Remember
Alleluia.Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
This last week of special days have occasioned the remark, “This is your last Holy Week and Easter as rector of St. Paul’s.” That certainly raises profound thoughts with notes of sadness as well as wonder. A very special period in the lives of us all is drawing to an end. A new beginning will take shape. Pardon the comparison if it appears to bold, but this calls to mind an aspect of Elisha’s story. Elisha was to be the successor of the great prophet Elijah who had come to the end of his work. Elisha had several encounters with the guild prophets as he followed Elijah from Gilgal to Bethel, then on to Jericho and finally to the Jordan River. At each place the guild prophets came out and said,”Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?”And [Elisha] said, “Yes I know; keep silent.”(2 Kings 2:3) In other words, change is as difficult for me as it is for you, we will do well to abide in God’s almighty care.
Whether occasioned by sadness or wonder about the future, Holy Week and Easter calls to mind memorable events. One is of “Chase” Marriott, the great grandson of Zoella Marriott who was baptized at the Easter Vigil in 2007. Chase lives with his dad in San Francisco. Each of the past two years he and his dad come on pilgrimage at Easter to the waters of new life that spring up in this place holy to his great grandmother whose husband’s grandfather served as priest of old St. Paul’s in 1890.
I also remember a couple ten years ago or so on Good Friday who, betrayed by underhanded business practices and burdened with financial woes, closed their office early and felt drawn to worship at St. Paul’s. They hadn’t attended church for years, except for the occasional wedding or funeral. Unexpectedly they heard the word of God speak to their hearts. They knew Jesus was with them in their sorrow and pain. And they sensed a genuine welcome. They returned for Easter services filled with joy. It seemed almost immediately they became givers, or better yet returners, offering generously from the bounty of talent God had given them. Their lives were changed, and in turn they changed the lives of others around them.
On Good Friday we visit the Memorial Garden while walking the Stations of the Cross. There among the saints remembered is the name of Brett Larsen, a parish day school student who died in 1991 in his 8th grade year of brain cancer. After a diagnosis of cancer while in two day preschool, he survived numerous surgeries and countless treatment sessions for eleven years. Brett was a friend to every child in every class. He is remembered among the 95 other saints interred in the garden who join our songs of praise to God.
Then at the Vigil last night while blessing the water in the font a personal moment was recalled as it is each Easter. For at Easter in 1971 I baptized my own daughter, Kate, and each baptism strengthens the connection shared by all the baptized.
Memory is what we Christians are all about. It is part of our inheritance from the ancient Hebrews immortalized in the Passover Seder which Jewish families have relived this past week. To remember the Exodus, their liberation from slavery in Egypt, fills their hearts today with joy for God’s mercy. Though their persecution as a people has by no means come to an end they trust that in God’s good time the messiah will come.
At his last supper with his disciples Jesus transformed the elements of that Passover meal as he took the bread of affliction and said, “This is my body broken for you, do this in remembrance of me.” And with the cup of blessing he said, “This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.” St. Paul added, For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, your proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Cor 11:26) Remembering is the essential way in which Jesus is present to us, a remembering grounded in the witness of those we trust to tell the truth and in our own experience of God’s mercy and loving-kindness.
Yet in the anxiety of unsettling circumstances we sometimes forget where our stability lies. At dawn on the Sunday after Jesus their Lord and Master was crucified, the women in the company of disciples from Galilee returned to the tomb. They followed Joseph of Arimathea who was given the responsibility of burying Jesus’ body, so they knew the place. That was Friday just before sundown, the anointing of the body would have to wait. So they returned Sunday morning to properly bind spices in the burial wrappings and have the tomb sealed permanently. To their shock and amazement the tomb was open and the body gone.
Luke tells us that two men suddenly appeared standing by the women. Startled, frightened, bewildered, fearful – there are many words to describe the reaction of the women. Were these really men, or were they angels? Were the women struck with fear by the unexpected appearance of these men or was it the surprise that left them gasping? The incredible event may have triggered the impulse to flee so that initially what the men said did not register: Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember what [Jesus] told you, while he was still in Galilee that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified and on the third day rise again. Then they remembered his words….
Remember is one of the most significant words in the Christian lexicon. It is our memory of Jesus’ feeding of the 5000 that has us anticipate our place at the heavenly banquet in God’s presence. Trusting in the memory of Jesus’ invitation to his Eucharistic table helps us be brave enough to come as friends who are learning to live in the peace of God to eat and drink elbow to elbow with perfect strangers. From the memory that faith imparts those who are gravely ill are comforted by saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth… or ,The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…Yea though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil.
The women who came with Jesus from Galilee were probably startled beyond words at the unexpected sight of a tomb without Jesus’ body and two unfamiliar men talking to them. But very soon, their reasoning faculties were engaged in remembering Jesus’ instructions and his preparation of the disciples. The women returned to the place where the apostles had gathered and relayed what they saw, heard and remembered. The apostles could not believe such an idle tale, such nonsense. The women’s tale was beyond anything humans had experienced. As a result Luke says that Peter ran to the tomb, saw it empty and returned home scratching his head in wonder.
There is much to enjoy and celebrate in our Easter gathering. There are the parish traditions of special breads, the floral cross, beautiful music, the egg hunt, the presence of friends. We also remember significant people of our past, some who have moved away, some who have died, others are as close as a phone call, the Internet or a Tweet.
But above and beyond all the traditions and associations we have of Easter, this is the day of Resurrection, Jesus has risen from the dead. Jesus has forgiven our wandering character, our tendency to stray from a relationship that is essential to our being. Jesus lifts the burden of guilt and failure from our shoulders. Jesus is here now known in the breaking of bread. Our confidence is strengthened by remembering the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13ff) to whom though unknown the risen Christ rehearsed God’s wonderful story of salvation. Then he sat for a meal with them, took bread and broke it, and suddenly Jesus’ presence broke in upon them. Then they ran back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles.
Remember this above all else today. Remember Jesus’ love. Remember his gift of wholeness, new life and inner peace. Remember and return again and again to be nourished by him in word and sacrament for your soul’s health. Remember and share your story of renewal with others.
Let’s begin right now affirming the witness of Christians throughout the ages:
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.
