First Presbyterian Church
Rev. Joanne Blair June 30, 2024 Galatians 6:1-10 Click here for printable copy The books of the Bible work together to tell a story, and when we pull a piece out of that story (as we’ve done today with this reading from Galatians), it’s important to understand the context. When Paul visited Galatia, he preached the message of Jesus Christ and there were many converts. These converts were formerly Gentile pagans. Churches were formed, and they were going strong, so at some point in time, Paul moved on. Sometime later, Jewish-Christian missionaries arrived in Galatia, preaching a bit of a different gospel. These missionaries saw themselves as preachers of the gospel and advocates of the Law, telling the Galatians that Paul had neglected to instruct them properly in God’s Law. Among other things, they preached the need for circumcision as a means of entering covenant relationship with the God of Israel. They called for the observance of Jewish sabbaths and feast days, and they advocated obedience to everything written in the Law. In essence, they led these former Gentiles to follow the ways of Judaism, before (in their minds) they could truly be Christian. Paul, also a Jewish-Christian, was angry and his epistle to the Galatians is his response to this situation. This is a classic example of an intra-Christian dispute. And while the subject matter may be different, we today, are only too familiar with intra-Christian disputes. Chapter six of Galatians is a bit of a summary of his letter, and I encourage you to read the full letter sometime within this context. It’s not long. Obviously, our context is different in the year 2024, but we face the Galatian dilemma every day. So, what does Galatians have to say to us today? We are called to support one another as siblings in Christ, but also to hold each other accountable. When someone we trust approaches us in love and concern, we will consider their words more carefully. And when wise counsel is given, we should at least truly listen. Yet we need to approach each other with humility and be guided by the Spirit, being careful not to pretend that we (no matter what our position) have all the answers or hold ourselves higher than anyone else. Always led by the Spirit, we teach and learn from each other. Paul writes, “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” This is a key line of scripture on which our vital Stephen Ministry is based. If you are not familiar with Stephen Ministry, you simply must talk to one of us wearing a blue badge. This unique, confidential ministry is something every single one of us needs to know about, whether for now, or in the future, whether for yourself, or for someone else. Please, do ask us and become better informed about it. Paul writes we are called to bear one another’s burdens yet carry our own loads. The verb used in the Greek text for “bear” and “carry” is the same verb. Sound confusing? Paul is calling the community to act in ways of loving restoration toward one who needs to be held accountable, while also taking inventory of themselves. But how do we apply that in our everyday lives? We are called to support each other with our time, talent, treasure and counsel, as called and led by the Spirit. We are called to help, encourage, and restore each other, sharing our gifts with each other, learning to give and receive. And maybe we each need to do a prayerful inventory to recognize the gifts we have been given, and make a prayerful discernment to recognize where the Spirit is leading us to use them. I speak from experience when I say that sometimes we feel our gifts pale by comparison. And I remind us all: It is not a competition. Sometimes we are called out of our comfort zone…way out. My preaching before you today is an excellent example. My physical therapist says that discomfort is okay, but pain is not. I’m still debating which this is. When I was asked to preach, I prayed, and prayed, and then I prayed some more. I haven’t preached in years. I’m out of that rhythm and discipline. And I think the Spirit was playing games with me, for this is not a piece of Scripture typically preached on, but it kept coming back to me. I asked God, “What would you have me say? My thoughts are so scattered!” And the only answer I got was: “Study the passage. Share some of your scattered thoughts