Dear Friends,

So sorry for the lateness  of the homily, but strep throat “found” me this weekend which I finally had diagnosed on Monday at Urgent Care and am now laying low, sleeping lots and taking my medicine. In between naps, I wanted to get my homily out to you all–wishing you all the best, Pastor Kathy.

My friends, just as it takes us at least six weeks to prepare for the awesome feast of Easter, it takes that long as well to fully celebrate the mystery of the resurrection. We can’t fully understand this event and that is why we call it “a mystery.”

At the Easter Vigil, I shared a couple Scripture passages—that of Mary of Magdala meeting Jesus in the garden and Jesus walking with disciples on the way to Emmaus to highlight the fact that resurrection is not the same as resuscitation.  A definite difference in how a person looks apparently happens in a resurrected form—or else Mary and the disciples would have known Jesus on first sight.  Scripture tells us that Mary only knew Jesus when he said “her name” and that the disciples only recognized him in “the breaking of the bread.”  This is a mystery that we can only hope, one day, to understand.

The important thing for each of us to hold onto is that Jesus came to show us the way—not only how to live and to love, but how to die and to rise one day.  So much of this we take on faith because we can’t fully understand, but part of the joy we should feel through this season is the hope that this life is not the end.

Jesus told the apostles, and we are ultimately included in this, that he is going to prepare a place for us of which we simply can’t imagine—also a mystery!  None of us can imagine what this will be and sometimes, I am more inclined to think that heaven is not so much a place as it is a state of heart and mind.

Perhaps we enter what we call heaven after we have journeyed through this life striving to become our best selves; when our mind and heart is set on “feeling the joy” only when others—all others, can know the same joy, knowing the happiness of family nearby, caring for one another, only when others, all others, know that same happiness; living in peace with all or most of our needs met, only when others in the world, all others, live in that same peace.

The Easter Scriptures, in the days and weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, with the apostles fully filled with the Spirit of Jesus, are reported to have shown great powers to heal—a mere shadow of one of them passing over an affected person brought a cure.

We can look at these cures as pure power, or we can see them as a result of great faith, or probably, a bit of both.  Jesus was always a bit disappointed when people came to him simply for a physical cure—when they weren’t willing to see his mission about anything more.  Of course, he understood and had mercy and compassion—but I think he really was about changing people’s hearts.

The reading from Acts today records the fact that “through the hands of the Apostles, many signs and wonders occurred among the people.” This statement I’d like to apply to what I just said above—mainly that the power that came to the first apostles and disciples was, I believe, always meant to be about more than curing physical ailments.  Through their hands, through our hands, many signs and wonders can and do occur.  We have the power of physical touch—a calming hand; the ability to physically care for others, to be with them in their need—cook a meal, pick up some groceries, visit a shut-in, take some food to a neighbor, offer a prayer.     I believe we sell ourselves short when we consider these Scriptures speaking of signs and wonders.  Each of us comes upon needs each and every day and we simply need to respond.

The reading from Revelation speaking to John the Apostle and Evangelist on the island of Patmos carries the simple message that was always on Jesus’ lips throughout his ministry, “Don’t be afraid!”  If we forget most of what we read in Scripture; we really only need remember that our brother Jesus was always about caring for our needs, loving us and asking us to love others.  In addition to the words imploring us to, “not be afraid,” Jesus’ other most familiar words coming our way, were, “Peace be with you.” In today’s gospel, we hear twice a wish for peace.

Jesus truly understood his apostles’ fear—he was telling them some seriously profound things—asking them to stretch their faith to its greatest degree.  Faith is truly central in these post resurrection days.  Nothing meaningful can happen without it!

Today’s gospel zeroes in on the apostle Thomas’ lack of faith.  It isn’t enough that his brothers in ministry have testified that, “We have seen Jesus!”—he isn’t going to believe until he can see with his own eyes, touch Jesus with his own hands!  We have to wonder what was going on for Thomas—there must have been a great deal of fear holding him back.

