With Hearts Broken Open

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
April 19, 2015

3 Easter B

Last Wednesday, the Christ Church Food Pantry distributed almost 6600 pounds of food to 133 households representing 376 individuals.  By 8:30 that morning, Hollenbeck House was buzzing with activity as the frozen food arrived in cars and trucks and was unloaded into the offices, sorted and bagged for our clients.  The non-frozen food had been bagged the day before and by 9:30 that morning, there were only narrow passage ways through the offices and every other inch of space had cases of food stacked three and four deep.  Teams of people were packing the frozen food and more non-perishable food into bags and boxes as people lined up waiting for the Pantry to open.  For four solid hours, our clients were greeted, signed in, interviewed, and given large bags of groceries.  Some of the clients worried that we would run out of food before they got to the head of the line.  They were assured that we had plenty.  When they worried about how they would get the bags of food to their car, volunteers offered to carry them.  Older clients were offered a chair to sit in while they waited.  A volunteer even brought her laptop outside to interview a client who had a particularly difficult time getting around.  By the time the Pantry actually closed at 3 o'clock, everyone had been served and there was even a small amount of food leftover.

This morning, when I hear Jesus say "Have you anything here to eat?" I think about the people who line up at the food pantry.  Just as we give staple foods to our clients at the food pantry, the disciples give a staple food, a piece of broiled fish, to Jesus.  Jesus eats the fish in their presence to prove to the confused disciples that he is really alive.  The disciples have moved from being startled and terrified, to being joyful, yet disbelieving and wondering.  Then Jesus opens their minds to understand the scriptures and sends the disciples out to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins to all the nations.  Jesus' last words this morning are "You are witnesses of these things."

At Christ Church, we understand that our baptismal covenant calls us to seek and serve Christ in all people.  We take to heart Jesus' words in Matthew's gospel that tell us that when we feed, shelter, clothe, and tend to those in need, we serve Jesus. We know that when we serve people at the Food Pantry, or at the Neighborhood Fair, or Rainbow Table, or Interfaith Hospitality Network, we encounter the risen Christ, and we try to serve each individual as we would serve Jesus.

This morning, however, recognizing Jesus is only the beginning of the story.  Once the disciples recognize Jesus and experience the peace Jesus offers them, Jesus goes on to open their minds to understand the scripture.  Once their minds have been opened, Jesus tells the disciples that the gospel message is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  Finally, Jesus says to the disciples "You are witnesses of these things."

Recognizing the risen Christ in their midst is only the beginning of the resurrection story for the disciples.  When Jesus shows the disciples the marks of crucifixion on his hands and feet, and eats the piece of broiled fish, I believe the hearts of the disciples are broken open so that they recognize the risen Christ in their midst.  Then Jesus opens the disciples' minds by teaching his followers what the scriptures have to say about him.   The hearts and minds of the disciples were broken open by their encounter with the resurrected Jesus not as an end in itself, but so that they could be sent out to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins, which is the peace of Christ, to all nations.

Likewise, when we serve at the Food Pantry, or any of our other outreach ministries, and encounter Jesus in those we serve, simply recognizing Jesus is not an end in itself either.  In encountering Jesus, we are called to allow our hearts and minds to be broken open so that we can also see other places that need the peace of Christ, and be witnesses to the power and love of God.  When my mind and heart are broken open by encountering Jesus here in Springfield, Ohio, I can more clearly hear the cries coming out of  Ferguson, Missouri and places all over the country where people of color experience life threatening prejudice and discrimination.  I can more clearly hear the cries coming out of Boston two years after the marathon bombing as the people struggle to recover and to have painful conversations about what justice looks like.  And I hear the cries of our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East who are being persecuted and executed because of their belief in Jesus and who are desperate to know the peace and presence of the risen Christ.  And I wonder what one person can do to bring the peace of Christ to such tragic situations so far from home.

The first, best, and perhaps easiest answer is prayer.  One promise of our baptismal covenant is that we seek and serve Christ in all people.  Another promise is that we will be faithful in the breaking of bread and in prayer.  When our hearts are broken open by experiencing Jesus in the breaking of bread and in prayer, we are connected with all who Jesus loves and our minds can be opened to the ways Jesus would have us respond.  When we pray for those in any need or trouble, we act on our belief that prayers have power and make a difference.  So Jesus calls us to pray without ceasing for the peace of Christ to triumph in places where there appears to be no peace.

Then we are called to actually be witnesses to the peace of Christ.  That work may take the form of engaging in conversation that improves race relations in our own city, or communicating our concerns about the atrocities in the Middle East to our government leaders and asking them to take a stand on behalf of those who are being tortured and executed because of their Christian faith, or supporting organizations that are supporting victims of injustice and oppression.  The possibilities are endless once our hearts and minds have been broken open to see Jesus.