and the message you received.” And so that’s what I’ve been doing. I love this congregation dearly. Every time Roger and I drive home we exclaim, “We know so many wonderful people. Aren’t we lucky? Don’t you feel good? What a gift!” We’re like a broken record. In this congregation, we don’t all dress alike, think alike, speak alike, spend alike, vote alike, or form family units alike. Even our theologies are not all completely aligned with each other’s … and we commune with God in different ways. Isn’t that absolutely wonderful? We are a church family. We have the responsibility, the benefit, and the privilege of pitching in and supporting each other, within these walls and without. Always led by the Spirit. We have the duty and the honor of helping others, which manifests itself in diverse ways. Our joint mission is to spread Christ’s love in the world by the very way we live our lives. We don’t need to convert others, we don’t need to manufacture hoops to jump through, we need to share the love of Christ … so often without words. As the hymn “We are One in the Spirit” says: “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” We don’t serve God as a pathway to heaven. I have long believed that we should worry a whole lot less about God’s Kingdom in Heaven and worry a whole lot more about God’s Kingdom on earth. As far as the outcomes, let’s let God be God and handle that. Paul reminds us that we gain salvation by faith, not through works. Our good works serve God as a response of thankfulness and an act of praise for all that God is, and all that God has done, is doing, and will do. The Spirit is alive…here…and in us. And the Spirit will direct each one of us if we but ask… and listen… and respond. Our world, our nation, our state, and our church is designed with laws and/or rules. And as Presbyterians, we hold that things should be done “decently and in order.” These laws and rules give us structure and guide us. But sometimes they become outdated. Sometimes they do more harm than good. Sometimes they need revision. And while the New Testament isn’t full of as many rules and rituals as the First Testament, it still it provides plenty of insight into how we, as followers of Christ, should live. Paul’s epistle to the churches in Galatia was to guide them back to living in community as revealed by walking with the Spirit. He reminds us that in Christ, we are a new creation. As written in 2 Corinthians, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new.” In his letter to the Galatians, Paul stresses doing good, both to everyone, and specifically to others within the community, as led by the Spirit. We are not charged with fixing everything. We are called to share the love of Christ by the manner in which we live our lives and treat others… as individuals… and as a community. Though I know I can be rather chatty. I am actually an introvert. I need quiet time, not only for my own recharging but for quiet moments with God. It is most often in those quiet moments that I am better able to distinguish the Spirit’s direction from all the chatter in the world, including my own voice. But there is also something uniquely powerful about when we gather together. Aside from the rich sermons that Dr. Lou shares, and the music that is just soul-filling, when we gather regularly, we not only show and receive love amongst ourselves, but we also inspire and encourage each other through our various voices to demonstrate God’s love in our daily lives. Most of us have flown on a plane before, and we are familiar with a key direction: If the oxygen masks are needed, put yours on first before helping another. If we do not care for ourselves, we are less able to care for others. If we do not care for those in this community, this community is less able to care for those outside this community. We do not need to agree on everything, for there is no growth without discerning voices. And yet we are one in the body of Christ. For in Christ, we are a new creation. I believe the true gospel calls for a church in which unity happens with significant diversity. In the beauty of, and the need for diversity, I believe this is what God envisions for God’s church, coming together as one to pray, worship, serve, and share our lives with each other. And I, for one, am so very grateful to share my life with all of you. Amen.
