraid. This day is birthday for you, the day you come back to life.

And now all that remains is to be Mary. Go and tell others, and show them, by your love and grace and hope, that God’s life is still in this world and in them and in you. So they know they are known and loved by God always. And so this world can begin to be healed.

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen

Jesus’ death declares an end to violence, hatred, and power as the way to live in the world, bringing in a new age of God’s healing love.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Good Friday
Texts: Luke 22:51 (from Sunday’s Passion); Hebrews 10:16-25

Beloved in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

“No more of this!”

While Jesus was arrested, a disciple took his sword and cut off the ear of a servant, Luke told us on Sunday, and Jesus shouted, “No more of this!” and healed the man. Tonight, in John’s version, Jesus commands Peter to put his sword away. Matthew says Jesus reminded the disciples in this moment that he could call down 72,000 angels to stop this arrest if he wanted.

Everything about the cross is Jesus saying: “No more of this!”

Jesus wasn’t a victim, the Gospels agree. Jesus died because he said “no more of this!”

He refused to use power to achieve his purpose – that the whole creation live in and under God’s endless love. Even though it meant not lifting a hand to save himself.

This is the message of Christ, the Son of God: violence and power and might cannot bring about God’s rule and reign. Only love willing to die for another can.

Our world has always believed power is the only way to get what we need and want.

You see it in the play of children, in the tension of the workplace, in the morass of politics, in families, in congregations. People inevitably resort to force of some kind to accomplish their will. Whether on a global scale or a personal one, it’s the same, just different weapons.

But it doesn’t work. For nearly 4,000 years, since Ishmael and Isaac, Jews and Arabs have fought each other. Killed each other. Hated each other. Have they accomplished anything except more bloodshed? “No more of this!”

For the length of human existence, people have forced or manipulated their will in families, in communities. Has it ever created loving, just relationships? Or even happiness? “No more of this!”

For the length of human existence, people have used war to accomplish their purposes. Are we any safer now? Any hope we’re entering an era of peace? “No more of this!”

For the length of human existence, people have ruled others with power to get what they want and to stay in power. It’s happening today, too. Has it ever been a good thing, a healing thing, for the world? For ordinary people? “No more of this!”

“No more of this!” could change everything.

In living God’s love and willingly facing death, Jesus shows the only way that can heal all creation, bring all God’s children together, and end the violence, hate, destruction, and oppression flooding the world.

And the thing is, we’ve seen it. In the fall of the Berlin wall, the end of apartheid in South Africa, the end of British rule in India: people stood in non-violent love and changed the world. We’ve seen it amongst ourselves, too, when love and forgiveness restored relationships, families, communities.

“No more of this!” Jesus says, hoping we’re ready to recognize in our families and in our communities, in our state and in our nation and in our world, that love like this is the only way to wholeness and healing.

This isn’t up for debate. At least not for the Triune God.

Even in the grief God has over the ways humans consistently reject God’s love, worship power and violence, ignore and increase the suffering of others, over the ways we use this world for our own gain at the expense of others, even in this pain, God’s answer is not to punish us, or even force us to love.

God’s answer is to let us take the Son of God to the cross. Love willing to lose everything brings life. Such a love can break our hearts and change us. Such a love can shake us out of our blind reliance on “the way the world works.” Such a love can say, “This is the Way. No more of any of this – no swords and violence and hatred and power and everything that goes with it.”

Tonight Hebrews says, “Let’s consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” So let’s do just that. Ponder “no more of this!” with all our hearts. What it means for you, for me, for this world. And consider how we can provoke each other to this way of love. The only way to life.

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen

Stay awake with Jesus in these Three Days, and learn to follow to the life God brings to you and to the world.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
Maundy Thursday
Texts: John 13:1-17, 31b-35; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; all seen through the lens of Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus in Gethsemane.

Beloved in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

All Jesus asked was “ stay awake”.

On the Mount of Olives outside of Jerusalem, late Thursday night, he took Peter, James, and John into the trees, where he prayed. He hoped they’d stay awake with him. They didn’t.