Jesus sends the disciples and us out into all the world to bear witness to the Easter message that tragedy, death and despair do not have the final word.  The peace of Christ will have the final word.  But we fail the Easter message if we allow that message to make us complacent in the face of evil simply because we know evil does not have the final word.  The Easter message calls us to allow our hearts and minds to be broken open by the Risen Christ, and then to be active in our witness to the power of God, the power of prayer, and the power of action that make the peace of Christ more present in all the world.
Amen.

Ordinary, Messed Up, Broken People

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
April 12, 2015

2 Easter B

The day after Christmas, the day after a birthday, the day after Easter....when I was a child, these days were supposed to be different, somehow.  How can it be that something so wonderful as Christmas, a birthday, or Easter can happen, with all the waiting, all the festivities, all the presents...and then everything goes back to normal the next day?  The day after never seemed to live up to my grand expectations as life returned to normal and nothing seemed to have changed, even if I was now 10 years old instead of just 9.  There were still too many chores to do, too much homework to finish, and the same annoying siblings to content with, just as if the special day had never happened.

The Sunday after Easter, or more appropriately, the second Sunday of Easter, feels much the same.  The flowers are still here, but they will be delivered to our homebound parishioners this afternoon.  The balloons and trumpets are gone, and our worship has returned to our more or less normal state.  Christian Education resumes, which is a great thing, but another sign that life is back to normal, almost as if Easter had never happened.  After all the glory of last Sunday, shouldn't things be different somehow?

On the surface, our readings from scripture this morning do not appear to be helpful as we adjust to life as normal.  In the reading from Acts, we hear about the utopian community that was formed by the very earliest Christians.  Life seems quite perfect after the resurrection.  The first Christians apparently agreed on everything, shared everything, and no one lived in any kind of need.  The apostles preached with great power, and when we read on into the book of Acts, we hear that thousands of people believed in Jesus because of the testimony of the disciples.  There was no going back to normal life for these early Christians!  And in the gospel reading, we find the disciples locked behind closed doors on Easter evening, fearing for their lives, when Jesus appears to them and says "As the father sends me, so I send you." Thomas, of course, was not with them and refuses to believe until he gets to see Jesus' wounds with his very own eyes.  So, one week later, which would be today, the Sunday after Easter, Jesus shows up again so that Thomas can also see and feel Jesus' wounds and be brought to belief in the resurrection.  Where do we fit into these extraordinary stories of post-Easter Christian experience?

If we dig a little deeper into the stories from Acts and John, we find that post-Easter life was a little more messy for those first Christians that we might think.  While in our reading from Acts today the early Christians seemed to get along perfectly and always think of others before themselves, just little two chapters later, the Greek speaking Christians complain that their widows are being neglected in the daily food distribution.  Not everyone was sharing all that they had and not everyone's needs were being met after all! The community was called together and 7 people were set apart to make sure that food and other goods were distributed evenly.  That way the apostles could be about the work of proclaiming the gospel while the original deacons could make sure everyone was cared for.  Easter people, it turns out, are not perfect.  Life is still messy after the resurrection.  Resurrection is about new life, not perfect life, and being Easter people is about finding new life in an imperfect world among imperfect people.

In the gospel reading, the disciples are hiding in fear behind locked doors when Jesus shows up.  We tend to focus on Jesus' appearance and Thomas' doubt when we hear this story.  But listen to what Jesus says to the disciples. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."  Then Jesus gives the disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit.  A week later, when Jesus appears to the disciples again so that Thomas can have the same experience as the other 10, where do we find the disciples?  Out in the world being the sent disciples Jesus commissioned? No. They were in the same place behind the same closed doors.  Thomas may get the criticism for doubting, but the other 10 were really no better.  They apparently had not gone anywhere, despite Jesus' instruction and the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Yet Jesus will use them anyway.  Once again, being Easter people is not about never doubting or always being faithful to (or even understanding) Jesus' call.  Being Easter people is about finding new life in an imperfect world among imperfect people.  Jesus will use these disciples, not because of their perfection, but despite their failures.

This is good news for us on the Sunday after Easter as we think about what it means to be Easter people.  We don't have to be perfect for Jesus to use us.  Jesus will use us in spite of our imperfections as a church or as individuals.  In a moment, we will baptize baby Henry.  Henry will be sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ's own forever.  Most likely, he will still not sleep through the night.  He will annoy his sister as he gets older which is the vocation of all little brothers, and will no doubt test his parents' patience.  Baptism will not turn him into the perfect person, just like baptism did not turn the rest of us into perfect people.  But in baptism, Jesus will claim Henry as his own.  And just as Jesus managed to use the disciples despite their unfaithfulness to make the Kingdom of God more present in the world, and just as Jesus uses us, despite our imperfections, to the same end, in baptism Jesus promises to use Henry so that God's love may be more fully known in the world.