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Rev. Lou Nyiri
Click here for Print Version Psalm 61 / John 15: 1-11 How many people wordle? Chances are you’ve heard of this word puzzle game – where you get six chances to guess a five-letter English word. If you wordle, then you’re in good company. Bill Gates says he grabs his phone or laptop and logs in to complete the day’s puzzle. Wordle debuted in 2001 – and it’s been a huge hit ever since. Other famous fans include – Kamala Harris / Jimmy Fallon / Quest Love Today, wordle is in 64 languages and has been adapted into made up languages like Klingon from Star Trek or Elvish from Lord of the Rings. If you don’t know wordle, then maybe you played the board-and-peg game Mastermind as a kid, well, it’s like that only with words. You get one chance each day to play the game - & - everyone who plays it daily is playing the same game as you. The brief explanation of the game is this: You have six chances to guess a five-letter word. With each guess, the game tells you which letters are correct letters in the right spot (green squares), which letters are correct letters in wrong spots (yellow squares), and which letters are not in the word at all (gray squares). For instance, if LIGHT is the word and you guess GLOAT, you get yellow-yellow-gray-gray-green squares – it tells you the word has an L and a G, but not in those spots – you also know that T is the last letter in the word you’re trying to guess. Wordle has inspired us to see these matrices everywhere – from memes to art to cross-stitching – the internet has come alive with Wordle posts. For whatever reason, we’re seeing wordle grids almost every day. According to one article, the best thing about Wordle’s graphic design is the amount of information packed into the little graph. Each Wordle game (and subsequent post) contains an arc of the attempts and [ah-ha moments] by the one playing the game. Philosophy professor at University of Utah, Thi Nguyen, describes Wordle as, “…a graphically neat synopsis where you can see the whole arc of another’s attempts so quickly.”[1] British psychologist, Lee Chambers, describes the common experience and struggle of the games users as a unifier. Chambers states, “The fact that we are all trying to solve the same puzzle brings us together. There's both a sense of community in terms of 'How difficult did people find it this time?' and a competitive angle in terms of 'How well did I stack up in finding this word compared to everyone else?'"[2] Wordle’s creator, says of the game, “The game feels really human and just enjoyable. … And that really resonates with where we’re at right now in the world and with COVID.” So, what does all this have to do with faith? Perhaps, Thi Nguyen’s words[3] might help our focus, in an op ed piece, Nguyen writes, “Every day, Wordle gives everyone the same challenge and the same tools to meet that challenge. When you glance at another player’s grid you can grasp the emotional journey they took, from struggle to likely victory, in one tiny bit of their day. All those yellow and green Wordle grids popping up on our screens give us a steady stream of small communions.” Nguyen’s last part resonates with me… “…[giving] us a steady stream of small communions.” As the church we are part of a communion – a fellowship – of believers who gather together to grow, go and share God’s love in this world. The one thing we can cling to amid what we could call our “common experiences and struggles” is that we are not alone – we have each other & we have one in which we abide who promises to go with us along the way. It could be said – if you will – that the five-letter Wordle of faith derived from today’s passage is: abide? To abide is to ‘continue in a place’ to ‘take up residence’ to ‘wait patiently’ – our call as faithful followers is to abide with the one who promises to be with us always & who promises us full life – our call is to abide in Jesus’ love & from that know full life & joy (even if we are living through what might not feel like joyful times). It is to remain – to stay – to be fully enveloped in, by and through – in this case our abiding is in, by and through Jesus & Jesus’ love. This morning’s text from John 15 is located in the middle of what is known as the farewell discourses (John 14-17) – (of note in John’s gospel this is written in such a way that Jesus is not only speaking to first century disciples…Jesus is speaking these words to those disciples who follow them) – Jesus is teaching followers – then & now – about the form of their discipleship. The main themes of these speeches include Jesus’ current presence and his future paradoxical absence; the disciples’ role after Jesus’ imminent departure; and the disciples place in the world. As part of this larger address, our text from John 15 explores, through metaphor, how disciples are to abide in Jesus in reciprocal love. In this way, by exhorting his disciples to “[a]bide in [him]” as he abides in them (15:4), Jesus is addressing their concerns. It is through love that the disciples will be able to abide in him even when they do not see him (16:16), and it is by abiding in him that they are enabled to love one another (15:9-10) because they “can do nothing” without him (15:5). This connection between abiding in “the vine” and love helps illuminate what “bearing fruit” might refer to in this extended metaphor. A branch that bears fruit is a disciple who keeps Jesus’ commandments (15:10), which is summarized in the very next verse after this morning’s text, 15:12: “love one another as I have loved you.” This idea is a restatement of John 14:23, where Jesus says, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” This “home” is the same word used in 14:2, where Jesus describes the “many dwelling places” that are in his Father’s house, and is similar to the verb that is translated “abide” in chapter 15. By following Jesus’ commandments, Jesus’ disciples abide in him, and he and the Father dwell with them. Reciprocal love between Jesus and the disciples, and among the disciples themselves, is the foundation for the metaphor and exhortation of this portion of Jesus’ farewell discourse. Branches abide in the vine in the same way that disciples abide in Jesus through their obedience to his commandment to love one another. Cyclically, by loving one another, they show themselves to be his disciples (13:35) in the company of those who testify to Jesus, just like them (15:26-27), and therefore, they abide in him. Wolfhart Pannenberg speaks of love in the following way, “In the present time, faith, hope and love sustain the church, but the greatest is love. It is possible that it is greatest because it is lasting. Love is an ethic that will abide into the future, but one we can practice in the present as well. Love takes up the believer into the act of the nature and operation of God and participates in the movement of the love for the world. [Love] not only mediates but also already constitutes the relationship with God.”[4] N.T. Wright tells of a practical joke Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart used to play on his father, Leopold -- who was also a musician. After a night out on the town with his friends, Wolfgang would stumble into the house, sit down at the piano and pound out a rising scale of notes. But he wouldn't finish the scale. He would just get up from the piano bench and go to bed. Wolfgang knew the unfinished scale would drive his father to restless sleep. Leopold would toss and turn in his bed, until he had to get up, go to the piano and finish the scale his son had started. "What we are concerned with here," Wright explains, "is the call of love, and of life itself, as an unfinished scale, going ahead of us into God's future. The music of love, which will one day be completed, is therefore not just our duty. It is our destiny."[5] As we continue – reside – wait patiently – envelope ourselves & those around us in such love – as we abide in Jesus’ love & generously shower that love into our surrounding communities (family, school, work, wherever we are) – we will know joy that comes from beyond us & completes us – therein lies our hope & our faith. Amen. [1] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-why-the-word-game-wordle-went-viral-180979439/ [2] Ibid. [3] https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-01-21/op-ed-wordle-game-minds-play [4] --Wolfhart Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 184. [5] --N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: First Corinthians (SPCK, 2004), 175-76. Rev. Lou Nyiri
Click here for Print Version Psalm 46, John 20:11-18 Amy Strauss Downey relays the following story in the closing article of the March/April 2021’s Penn Stater magazine, it is entitled “Hope Springs Eternal” It tells the story of their young family’s move from Happy Valley to the Lehigh Valley when relocating due to job opportunity. Their new house gave up a view of Mount Nittany & the sounds of Beaver Stadium cheers by Saturday football crowds. Their new house had a backyard big enough for two young daughters and a son on the way. It was a half-acre with mature flower beds, vegetable gardens, waterscapes, and wildlife. They were told the property was once a stop on the local garden tour. But when they moved in it was overgrown so much that they almost didn’t sign at settlement. Their first month was spent unpacking, renovating, and trying not to lose their kids. When their son was born – the doubt began to creep in. Were they too ambitious? / Could they handle this high-maintenance backyard? They spent the next summer digging out dead shrubs & deer grazed hostas (we all know what that looks like here in MI) / they unearthed rusted lawn ornaments / converted various beds into grass lawn. One day she found a sign “I was going to plant an herb garden, but didn’t have the thyme.” Each year she felt the cringe as daffodils broke ground – it was an omen of the labor filled months ahead. Downey recalls in her article how the previous spring was no different. Except…just as the green blades began to poke through the dirt – around mid-March – Pennsylvania (along with the rest of the globe) began shutting down to slow the spread of COVID-19. After a few days (weeks?) of isolating they’d finally emerge to clean up some sticks and leaves. They engaged in the spiritual disciplines of raking, weeding, mulching - & - took deep breaths in the fresh air. Yardwork – something once dreaded – became therapeutic. Yardwork became an escape from in-home schooling & Zoom calls. Their daughters began potting petunia & marigold seeds – their now toddler son watered them. The children climbed on the koi pond / swung on the hammock / built “rock hotels” for bugs. As Downey writes, “Shoes were dirty and spirits happy.” Downey concludes the article with these words, “[D]espite the world pausing, our property continued to bloom. The colors came so quickly that plant production felt like a production plant. We sniffed lilac and peony bouquets and watched as rhododendron buds grew into violet trusses. Our time spent outside