But we could stay awake with Jesus tonight. We only hear the Gethsemane story on Passion Sunday, not tonight, the night it happened. But the time in those olive trees later this evening reveals how we might walk with Jesus through the next few days, and even the rest of our lives.

So for a moment let’s go to Gethsemane:

³⁶ Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be grieved and agitated. ³⁸ Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” ³⁹ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not what I want but what you want.” ⁴⁰ Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? ⁴¹ Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴² Again Jesus went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” ⁴³ Again Jesus came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵ Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Now the hour is at hand, and the Son-of-Humanity is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Get up, let us be going. Look, my betrayer is at hand.”    (Matthew 26:36-46)

Tonight Jesus returns to the beginning.

He began his ministry with “follow me.” But those words are now central to everything happening tonight and the next days. Jesus called people to follow the way of God’s love. He said it would mean taking up a burden like a cross. It would mean the loss of things dear to them but also the gain of God’s peace and joy. And in these Three Days the implications of “follow me” become clear.

If you follow Jesus, it means going to the Upper Room and learning to do what he did there. It means going to Gethsemane and learning what cup will be yours to endure. It means going to that forsaken hill of death outside Jerusalem and learning how it is your hill. And it also means going to a garden early Sunday morning to see what God is doing.

If you stay awake, you’ll see a path of servanthood for you in the Upper Room.

Watch closely this moment that centers our worship tonight, when Jesus strips off his robe and, dressed as a slave, kneels and washes the feet of his followers.

In doing this, Jesus is absolutely clear: I need you to follow me in doing this. To be willing to kneel down in love and do the most menial task for another person. To love one another as I have loved you.

If you stay awake for this hour in the Upper Room, you see what following Jesus looks like for you. It means being a servant in your love, just as Jesus was a servant in his.

Keep awake, though, because you’ll see something during this Meal, too.

When Jesus dramatically changed the Passover ritual, it had to have been shocking. Mary, Joanna, Peter, Thomas, what did they think? The Passover bread is shared, but he says, “Take this and eat it, it is my body given for you.” The Passover wine is shared, but he says, “Take this and drink it, it is my blood poured out for you.” What on earth is he doing?

If you stay awake, you’ll see he’s saying this: “following me means taking my whole life into you, my sacrificial love and suffering. When you eat this bread and drink this wine you are joined into what I am going to do tomorrow. You become part of my suffering and death. You become my body and my blood.”

So in this Meal, Christ takes you and breaks you open, and hands you to the world, saying, “Take this one, she is my body given for you.” “Take this one, he is my blood shed for you.” This is following Jesus: your body and blood broken, poured out, in your sacrificial love, for God’s healing of the world.

This is going to be hard. So stay awake in Gethsemane, too.

There Jesus spoke with the Father, inside the mystery of the Triune Life, about this cup he was to drink. This sacrifice of God’s own life and love for the world.

And he didn’t know if he could follow this path. That’s why he wanted them awake, why he wants you awake. To see how hard it was for Jesus.

If you’re still awake and following Jesus this far, you’ve already realized it’s going to be very hard. But now you see you’re following someone who knows how hard it is, who agonized over this path like you do. But who found the strength in God’s Spirit to be God’s life for the world. And now offers that strength to you.

And please notice something about what Jesus asks tonight.

What he commanded you, and me, was to serve the person in front of us. One person at a time, before whom we kneel and wash feet. One person at a time, to love as you have been loved. One person at a time, where you will sacrifice yourself out of love.

Don’t fret tonight about following this path “for the sake of the world.” Let Jesus handle the whole world. Just follow for the sake of that one person you’re with right now. And keep doing it for everyone you meet. It will mean Gethsemane moments of prayer and you’ll need the help of the Holy Spirit. But just serve and follow where you are.

And stay awake. Watch Jesus and learn. Pray for God’s strength to follow. Because in the early morning darkness very soon, you’ll see something even more astonishing about God’s love and life that will change everything.

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen