All Creation Sings Easter Joy!
“All Creation Sings Easter Joy!”
Isaiah 65:17-25 John 20:1-18
Easter Sunday, Year C, April 21, 2019
Pastor Andy Kennaly
Sandpoint, Idaho
When it comes to language, verbal communication involves different levels of meaning. When you first meet someone, communication tends to be rather surface level, basic, and uses what I call “formulas” to establish a rapport between people. As relationship develops, the potential for trust to deepen invites another level of communication. Rather than reverting to formulas, such as, “Pretty nice weather we’ve been having!” or “Where are you from?” or “What’s your line of work, what do you do for a living?” we can start to ask questions that seek more than information we already know at that point. We can share feelings or thoughts and seek council for situations we might be wondering about in our lives. Formulas start us off, but they are not enough to take communication to deeper levels that nurture relationship at a causal level.
The same is true for the church and our life of faith. If I say certain things during worship, generally, people know the response. The church uses formulas as part of the liturgy, part of the work of worshiping God together. The Lord be with you! (And also with you). Christ is Risen! (He is risen indeed)! See? These call and response phrases claim a unity of faith and our partnership as Christ’s body working together in worship to glorify God. But, they just scratch the surface. Saying, The Lord be with you is rather one-sided. It doesn’t ask about your specific situation or context, doesn’t explore or have dialogue about how it is that you perceive God’s Presence in your life, nor does it allow space to offer a response other than the second half of the formula, And also with you. In a large group setting based on a priestly model where professional clergy lead the process of worship, one of the dangers is that Christians can default to consumers, or spectators with minimal participation.
The formula for Easter Sunday, that Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed sounds like a great statement of faith and something we can share on a special day. But as a formula, by nature it is rather generic. It skims over the miracle of Easter, and on one hand this is convenient because it avoids debate over the mechanics of how this day took place. For example, does the Resurrection event depend on Jesus’ actual body, his corpse, coming to life? Or is the Risen Christ some other form or experience involving overlapping dimensions, like heaven and earth mingling? Is the stone rolling away literal or symbolic? The “formula” does not address this, but on the other hand, it does recognize that regardless of the mechanics, something amazing, wonderful, and fabulous happened which affects all of life as we know it.
One summer after seminary I worked at Camp Sawtooth eight miles north of Ketchum, Idaho, and on a long weekend break I did a road trip tour through the Boulder Mountains and over to Arco and stayed a couple nights at Craters of the Moon National Monument. That was a really special trip for me and I experienced some interesting and meaningful events while visiting. I remember one of the self-guided tours over a lava bed of black rock and the interpretive signs describe how that section is actually two lava flows, the first one taking place around 2,000 years ago. The second one came after, but could have been a matter of days, or decades, after the first; they just aren’t sure of the time span between the flows. As I walked on the trail my heart was telling me that the first one flowed as Jesus died on the cross. There were earthquakes and the rocks split open as Jesus died, so why not have the entire planet involved? The second lava flow, in my mind at the time, was assigned three days later, as the earth shook and the stone rolled away from the tomb. Again, all creation is involved in this cosmic event of the Living Christ proclaiming the power of life and love and the unity of realms and dimensions and that great cloud of witnesses throughout all time and space. Mixing heaven and earth is exactly what Easter proclaims.
The Divine, Living Presence of God who creates all things, sustains all things, lives through all things, is alive in you and me. The Temple curtain was torn from top to bottom because God doesn’t live in a static building. God lives in our hearts, shapes our mind if we allow God, and leads us to trust deeper meanings, to not be satisfied with surface level religion, and compels us to share good news of eternal love, a love whose quality is action, care, and creative power. Love is a verb and not a noun as we embody the Risen Lord.
Many times in my sermons I like to quote various people to help illustrate the points I make. It seems as if by quoting someone you get an “expert” opinion or insight. Today, rather than find some author or religious leader or story teller, I decided to quote myself, from last Friday’s Pastor’s Corner article in the Bonner County Daily Bee. Maybe some of you have already read it, and if so I hope by hearing me read it you will pick up on something in a new way.
Here’s what I said in an Easter message:
“The demolition has started! The front steps at First Presbyterian Church fell victim to the jack hammer as concrete was removed, one chunk at a time! The steps are being replaced and the roof over them updated. A project of this type takes coordination, money, time, and people who understand what the larger purpose is. Practical experience helps, along with courage to try new things.