was marked not by a day or month, but by the brilliant arrivals of sunny forsythia or flowery pink magnolias. It carried on like this into summer. Throughout the pandemic, I noticed other well-tended yards. At a time when we were told to distance ourselves – and for those of us who were fortunate to do so at home – here we all were, still connecting with living things in the most basic way. As for the upcoming spring, when our sleepy daffodils wake and shake loose from their buried bulbs, Downey writes, ‘’ll be ready and waiting.’” +++++ From our gospel text this morning, “…[S]upposing him to be the gardener, [Mary] said to [Jesus], ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’” +++++ Our 21st century hindsight offers us – the benefit of appreciating this anticipatory moment in John’s good news (gospel) book which tells the story of Jesus the Christ’s life, death, resurrection & ascension for not just people of faith … the WHOLE world. We know it’s Jesus. We know Mary doesn’t know it’s Jesus. We know Jesus is going to make the big reveal & Mary’s mourning (grieving) on that first Easter morning will turn to joy. But that’s not how life works – is it? We don’t know – when in the middle of it – that mourning will turn to joy – that sadness can morph one day into gladness – that darkness will cede itself to light – that the one who knows us by name is nearby … even in deeply pain-filled moments. That’s one of the things I like about this gospel account between Mary & Jesus – in the garden – it’s not so much about Easter as it is about life…more specifically it’s about faith in real life. What do we believe? / How does belief impact us? / Can life take root in what we deem to be death-like circumstance? These are the questions we ask when wandering in the “just before dawn” moments of life – those disconcerting and dissonance producing times “just before light (and hope) shine in. Like Mary – when in the middle of it all – we often don’t know what we believe – or – at the very least have difficulty putting our belief into words. And then something happens – we hear it – for Mary it was Jesus speaking her name – for us it might be the note, phone call, text message, email, impromptu plate of brownies or casserole from someone at just the right moment – letting us know we’re not alone… That’s what it is to be God’s people – Easter people – new life witness bearing people who – people committed to providing solidarity and solace and service in the midst of real-life circumstance…until... mourning turns to joy – sadness morphs into gladness – darkness cedes itself to light – Until we recognize – that the one who knows us by name is nearby – Mary entered that garden not expecting to find life…though when she discovered that she was not alone life took on new meaning. The question or statement of this discovery is:
Mary understood because of that encounter – like sleepy daffodils awaking and shaking loose from their buried bulbs – if one is ready and waiting – one might connect with living & life-giving things – and by God’s grace so will we. So. Will. We. The question or statement, then is: Will we? OR We will. Alleluia & Amen! Rev. Lou Nyiri
Print Version Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, John 15: 12-17 Have you ever had that one friend or group of friends you could count on to keep you grounded? Who asked you pertinent life questions? Who helped you move beyond busyness as the barometer of well-being toward significance. The one(s) with whom you could share your deepest doubts, joys, longings, fears, dreams, confusions, searchings. The one(s) who knew how hard to push you & when to gently give you space. The one(s) of whom you think whenever you hear “You’ve Got a Friend” – You just call out my name & you know wherever I am I’ll come running ... … … Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall All ya have to do is call & I’ll be there – you’ve got friend Perhaps you prefer The Beatles – “I get by with a little help from my friends.” Maybe you like The Indigo Girls – “I am looking for someone, who can take as much as I give, Give back as much as I need.” Maybe it’s Randy Newman’s – You’ve Got a Friend in Me from Pixar’s Toy Story – When the road looks rough ahead And you're miles and miles From your nice warm bed You just remember what your old pal said … … … You've got a friend in me Whichever melodic friendship tune you prefer, the point is the church has been proclaiming this message for twenty plus centuries: In the Christian community the only way we get by is with help from our friends. Spiritual friends / Soul friends are the people who pull us toward God. We find unity among these friends who draw us nearer to themselves & nearer to God – by how they interact with us & how they interact with God – we learn a lot by talking & watching. The unity of souls we find among Christ-followers stems not so much from attraction – rather it is from the union Jesus seeks with each one of us. This Christian fellowship is referred to in the word koinonia – it is one that “reaches across all earthly barriers and distinctions.” In this fellowship, we are bound to each other as we are – more importantly – we are bound to the One whom we follow – Jesus the Christ. The great descriptor & even greater grace of our journey is that there is no such thing as a solitary Christian. To be Christian – a Christ-Follower – is to be part of the body of Christ. These local communities in which we live out our faith – i.e. the Church – give faces & names to our companions on the journey. Thomas