On the Sunday after Easter, Scripture reminds us that Easter people are people who believe in new life.  We believe that God will use imperfect people who live in the messiness of ordinary life to do extraordinary things.  Ordinary, messed up, broken people just like the disciples and the early Christians, are the people who make God's extraordinary love known in this ordinary, messed up, broken world.

Amen.

Easter Terror?

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
April 5, 2015

Easter Day

When I was a child, Easter joy happened the moment my eyes popped open on Easter morning.  My sister and I had not been waiting for this moment just since Lent began on Ash Wednesday.  I don't think we had ever heard of Ash Wednesday or Lent, quite frankly. We had been waiting for this moment ever since the previous Easter, and that was a long wait for little girls.  The top priority on Easter morning was to get downstairs before our little brother did.  Otherwise the Easter eggs might be history.  There were eggs to find, chocolate to eat, new dresses to wear, and family coming for Easter dinner.  That is a lot of Easter joy and the sooner we got started, the better.

But Easter joy does not come quite so easily or so quickly to Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome this morning.  In fact, there is no Easter joy to be found anywhere in our gospel reading this morning.  When the two Marys and Salome wake up on Easter morning, they have a difficult task ahead of them as they walk toward the tomb to anoint the dead body of Jesus for burial. They had watched as Jesus' body had been placed in the tomb, and the large stone had sealed the entrance.  Now, as they walked toward the tomb, they wondered how they could move the stone to do the work they had been given to do.  Had they been thinking clearly, they might have realized that going to the tomb was futile, since there was no way they could move the stone.  Common sense would tell them to stay home until they found someone who could help them.  But rarely do we think clearly in the midst of grief, so the women walked along, trusting that somehow they would be able to move the stone and attend to their sad work.

When the women arrive, they are greeted by a young man inside the empty tomb.  When we arrive at Easter morning, we expect the tomb to be empty.  We expect to hear the joyful words "He is risen, he is not here!"  We expect trumpets, balloons, and alleluias.  But when the women see that the stone has been rolled back, they think only one thing.  The body of their dear friend and teacher, the one in whom they had placed so much hope, has been stolen.  They are devastated.  From the women's point of view, the situation has gone from bad to worse.

Then we finally hear the good news-the great Easter proclamation "You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He has been raised.  He is not here.  Look.  There is the place they laid him.  But go. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee.  There you will see him, just as he told you."  Finally, we hear the good news we have been waiting for.  Finally, we hear that Jesus has been raised from the dead.  Bring out the trumpets and the alleluias!

But what do the women do?  They flee from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  What kind of response is that to Easter joy???

These three faithful women have taken a lot of criticism over the years for their apparent lack of faith as they fled the tomb and the Easter message.  However, this is my favorite of all the Easter stories.  This story is my favorite because I think these women actually understood the enormity of what has happened in the resurrection.  If the women really understand that Jesus has been raised from the dead, that the powers of death have been overcome, then they understand that the world has been turned upside down and nothing, nothing will ever be the same again.  Now they live in a world where anything is possible and death no longer has the final say.  All of the rules have changed. How do we live in a world like that?  Terror and amazement seem like a perfectly appropriate response to this brand new reality.  I think Mary, Mary, and Salome are the ones who actually understand the impact of the Easter message.

But the Easter message is not just that Jesus has risen from the dead.  The other part of the Easter message is that Jesus has gone ahead of his followers to Galilee and he will meet them there.  Galilee is both the place where much of Jesus' ministry occurred and Galilee is the place of every day life.  The Easter proclamation is that Jesus will meet us in the healing of the sick, the proclamation of the faith, the feeding of the hungry, and the breaking of the bread.  Jesus will meet us in our every day lives as we go about doing our versions of fishing and mending nets.  Jesus will meet us in baptism as we are joined with Jesus in both his death and his resurrection as Aliviya will be later this morning/in a few minutes. The Easter proclamation is not only that, because Jesus has been raised from the dead, we will also one day be raised.  The great Easter proclamation is also that where ever we go, whatever places of joy or sorrow, fulfillment or hardship, our brightest dreams or worst nightmares, Jesus will have arrived there first and will be there to meet us when we arrive.  The great Easter proclamation is that there is no stone, either in life or in death, that we must move alone.  Jesus has already arrived to meet us there.

Amen.