The timing, right before Easter, added an interesting twist, because everyone was wondering what may be hiding underneath the steps. Were they solid, or was there a vault? As it turns out, the steps were poured decades ago at ground level, with dirt piled up underneath. As we proclaim with Easter joy that the stone has been rolled away and, “The Tomb is Empty!” it does look strange to have the front of the church building dug up.
At one point, those steps were new and they served the church and community very well for a long time. Gathering for Sunday services, or funerals, or weddings, thousands of people walked up and down those stairs. But over time and with stresses of seasons, the concrete cracked and the metal railings rusted. It reminds us that in our world, everything has a beginning and an end. As one thing finds completion in this cycle, another thing finds a start. The Easter message, that Jesus died and Christ arose, is the archetypal image of the pattern God places in creation. Jesus shows us how to live in the depths of joy as we give divine love creative expression. The diversity and multitude of life on earth shows the power and abundance of God’s creative purpose. As the blueprint for living, the Jesus Way promises redemption, renewal, and resurrection.
Liturgical churches follow traditions which have developed based on biblical understandings and interpretations. The season of Lent, for example, is a period of forty days, plus Sundays and Holy Week, which help prepare us for Easter joy. The weeks of Lent draw us alongside stories, like Jesus in his temptations in the wilderness, and the interactions he has in his journey toward the cross. On Maundy Thursday, Christians gather to remember Jesus’ suffering in prayerful anguish in the Garden, along with other stories such as his washing the disciples’ feet as one humbled in loving service, showing us what community looks like. He shares the Last Supper gathered in the Upper Room. Many churches recognize Good Friday, as Jesus is put to death by crucifixion, a common execution practice in the Roman Empire used for intimidation and control. Holy Saturday marks the time Jesus’ body lay in the tomb, and vigils are not uncommon.
But on Easter, on Sunday morning, the Lord’s Day, Christians celebrate the Resurrection as Jesus overcomes death with abundant and restorative life eternal. In the Gospel According to John, it’s Mary Magdalene who is first to witness the Risen Christ. She doesn’t recognize Jesus at first, and once she does, he tells her, “Don’t cling to me,” as she weeps tears of joy.
So often we prefer to cling. We have our ideas, our doctrines, practices, and beliefs. Our ego-centric views hold fast to what we can define or describe, while that which doesn’t fit is often rejected or viewed with negativity. The Resurrection is an invitation to a larger life, one which is Christ-centered, drawing us out of ourselves. The gift of divine love is intended to expand, grow, include, and welcome. Indeed, all creation sings the glory of God! As faith guides us, trust develops as experience leads to deeper wisdom and a larger awareness of the Living Christ in the world. Like Mary at the tomb, we too are invited to learn the art of letting go, even as we’re sent to share many ways God changes everything.
Maybe Easter means tulips and daffodils, or bunnies and chocolate? Springtime rituals with roots in fertility observances are common in the northern hemisphere. Easter egg hunts seem all the rage, and are fun for kids. But new life in Christ is as easy as accepting a gift, and as difficult as shedding our ego’s desire to consider ourselves separate and superior.
Easter joy involves giving God permission and room to work in our hearts. The light of God’s love casts out fear. As Jesus promises that the meek shall inherit the earth, may we, like Mary Magdalene, in humility and simplicity ask God to help us take the steps toward a higher awareness, a deeper trust, an inclusive love, and the unending joy of resurrection faith in the Living Christ. Receive the gift of Easter, for God is as close to you as your next breath. A most blessed Easter! Peace and All Good, Pastor Andy Kennaly, First Presbyterian Church of Sandpoint.”
Mary calls the Risen Lord, “Teacher” for even beyond the grave, Christ informs our hearts, calls us by name in ways that reach the depths of our True Identity, as people marked as Christ’s own forever by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. Part of the joy Christ shares is that we don’t need to cling, as our way of desiring connection. Christ’s Reality of Grace means we are already connected, through Christ, with all things, seen and unseen.
As we notice spring taking shape around us, new life sprouting as the days get longer, and that spring-green color returning to bushes, shrubs, and trees, may we be reminded that all creation sings God’s praises on Easter and always as Living Christ shows us the depths of love and the creative power of life.
Have a joyful Easter! And may God be glorified, NOW, even as forever. Amen.