Moore writes of this in the following way, “Friends interested in each other at the soul level [i.e. spiritual friends] do not simply look at each other’s lives and listen to each other’s explanations. They look together at this third thing…and in that mutual gaze they find and sustain their friendship.” For Moore, the third thing is the soul itself; in a Christian context, the third thing is nothing less than God. Spiritual/Soul friends don’t advise as often as they listen and sift through life experiences – together. They are partnered together in the quest for deeper communion with God. They take avid interest is discerning together what God is up to in their lives. They attend to the state of their spiritual lives, asking questions like: What have you been praying about lately? Are you creating time for God in your schedule? What do you hear God calling you to do or be in your vocation? Do your priorities need re-aligned? What prevents you from letting go of bad habits? For me that person was Joel. I met Joel at an annual week-long Presbyterian summer camp. Our initial connect was he lived in the town of my maternal grandparents. We hit it off pretty well – pretty quick. He played baseball / I played baseball (actually he played baseball & I sat on the bench). He had two older siblings / I had two older siblings. He told really bad jokes / I still tell really bad jokes. He loved God though was still working it out / I loved God though was still working it out. After that week, whenever we visited my mom’s parents we’d call Joel and I’d visit or sometimes get to spend the night at his house. After that week, we called each other every so often to talk – and it was like picking up right where we left off. After that week, we wrote letters to stay in touch. Keep in mind, this was back in the 80’s – we rode dinosaurs to school back then – we didn’t have email / caller id / video chat – We just had persistence, perseverance & a healthy dose of God’s grace to grow a friendship that kept each other grounded and helped work through some of life’s big questions. Joel and I helped each other discern calls into the ministry. We helped each other grieve the death of a parent & grandparents. We celebrated and participated in each other’s weddings. We continue with “out of the blue” emails, phone calls or Facebook messages to each other - & - like when we were teens it feels like picking up where we left off from our last conversation. We’ve been working through life & faith together for over forty years. It is a gift to discover this kind of spiritual/soul friendship in our lives – it is truly God’s gracious gift when we find those with whom we can share - & - with whom we find similar heart cadences. Spiritual friendships are love triangles whose three angles include the other, the self, and – always – God. They are a means of grace which serve as avenues for truer and deeper communion with God. What sets these relationships apart from other friendships is their intentionality to place God in the triangle – at the apex. We self-consciously bring God into the relationship. When we grow closer to God – we lessen the gap between us and our friend. We finder deeper depths of being – within ourselves and the friendship. Since we grow at different rates – one of the wonderful effects is the Godward pull of another. If my friend has experienced an insight or deepening in their communion with God – if I am open to & invested in the friendship, then I may just find myself almost magnetically drawn closer to God as well. Spiritual friendships / Soul friends nurture our ability to listen for God - offering company as we seek God’s will - & - strengthen us for faith’s long road. (El-Red OF Riv-Ōl) Aelred of Rievaulx (1109-1167) wrote Spiritual Friendship which became a seminal work of the monastic treatises on friendship. Rievaulx saw virtue in the fact that friends draw one another beyond themselves toward God. Aelred defined spiritual friendship as “a path to the love and knowledge of God.” Spiritual friendships nurtured in Christian community offer space to come as we are - & to be drawn into deeper relationship with God’s incarnate – God’s in-the-flesh love – Jesus the Christ. Within the community of Christ-Followers – friendships are cemented together in grace, laughter, tears, and trust as we seek to love and be loved by the God who deeply loves us. Quaker theologian, Parker Palmer speaks of this when writing about the knowledge of truth revealed through personal relationships which involve vulnerability, faithfulness, and risk-filled interacting among those involved. Palmer posits such a relationship originates in compassion and love. “The goal,” Palmer believes, “arising from [this kind of] love is the reunification and reconstruction of broken selves and worlds.” Many years ago, a graduating senior in our youth group gave me an earthenware candle holder shaped as a circle of people, arms over shoulders, looking into the light holding center. She told me this is what the group felt like to her. People who hold together as we soak in the light. Through this net of relationships, we come to know ourselves as being “in Christ.” Bound together within the boundaries of Christ’s body, we become defined by Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension. I believe this senior student got it – communion is a communal venture. It is a way of holding together as we soak in the light – cemented together in grace, laughter, tears, and trust as we seek to love and be loved by the God who deeply loves us.
