This sermon is based on (Acts 10. 34-43) and (John 20. 1-18).
Resurrection changes everything with the impetus of transformation. The pattern of grace woven into our hearts and shown forth in the worlds in ways which continue to be new and perhaps surprising.
In the gospel reading, we are acutely aware of the grief and confusion of the first disciples gathering in the dark as we did this morning. running, weeping. Gradually resurrection begins to dawn in them. That the empty tomb does not mean further horrendous calamity, but salvation. Jesus's words to his friends have been fulfilled. And then Jesus himself is there. The gardener is the risen Jesus from whom all seeds are sourced. As Mary recognises Jesus, we can imagine the beginnings of her relief. And yet Jesus is already saying, "Do not hold on to me, for ascension is yet to come. Go and tell my brothers there is even more to come."
Perhaps today's gospel about the first disciples receiving the good news of the resurrection in their grief and confusion and immediately being called to change is more apt than ever today in a world where many of us are experiencing similar emotions in the context of division and fear and hatred and much worse including in the lands so many of us call holy and across the wider Middle East and the Gulf and in so many other places. And in all of this, most of us seem to have little influence.
God's grace, compassion, and gifts of abundance in relationship in covenant with humanity are consistent themes throughout the whole Bible. By contrast, in the world, scarcity is a theme we are fed so often, and often it brings people together. The world often encourages effort with the promise of abundance which is never fulfilled because of the fear that abundance would undermine our economics.
When God abundantly provides bread, quail and water amid scarcity, the mindset of scarcity persists in that abundance. And we see that playing out in the Bible in hoarding the manna from heaven, in complaints about the food and more.
God gives us his son and we throw everything at him because we can't bear the abundance of the love offered. And even as we make Jesus the ultimate scapegoat by killing him, we are still loved to the extent resurrection break sin with yet more of God's abundant grace, which also opens up our belonging in abundance forever.
Scarcity as a mindset is attractive because it implies that the reason for our dissatisfaction is external rather than internal. In other words, scarcity can draw us from responsibility from trying to make the world a better place from the abundant love God gives us freely to share. So how do we stop retreating into uncertainty and division? How do we avoid the scapegoating that Jesus has ended? The first step may be praying for insights to recognise when we're beginning to let scarcity rule and instead to live resurrection lives by loving our neighbours as ourselves.
So let us continue to celebrate the resurrection with joy as we pray for the many communities and hearts where there is scarcity and ask for the help of the spirit to recognise our own scarcity and to share the abundance we also know in Jesus who has taken everything transformed it into yet more abundance and longs for our continuing transformation in joy.
The Lord is working in extremely mysterious ways in our lives and in our world. We know that because we experience it ourselves. We are celebrating today one of the greatest days of our Christian lives, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Today we celebrate the great resurrection. Holy day. Holy Sunday, Easter Sunday, the Lord's day.
We're celebrating life today because Jesus rising from the dead gives life and meaning to our lives. We are celebrating the truth of the witnesses, the apostles who witnessed the resurrection. Mary of Magdalene who witnessed the resurrection. And it is their witness. It is their telling the story of what they had seen themselves.
Why we today have faith? We were not there. We did not see it for ourselves. We believe because others who had seen it have shared the story. And that is why being a witness is so important. Now, I don't know very much about the law and I'm not going to purport to say that I do. But what I do know is that being a witness is important. And we're told that many cases get thrown out of court because the witness is unreliable.
You cannot trust what they say. However, we can trust what the witnesses have told us, the apostles, Mary, because they experienced it for themselves. They experienced the empty tomb. They experienced that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. How does that affect our daily lives? How does that affect who we are as children of God? How does that affect us today in this part of the world? The risen Lord affects our lives. Who sends us out to speak the truth. Who sends us out to work for justice. Who sends us out to be his apostles who sends us out to tell others what we have experienced as witnesses so that they too can believe. That my brothers and sisters is our responsibility each and everyone.
It is not just up to the priests, the bishops, the holy father, the sisters, the brothers. Each and every one of us is called to be a witness, to be a martyr, to be somebody who speaks the truth. We thank God for today because today really is one of great joy. And as we sing, he is risen.
That is what we are proclaiming that Jesus is indeed our Lord and our Saviour. And as we trust in him, we go forth to do his will. Let us never be afraid to thank God for his life. Let us never be afraid to thank God for calling us to the truth, for calling us to be his disciples. Let us never be afraid to be a witness to the empty tomb. Our part in the story is to follow the new set of values and new way of living that Jesus taught, acknowledging our need of God and our common humanity.
Still today, Jesus doesn’t take away the sorrows and pain but meets us in their midst, giving courage and hope, calling us to be part of the ongoing story of transformation. So as we come to meet the risen Lord this morning we must be prepared to be caught up in the ongoing resurrection story and be willing to play our part. At the Last Supper Jesus gave us a new commandment ‘to love one another as I have loved you’
And now with the resurrection we have a new dawn, a new creation, a new beginning , a new life, a new sort of believing.