We can compare his lack of faith with Mary of Magdala’s all-encompassing faith. One senses that she was someone who had been so touched, influenced, that is, by Jesus and his love and care for the world, that she simply could not, but, believe.

So, in the end, my friends; I think the question that each of us must face during this Easter Season is, “Do we believe?” And if we do, what are we going to do about it?! Amen? Amen!

Dear Friends, 

Happy Easter to all–Jesus is truly risen! Alleluia! Thank you to those who were able to be with us at All Are One this past week for Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday services–from Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, to the solemnity of Good Friday to the joyousness of Holy Saturday with the Gloria and the Alleluias returning to the liturgy, it was very good to remember and celebrate our God’s over-the-top love for us in sending Jesus, our Brother. 

I am sending my wish today for all of you who couldn’t be with us to get my in-person greetings last evening and who join us reading this electronic copy. Rejoice today and throughout the Easter Season over a God who has loved us so prodigally! It is wonderful to know, I think, that from the beginning, as we read last evening at the Vigil  from the book of Genesis, our God looked upon us all and proclaimed that we are, “very good!”

Peace and Love–Alleluia! 

Pastor Kathy

My friends, we have experienced many readings tonight from what some might call, “salvation history,” but I would like to call it, the story of our God’s love for creation, culminating in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, our brother.

Tonight, because our service is already longer, I wanted to simply lift up a line or two from the readings for us to hold on our hearts:

• In the creation story we hear that God looked on all of creation and said that it was very good. For that reason; I chose not to have us read the story of Moses fleeing the Egyptians and God drowning them in the Red Sea. It seems that as the prophets become more involved in the story of the Israelite people, God becomes a much more loving figure and certainly the God of Jesus was.
• In the reading from the prophet Isaiah, we hear, “come to the water, all who are thirsty.”
• And in the reading from Ezekiel, we hear, “You will be my people and I will be your God.”
• We see the compassion of God expressed in the gospel selection from Matthew tonight as twice we hear, first from angels and then from Jesus, “Don’t be afraid.”
• The epistle from Paul to the Romans speaks in a somewhat cloaked fashion of sin and the truth about being Jesus’ followers—simply that it will mean we have to leave sinful ways behind, striving to be our best selves. But that will come soon enough—now is the time for joy in the fact that Jesus is still with us.

Because we won’t be meeting on Easter Sunday, I wanted to add a few thoughts that are included in tomorrow’s readings that are very significant in understanding this most glorious day.

The Easter Sunday morning’s gospel comes from John 20:1-9. I think it is important not to stop after verse 9 but to continue on to verse 18 as it includes the beautiful encounter between Mary of Magdala and Jesus in the garden.  The reading shouldn’t stop after verse 9 as the story simply isn’t complete at that point.  The reading for the Easter Vigil stops short too and that is why I added verses 8-10 to that reading.

It is significant that these faithful women who stood by the cross to the very end would be the first to see Jesus in his risen state and only an all-male hierarchy would set up the readings in this way, completely discounting the women!

Another point in this gospel that is most significant especially for those who may find it hard to believe in the resurrection and might say, “The body was simply stolen will find an answer in the way John describes the scene at the tomb.  [Simon Peter] observed “the linen wrappings lying on the ground and saw the piece of cloth that had covered Jesus’ head lying not with the wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.”   Exegetes tell us that if one’s intent was to steal a body, you wouldn’t hardly unwrap it first and certainly not take the time to fold up a piece of cloth covering the head!

John also gives us another interesting tidbit in his account of the resurrection—when Mary of Magdala first encounters Jesus, now risen, in the garden—she doesn’t recognize him!  We might ask—how can this be?  Again, exegetes tell us that one apparently doesn’t appear the same in resurrected form as they would, if they were merely sleep and awakened.

The same phenomenon seems to be true in Luke’s account of Jesus joining the disciples the next day on the way to Emmaus.  Just as Mary didn’t recognize Jesus until he did something familiar—saying her name, the disciples on the road didn’t know him either until he likewise did something familiar—when he broke bread with them.

So, my friends, some thoughts to carry on our hearts as we continue now with the blessing of the water and our baptismal promises…..