Jesus also said, ‘no longer do I call you servants…I have called you friends.’ This circle of Jesus’ friends – the people called Christians (Christ-followers) – have been making friends ever since those words were first spoken – this fellowship has been creating an ever-widening circle uniquely created by God to be in relationship. Jesus invites disciples to share in relationship to one another - & - in his relationship with God and the Holy Spirit. Cemented together in grace, laughter, tears, and trust as we seek to love one another and be loved by the God who deeply loves us. Amen & Amen. First Presbyterian Church
Rev. Lou Nyiri March 31, 2024 - Easter Luke 24:1-12 Click here for print copy. Former editor of The Presbyterian Outlook and now Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, NC, Jill Duffield, has written the following about this Easter Day discovery, Rev. Duffield is quoting linguist George Lakoff from David John Seel Jr.’s book, The New Copernicans, “People think in frames … . To be accepted, the truth must fit people’s frame. If facts do not fit the frame, the frame stays and facts bounce off.” Duffield continues, “If you’re coming to anoint a dead body, news of a living person does not fit the frame. No wonder they were [perplexed].” And yet, we know the truth that didn’t fit their frame – or anyone else’s for that matter. … Grave secrets have a way of coming back to life and when they do, those who discover them often have to reframe their whole entire lives because all they thought was true, well, wasn’t.”[1] Easter reframes everything and causes us to ask of ourselves, Can it be? - & - If it can, then what does that mean for the way I live my life? We’re in good company when we ask questions like these, for ever since a life-ending cross succumbed to an empty tomb’s life-giving resurrection – the church has been seeking to faithfully understand what this means for our lives – individual and communal. In the words of Anselm, our theological understanding of today’s events has been fides quaerens intellectum … “faith seeking understanding.” Ours is a faith which dares to question and ventures to inquire what faith has to say to world-weary souls who need more than saccharine, ready-made answers to life’s deepest questions.
This is how it began for the women in Luke’s text – they showed up – in the routine of life – and they encountered something that changed their lives – and ours – for they left that encounter bearing witness to what they encountered – they began to tell their story. Now, to be clear, while they encountered something that changed their lives – while they experienced resurrection promise – they did not go to the tomb expecting to find hope – they went expecting to continue in their grief – they went to complete their death vigil. You see, they were there as the song goes “when they crucified [the] Lord.” They saw Jesus die – first hand – and they did not expect it to go any further… As Luke writes, “…at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared…” They fully expected that death had had the final word. Again, Luke writes, “They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. [And] they were perplexed about this…” It made no sense. And then, as Luke tells the story, two men, in dazzling clothes are standing beside them, the women are surprised … terrified … then they hear the words that will forever change their lives – “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” They find themselves caught in a narrative story that changes their life’s mission. Story can do that to us. Story shapes us. Story forms us. Story moves us in the solar plexus – the core of our being – and prompts us to live life in certain ways. James K.A. Smith (professor of philosophy at Calvin University in Michigan) writes of story this way, “Stories can haunt and unsettle us, and the most skilled storytellers can do this with [an economy of words]. The imaginative expanse of story does not depend on the quantity of words. Rather, there can be a feel among the words … that carry an aesthetic power disproportionate to their length.” Smith goes on to give an example of the evocative power of words, using the six-word story said to have been composed by the master of verbal economy, Ernest Hemingway: For sale: baby shoes, never worn Smith explains, “In just six words the story creates – and invites us into – a whole world.”[2] Today, one might recall another succinct statement which has held our attention ever since first put to paper, “He is not here, but has risen.” With those words, the women at the tomb’s stories are changed & their purpose re-directed. As Luke describes it, they are asked to remember, and it is in their re-counting of what has happened and what has been said that they return from the tomb and “told all this to the eleven and to the rest.” The women become the first ones to bear witness – to tell the glad, good news story – they become the first believers in resurrection – and they haven’t even seen the risen Lord yet – this scene – as Luke writes it – is one of discovery! How often do we approach life expecting death? How often do we return to those places which entomb us – knowing they don’t hold life and yet they draw us: An addiction… An unhealthy relationship… An endless loop in our mind telling us we do not have permission to dream … to live … Perhaps today is the day we approach the empty tomb – with a new set of eyes and a new set of ears – that we might entertain the possibility of a new conclusion – one that provides hope and life and joy – new ways of seeing, being, doing, believing… To believe in the possibility that the question “Can it be?” can be answered with a “yes” and allow that “yes” – God’s yes – to shape the way we live life – to remind us and prompt us to discover that: We need not wander around graveyards any longer. We need not give in to the malaise and despair of hopeless existence. We need not have to go it alone any longer, because we are part of faith community that has been traveling this road ever since two men in dazzling clothes reminded the women in Luke’s gospel “[Jesus] is not here, but has risen” – words which prompted those women to share their story of this encounter which then prompted Peter to get up and run to the tomb…then go home amazed at what had happened. These words have sustained the church since her inception. These words have prompted the church to dream. These words have called us to discover God’s place in our midst and our place in this world. The first Easter, those who went to the Empty Tomb thought they would encounter death – what they found was life … new-life … re-framed life. Easter reframes our outlook as we recall words, like those from one of our Presbyterian Creeds, “In life and in death [and I’ll add here even in death-like circumstances], we belong [heart and soul] to Almighty God.” Easter is a call to recall that we are a people who can faithfully move from lament into hope. We know what lament is…
Lord knows we know what lament looks like. Lord also knows what hope looks like – and – Easter reminds that lament can turn into hope. Christian mystic/theologian Julian of Norwich, puts it thus, “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” John Lennon’s paraphrase of Julian of Norwich’s words, put it this way, “Everything will be okay in the end. If it is not okay, then it is not the end.” Easter reminds that lament can turn into hope. We ask, Can it be? And, Easter responds, Yes! A young family had been waiting for Easter break for some time. It had been several years since they all had been together, the family was going to meet at grandma and grandpa’s farm in upstate New York. Friday night they loaded the car. Buckled everyone in and started the journey toward family. It was a long drive and try as she might, the littlest grandchild in the back seat could not keep her eyes open. The family arrived in the middle of the night – quietly greeted their parents – then carried this littlest one inside and tucked her into bed. In the morning, about early dawn, if you were awake, you would have heard tiny footsteps come down the stairs and make their way to the living room bay window. The site took her breath away – she hadn’t seen anything like it before – she saw daffodils and tulips – new buds on trees – dew sparkling on grass from the light of the rising sun. She couldn’t contain herself and woke everyone as she declared, “It’s new! The world is new!” ****** We ask, Can it be? Easter responds, Yes! Alleluia & Amen! [1] Taken from Homiletics Online website resources from their April 21, 2019 sermon starter “Jesus Is Dead?” - Jill Duffield, “Secrets people take to the grave don’t often stay there,” Presbyterian Outlook, March 26, 2018. [2] Smith, James K.A., Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, 2013, p. 161. |
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